Norwegian government expands list of safe areas in Ukraine: people living there will not be able to receive collective protection in Norway
The Norwegian government has recognized several other regions of Ukraine as safe. From now on, people living there will not be able to receive collective protection in Norway.
This was announced by the Norwegian Directorate for Foreigners (UDI), Censor.NET reports.
On January 13, the Directorate recognized several more regions of Ukraine as safe.
From now on, Norway considers the following regions of Ukraine safe:
- Cherkasy region;
- Chernivtsi; and
- Ivano-Frankivsk;
- Khmelnytskyi;
- Kirovograd region;
- Kyiv (region, not city);
- Lviv region;
- Poltava; Poltava;
- Rivne region;
- Ternopil region;
- Vinnytsia region;
- Volyn region;
- Transcarpathian;
- Zhytomyr region.
If a person applying for protection in Norway lived in a "safe" area, the application will be considered on an individual basis. The criteria for individual protection in Norway are much stricter than for collective protection.
In particular, it is taken into account whether the Ukrainian authorities can provide protection to a person. The change applies only to those who have applied for protection since September 28, 2024 and have not received a response to their application by January 13. It also applies to those who apply for protection after January 13, 2025.
