Dato: 22.11.2024 Svartype: Med merknad I have strong opposition to the proposal to repeal Section 46 of the Immigration Act for people with Indian background who are Norwegian citizens or hold permanent residence permits. Objection is for the parents of Indians residing in Norway to be interpreted and perceived as asylum seekers and refugees and are compared with asylum seekers and refugees from Russia, China, Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea and other countries struggling with civil war or social and political unrest in their home country. India does not have that! We interpret this proposal as inadequately assessed, and in violation of the rights of immigrants who come from one of the largest democracies in the world with high social values, which contribute to stimulating the Norwegian economy and society in general in line with income and purchasing power. Should the proposal be accepted, it would constitute injustice for citizens of Indian origin in modern times in the EU and Norway. There is a need to find a different solution for asylum seekers and refugees than for labor immigrants and to do the right thing for taxpayers who want to work and live in Norway. For ex. have Health Insurance requirements instead of canceling the immigration itself. Ground realities are that: - Section 46 of the Immigration Act is not a general right, but a carefully crafted provision with clear and narrow qualification criteria: - Applicants must be over 60 years of age. - They must be single and without close family in their home country. - The sponsored child in Norway must demonstrate financial ability to support them. - The low number of applications (250 in 2023, with only 150 approvals) emphasizes that this is not a provision that is prone to abuse. It is targeted and manageable. - A 9-month visitor visa for 90 days is very unsuitable because it must be applied for each time, has a travel ban of 180 days, costs for each application, and is too much hassle with documents. - 9-month visitor visa is a good fit because it is timely but costs more than 10-12 thousand NOK in fees and is often rejected with fee loss, very bad because it has to be applied for every time, has a travel ban of 180 days left, costs for each application, too much hassle with documents. SSB Norway has statistics that Indians, among immigrants in Norway, are highly educated and skilled workers, businessmen and employers who create value in Norwegian society and stimulate the Norwegian economy. They do not make any trouble or noise and are well integrated into Norwegian society. Average earnings for Indian households are well over 1 million NOK a year due to high competence and willingness to create value in society within ICT, health, research, oil and gas technology to name a few fields. Indian immigrants come to Norway of their own free will and work mostly in highly skilled and demanding industries in Norway and meet the requirements to pay taxes, make less use of welfare and health services, and ARE value-creating citizens. In modern times, we believe that the immigration department must look at the bigger picture and that refugee policy must be changed. Grandparents strengthen Indian households by looking after grandchildren, maintaining good family ties and creating support systems in immigrant households, which contributes to important family support for example babysitting. It is easily available to the Norwegian population otherwise! Supporting the family in such ways is part of Norwegian social values. Indians who accept their parents take full financial responsibility for health services, housing, daily needs, and are thus the least possible burden on the welfare state, in addition to the fact that there are so few people granted asylum from India. With the proposed repeal there is very little to gain and more harm. In 14 years, 1,600 elderly people have come to Norway under this scheme. I believe that the assessment made by the Immigration Department that all these 1,600 people constitute a pressure on the Norwegian health care system and burden nursing home places in Norway cannot be correct. I would like to know more about it. We believe that elderly parents from India move to Norway to be able to live with children and grandchildren, and do not come here with the goal or intention of staying in a hospital or elderly care services. Contributions from Indians in volunteer activities over the years have been incredibly good- for example a. Total hours on Christmas card distribution: Approximately 1000 hours per year (for 3 years in a row, started before covid!): More children (more than 100 families) participate together with parents in Asker, Drammen and Oslo, motivation to reach out to Old residents started as a reflection to the children's own grandparents who they could not reach out to during covid times! b. Beach cleaning and other related activities for example monthly nursing home visits: around 500 hours Locations: Stavanger, Drammen, Sandefjord, Asker, Oslo, Trondheim c. Dandiya for Sewa annual activities: Every year more than 2500 people participated and bought tickets for social assistance (the main part of the contribution goes to Norwegian NGOs such as the Norwegian Cancer Society in ) - total amount of over 1.2 million NOK in 6 years. More than 1000 hours of volunteer work. Sewa Norway , Orgnr: 934250796 Sewanorway.org and some more NGOs. New Free Trade Agreement between India and Norway (EFTA)- https://www.innovasjonnorge.no/artikkel/ny-frihandelsavtale-mellom-india-og-norge-efta . There are good reasons for Norway to open a free trade agreement with India and it prefers that Norway re-evaluate the relationship between Norway and India for the exchange of expertise in the big picture, both long-term and not tightened. We believe that India cannot be lumped together with other high-risk and sanctioned countries. Germany opens up to Indian workers- Ref- Germany Introduces Several Measures to Attract Indian Skilled Workers- https://schengen.news/germany-to-increase-work-visas-for-skilled-indians-from-20000-to-90000/ https://www.dw.com/en/germany-promises-india-more-visas-for-skilled-workers/a-70601884 Facts and references from SBB about Indians living in Norway Crime Indicted persons: https://www.ssb.no/statbank/sq/10104137 Punished persons: https://www.ssb.no/statbank/sq/10104138 https://www.ssb.no/statbank/sq/10104139 Employability and sick leave The sick leave statistics are not divided by country, only by continent. https://www.ssb.no/statbank/table/12908/ https://www.ssb.no/statbank/table/12909/ Election turnout by gender in both types of elections, parliamentary elections and local elections. Parliamentary elections (last election): https://www.ssb.no/statbank/sq/10104141 For previous elections there are different tables. See under Completed time series: https://www.ssb.no/statbank/list/valgdeltakelse Number of Indians in Norway. These are figures as of 1.1.2024 divided by immigrants and Norwegian-born with immigrant parents: https://www.ssb.no/statbank/sq/10104145 . 4. Suggestions for improvements - The Ministry can find a possible solution with private health insurance and/or deductible in Norway for parents in family reunification or some similar arrangement. - The Ministry should consider the long-term social and cultural benefits of retaining and adapting to strategic countries outside the EU, especially India rather than the supposed short-term economic savings. 5. Impacts of the proposal - Many Indians will have to move abroad if it turns out that Norway is not good enough to live and work in. And we believe that it is a loss for both Norwegian society and Indians who are a good match. Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet Til høringen Til toppen <div class="page-survey" data-page-survey="133" data-page-survey-api="/api/survey/SubmitPageSurveyAnswer" data-text-hidden-title="Tilbakemeldingsskjema" data-text-question="Fant du det du lette etter?"
