Focus on ID

Among the proposals are increased funding of border control, strengthening ID competence within the police and a continuation and development of the arrival centre function to enable a more efficient handling of asylum seeker cases in the arrival phase.

The proposal for new organization of the asylum process definitely contains potential improvements. All asylum seekers shall be registered at the same location, and the majority will have their application processed while staying at the centre. A crucial factor of success is a closer cooperation between the National Police Immigration Service and The Directorate of Immigration on ID work at the Råde Arrival Centre. One result of this cooperation will be a swifter clarification of the identity of asylum seekers.

Because the most demanding part of asylum processing is the part that is ID-related. A great number of asylum seekers have residency in Norway with unclarified identity. Clarified identity is a prerequisite for obtaining residency, and this is an important part of the work with returning refugees. Knowing the identity of people residing in Norway is also essential in public security. Apart from quicker processing of asylum cases the combined competence of police and immigration administration in the field of ID can also be more effectively exploited, and this will make way for higher quality.

We have for a long time been arguing for better ID assessments in the arrival phase, and we are now looking forward to seeing the results of cooperation at Råde. The Norwegian ID Centre will do our best to support the new centre by contributing to higher competence, methods, professional advice and specific help on the most demanding cases.