Woman loses residence in Norway over wrong details mother provided
A Kazakhstani woman has been told that her Norwegian residence will be revoked as her mother provided false details when the pair first moved to Norway when she was a child.
The woman, Zarina Saidova, first moved to Norway in 2005 with her mother, who told immigration officials that they were both from Chechnya and not Kazakhstan, public broadcaster NRK reports.
In December last year, Saidova and her mother came clean to the police. In April this year, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) said it was revoking her residence. This is despite Saidova first moving to Norway when she was 13.
READ MORE: How Norway can revoke residency and citizenship over wrong details
The UDI has told NRK that while she was not at fault for incorrect details when she first moved to Norway, she was obliged to inform the authorities of the false information when she turned 18.
“She was obliged to provide correct information about her own identity and citizenship from the time she came of age. This duty is absolute,” the UDI said to NRK.
“The person has several times after she turned 18 deliberately provided incorrect information, including in several applications for travel documents and citizenship,” it added.
The UDI has the right to withdraw residence and citizenship from those who have provided false application details.
Saidova said this duty put her in an impossible position, as it would have meant reporting her mother to the authorities.
“If I had given the correct information, I would, in practice, have given (over) my mother,” she said.
An appeal against the case has been launched, and the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) is dealing with the matter. It said it wouldn’t comment on the issue until it came to a decision.
Despite it being a criminal offence to provide incorrect information to the UDI, immigration authorities can use its own discretion to deal with the revocation of residence permits.
“In the law that deals with revocation, the fact that she will lose her permit is a matter of discretion. This means that you can refrain from revoking (it) when there are strong reasonable grounds for doing so,” Jon Ole Martinsen, spokesperson for the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS), told NRK.
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The woman, Zarina Saidova, first moved to Norway in 2005 with her mother, who told immigration officials that they were both from Chechnya and not Kazakhstan, public broadcaster NRK reports.
In December last year, Saidova and her mother came clean to the police. In April this year, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) said it was revoking her residence. This is despite Saidova first moving to Norway when she was 13.
READ MORE: How Norway can revoke residency and citizenship over wrong details
The UDI has told NRK that while she was not at fault for incorrect details when she first moved to Norway, she was obliged to inform the authorities of the false information when she turned 18.
“She was obliged to provide correct information about her own identity and citizenship from the time she came of age. This duty is absolute,” the UDI said to NRK.
“The person has several times after she turned 18 deliberately provided incorrect information, including in several applications for travel documents and citizenship,” it added.
The UDI has the right to withdraw residence and citizenship from those who have provided false application details.
Saidova said this duty put her in an impossible position, as it would have meant reporting her mother to the authorities.
“If I had given the correct information, I would, in practice, have given (over) my mother,” she said.
An appeal against the case has been launched, and the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) is dealing with the matter. It said it wouldn’t comment on the issue until it came to a decision.
Despite it being a criminal offence to provide incorrect information to the UDI, immigration authorities can use its own discretion to deal with the revocation of residence permits.
“In the law that deals with revocation, the fact that she will lose her permit is a matter of discretion. This means that you can refrain from revoking (it) when there are strong reasonable grounds for doing so,” Jon Ole Martinsen, spokesperson for the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS), told NRK.
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