Life in a new country can prove to be a big challenge with even bigger rewards for perseverance.
However, not hailing from Norway can create an uneven playing field and make things much harder than they would be if you were Norwegian.
Sometimes, one of the easiest ways for someone to spot you come from a different background is by having a non-Norwegian name.
Foreign residents having issues due to a foreign name has proved an issue for internationals in Norway for many years. It has been discussed both on social media sites like Reddit and in the Norwegian media, such as in this report by public broadcaster NRK.
We put out a survey asking our readers how they had been affected. The sample size was quite small overall, and surveys of this nature tend to attract people who have had bad experiences. However, everyone who did respond said that having a foreign name had impacted their life in Norway.
Rosie, 26, who lives in Oslo, said that she felt a foreign name affected her chances of landing a job.
“I have been applying for many jobs that I feel like I am more than qualified for and getting nothing back,” she wrote.
She wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Simon said it felt like applications weren’t even looked at after a foreign name was spotted.
“Often find that resumes are not even viewed after seeing surname, and requested help is often met with blank refusal compared to patience and assistance with Norwegian friends and colleagues,” Simon, 40, said.
Muhammad, 34, who lives in Bærum, also felt the same regarding his career prospects.
“It’s almost like Norwegians don’t care about experience or merit but rather just about their language and a Norwegian name. The level of risk associated to a person with a foreign name, degree or even face increases tenfold,” he said.
In fact, the majority of those who did respond to the survey said that they felt their career was held back by the fact they didn’t have a Norwegian or Scandinavian name.
“I was told by my boss once that I had no chance of being promoted because I wasn’t Norwegian,” Phillip, 65, who lives in Oslo, said.
“There is systemic racism in Norway against anyone foreign. But it’s not hatred as such it’s simple descrimination. You really have to prove yourself much more than Norwegians do,” he added.
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Param, 35, was among those to say that a foreign name affected their career path in Oslo but also added that it made things like finding a place to live harder.
“The a way physician talks to me or the way people avoid renting their property to me,” he wrote when asked about the ways having a foreign name affected the way he was treated.
Param isn’t alone in this. In a previous survey on renting in Norway, several readers shared how landlords wouldn’t respond to their requests, and they needed to get their Norwegian partner to intervene on their behalf.
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