What happens if I lose my collective protection status in Norway?

Changes to the rules concerning collective protection enter into effect on 1 July 2024. These changes will affect persons who have been denied an extension or whose permit has been revoked, resulting in the loss of collective-protection status.

Your collective protection permit may be revoked if you

  • have travelled to Ukraine for no legitimate reason
  • have resided outside Norway for over 6 months in the course of a year

Information concerning those who are not eligible for an extension of their collective protection permit.

You do not have the right to be granted collective protection

If you lose your collective-protection status in Norway, you will no longer have the right to be granted collective protection again. This applies as of 1 July 2024.

If you apply for protection once again, your application will be assessed as an application for individual protection. This means that UDI will undertake an individual assessment to determine whether you still need protection in Norway. This will have multiple consequences concerning your rights in Norway, including:

  • you will lose the rights you had in the municipality where you were settled.
  • you will have the right to stay in an asylum reception centre while we process your application for individual protection.
  • you will have to apply for a temporary work permit in order to be able to work while waiting for the outcome of your application.
  • if you are granted individual protection, your right to settlement with public support will be rescinded, and you will have to find and pay for your own residence.
  • if UDI determine that you do not meet the requirements for individual protection, your application will be rejected and you will have to leave Norway.

Stricter requirements for individual protection

In order to be granted individual protection in Norway, you must fulfil the relevant requirements for international protection, which are stricter than for collective protection. You will have to substantiate your fulfulment of the requirements.

In order to have the right to individual protection, you must

  • have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of ethnicity, origin, skin colour, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or for reasons of political opinion, or
  • face a real risk of being subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment upon return to your country of origin.

As part of the assessment of your need for individual protection, UDI will take into account whether the authorities in your home country can provide you with protection, and whether there are any areas in your home country where it is safe and feasible for you to return to.

In its guidelines, UDI has provisionally defined three counties in west Ukraine as safe: Volyn, Lviv and Zakarpattia. We assess your need for protection on an individual basis, regardless of whether you are from these three or other counties. This is referred to as internal relocation, and means that UDI reckons you will be safe if you move to a different area of your country.

We will make an individual assessment in each case. The assessment of which areas are considered safe, is subject to change.

Can I apply for a different type of residence permit in Norway if I lose my collective-protection status?

If you intend to apply for a different type of residence permit in Norway, such as for work or family immigration, you will have to meet the standard requirements to be eligible to apply while in Norway.