Norway to deport 83-year-old woman over failed residency application
An 83-year-old woman, who lives in Norway with her daughter, has been told she must return to Japan by December 28th after her application for a residence card was turned down and her appeal rejected.
Takako Ellefsen, who has lived in Norway three times during various stages of her life and was married to a Norwegian for 46 years, was told by immigration authorities that she had not met the conditions to be granted a residence permit, public broadcaster NRK reports.
Ellefsen, who is Japanese, had previously lived in Norway during the 60s and late 2000s before relocating to Norway again in 2020. She had hoped to remain in Norway for the rest of her life before being buried next to her husband, who died in 2009, in Stavanger.
"This is very sad and hard to think about," Klara Johanne Ellefsen, Takako's daughter, told NRK.
Her mother had applied to the Norwegian Immigration Directorate (UDI) for a residence card as an EEA national's family member, with Klara Johanne as the reference person (the person she was moving to be with).
The UDI initially rejected the application on November 21st 2021, before the appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) was turned down at the beginning of December this year.
Despite the mother and daughter moving into a new apartment in Stavanger recently, Takako's daughter said that the two would have to move to Japan as her mother can't care for herself.
"She cannot live alone. She is old and needs help. Then I have to sell the flat and move back to Japan with her," she told NRK.
Insurance and pensions issues behind the decision
NRK, which has seen the UDI's decision, reports it was decided that Ellefsen is not dependent on her daughter for support to cover her needs as she receives a private pension.
"UDI assesses that the pension you (the applicant) receive should cover your basic needs and that the condition of need for maintenance is therefore not met. Therefore, even if you have received money from the EEA citizen (the daughter) over a long period, the UDI believes that you do not need support to cover your basic needs in your home country," the decision letter read.
The UNE, which turned down the appeal, also pointed to her health insurance in Japan and said it wasn't comprehensive enough to apply to Norway, which also influenced the decision.
"Such insurance should, among other things, cover all expenses that may arise from treatment in the Norwegian healthcare system," Bjørn Lyster, director of communications at the UNE, told NRK.
The UNE also said in its decision that it had considered her personal connection to Norway. Norway's immigration regulations allow exceptions for a strong connection to Norway, such as family and previous residence.
However, its decision found that there weren't grounds enough to grant the appeal based on Ellefsen's ties to Norway.
"UNE has assessed the information that the complainant has a special connection to Norway due to family and previous residence, but has, after an overall assessment, come to the conclusion that a residence permit will not be granted in this case," it wrote in its decision.
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Takako Ellefsen, who has lived in Norway three times during various stages of her life and was married to a Norwegian for 46 years, was told by immigration authorities that she had not met the conditions to be granted a residence permit, public broadcaster NRK reports.
Ellefsen, who is Japanese, had previously lived in Norway during the 60s and late 2000s before relocating to Norway again in 2020. She had hoped to remain in Norway for the rest of her life before being buried next to her husband, who died in 2009, in Stavanger.
"This is very sad and hard to think about," Klara Johanne Ellefsen, Takako's daughter, told NRK.
Her mother had applied to the Norwegian Immigration Directorate (UDI) for a residence card as an EEA national's family member, with Klara Johanne as the reference person (the person she was moving to be with).
The UDI initially rejected the application on November 21st 2021, before the appeal to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) was turned down at the beginning of December this year.
Despite the mother and daughter moving into a new apartment in Stavanger recently, Takako's daughter said that the two would have to move to Japan as her mother can't care for herself.
"She cannot live alone. She is old and needs help. Then I have to sell the flat and move back to Japan with her," she told NRK.
Insurance and pensions issues behind the decision
NRK, which has seen the UDI's decision, reports it was decided that Ellefsen is not dependent on her daughter for support to cover her needs as she receives a private pension.
"UDI assesses that the pension you (the applicant) receive should cover your basic needs and that the condition of need for maintenance is therefore not met. Therefore, even if you have received money from the EEA citizen (the daughter) over a long period, the UDI believes that you do not need support to cover your basic needs in your home country," the decision letter read.
The UNE, which turned down the appeal, also pointed to her health insurance in Japan and said it wasn't comprehensive enough to apply to Norway, which also influenced the decision.
"Such insurance should, among other things, cover all expenses that may arise from treatment in the Norwegian healthcare system," Bjørn Lyster, director of communications at the UNE, told NRK.
The UNE also said in its decision that it had considered her personal connection to Norway. Norway's immigration regulations allow exceptions for a strong connection to Norway, such as family and previous residence.
However, its decision found that there weren't grounds enough to grant the appeal based on Ellefsen's ties to Norway.
"UNE has assessed the information that the complainant has a special connection to Norway due to family and previous residence, but has, after an overall assessment, come to the conclusion that a residence permit will not be granted in this case," it wrote in its decision.
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