Immigration regulation - StatRes (discontinued), 2011

The total expenditure in the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) was NOK 3.8 billion in 2011. Almost NOK 2.5 billion, or 65 per cent of the expenditure related to the purchase of residence places for asylum seekers from various private and municipal bodies (referred to as transfers in the statistics). This is considerably less than in 2010, when the transfers totalled NOK 3 billion.

The operating expenses in UDI and UNE, excluding the expenditure on the purchase of residence places, made up 32 per cent of the total expenditure, or in excess of NOK 1.2 billion in 2011. This is almost exactly the same as the level in 2010. This expenditure, which is referred to as own production in the statistics, is made up of NOK 930 million in UDI and NOK 290 million in UNE. Investment expenditure in 2011 constituted 3 per cent of the total expenditure, at NOK 114 million.

The total expenditure in UDI and UNE combined was 10 per cent lower in 2011 than 2010, which was due to a reduction in the spending on the purchase of residence places for asylum seekers.

Fewer man-years

The total number of contracted man-years in immigration regulation in 2011, excluding long-term leave, was 1 284, made up of 969 in UDI and 314 in UNE. This is 88 fewer contracted man-years than in 2010, and the fall was greatest in UDI, with 82 fewer man-years. Both UDI and UNE experienced an increase in total man-years every year from 2007 to 2010.

More cases processed in 2011

The total number of cases processed by the UDI in 2011 was just under 98 000. This is an increase of 5 000 cases from 2010, and 5 400 more than in 2007. The greatest increase was in the number of cases relating to family immigration, while the greatest fall was for asylum seekers.

A total of approximately 17 700 cases were processed by UNE in 2011; a reduction of some 600 cases from 2010. This reduction is due to fewer processed asylum cases. Meanwhile, more residence cases were processed, but this did not offset the reduction in processed asylum cases. As in UDI, the increase is greatest for cases related to family immigration. Since 2007, the number of cases processed by UNE has increased by 5 700, but large variations can be seen in the number of cases from one year to the next over the relevant period of time.

Shorter processing time

The processing time for asylum cases in UDI was 98 days in 2011. This is a reduction from 2010 and 2007, when the processing time was 198 and 206 days respectively. The processing time for family reunification cases was 84 days in 2011, which is a decrease of 75 days from 2010.

The processing time for two other major types of cases; Work and residence including EEA and Citizenship, also saw a decrease from 2010 to 2011. In order to measure the processing time, the median processing time is used, which is how long it took to complete the processing of half of the cases in the UDI.

The average processing time for asylum cases in UNE was nine months in 2011, which is 2.5 months more than in 2010. Compared with 2007, the average processing time has fallen by 1.5 months.

The average processing time will normally be somewhat longer than the typical (median) time, since the average was pulled up by a small number of cases that have taken a particularly long time to process.

65 800 first-time immigrants to Norway in 2011

In 2011, 79 500 persons immigrated to Norway, of which just under 65 800 were first-time immigrants. This is an increase of 4 800 first-time immigrants compared to 2010, and 14 000 more than in 2007.

Of the 65 800 first-time immigrants who arrived in Norway in 2011, only 36 per cent needed a residence permit. This is a much lower share than in 2007 and 2008, when as much as 85 per cent of the first-time immigrants in Norway needed a residence permit.

This fall is mainly due to the requirement for non-Nordic EEA nationals to have a residence permit being discontinued on 1 October 2009. Non-Nordic EEA nationals now only need to register with the police the first time they plan to stay in Norway for more than three months. Where their stay is expected to last more than six months they also have to notify the Central Population Register. Until 15 June 2012, nationals from Romania and Bulgaria needed a residence permit for stays of more than three months.