In 2025, Norwegian authorities issued formal deportation orders (utvisningsvedtak) to 5,002 foreign nationals, according to statistics from UDI.
A deportation order in Norway carries a formal entry ban, which prevents the person from returning to Norway for a certain period, or permanently in serious cases. It can even include a ban from entering the Schengen Area.
Why are foreign nationals deported?
One of the main reasons a foreign resident can be deported from Norway is breaking the Immigration Act. This includes administrative violations like overstaying a visa, working without a valid permit, giving false information on residency applications, or not leaving the country after an asylum or visa refusal.
In 2025, 4,125 orders (which represents 82.5 percent of the total deportation orders) were issued on these grounds.
Foreign nationals can also be expelled from Norway after a criminal conviction, but this is much less common. Last year there were 368 such cases (7.4 percent of all deportation orders).
Contrary to popular belief, EU citizens are not exempt from being expelled from Norway, even though they have freedom of movement under the EEA Agreement.
In 2025, 500 orders (10 percent of all cases) were issued to European nationals. This can happen on grounds such as public order, public security, or abuse of rights.
Which nationalities top Norway's deportation list?
In 2025, most deportation orders were given to nationals from South Asia and West Africa.
India had the highest number of cases with 949 in total. Of these, 941 were for immigration breaches and eight for criminal convictions. Pakistan was next with 918 orders, 917 for immigration breaches and one for a criminal conviction.
There was then a sharp drop. Bangladesh came third with 331 orders (329 for immigration breaches and two for criminal offences), and Nigeria in fourth place with 227 orders (218 for immigration breaches and nine for criminal convictions).
Combined, nationals from these four countries made up nearly 49 percent of all deportation orders in Norway in 2025.
Further down the overall list among non-EEA states were countries like Kenya with 112, Nepal (139), Ghana (111), China (78), the UK (62), Ukraine (59), and the United States with 42.
Australia and Canada recorded just 8 and 10 orders, respectively.
Among the European nationals, the highest number of expulsion orders was issued to citizens from Romania (160), Lithuania (89), Poland (75), and neighbouring Sweden (64), followed by the Netherlands (20), Latvia (13), and Spain (12).
UK nationals top list of convicted criminals deported
The figures show an unexpected trend in criminal deportations. Of the 62 British citizens ordered to leave in 2025, 35 were deported after criminal convictions. This made the UK the country with the most convicted criminals deported from Norway last year, ahead of Ukraine (33), China (31), and the United States (19).
A further 25 Britons were expelled for immigration status violations after losing EU freedom of movement post-Brexit.
READ ALSO: Indians, Brits and Syrians top Norway's permanent residency list
Is the trend increasing?
UDI statistics show a steady increase in expulsions in recent years.
Norwegian authorities recorded 1,210 deportation orders in 2021, 1,894 in 2022, 2,893 in 2023, and 3,302 in 2024. With the total passing the 5,000 mark in 2025, expulsion orders were more than four times higher than four years prior.
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