Norway advertises stricter asylum rules in Afghan newspapers

OSLO Norway is telling Afghans that its door is not as open as it was to migrants, advertising its stricter asylum rules in Afghan newspapers as part of a campaign to limit the number of people hoping to reach the Nordic country for protection. 

 It is also using social media. The country's justice ministry has a Facebook page called "Stricter asylum regulations in Norway," and the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has tweeted about new rules in Pashto, Dari and English.

Norway expects to receive some 35,000 asylum seekers this year, triple what it was last year, but still a relatively modest number compared with neighboring Sweden.

The government tightened the country's asylum rules last Friday in a bid to stem the sharp rise of arrivals.

The headline of the ads, on the front pages of the Afghanistan Times and the Hasht-e-subh newspapers, read "Stricter immigration regulations in Norway - important information!". 

The print campaign began on Monday. A justice ministry spokesman said they may run next week as well and that Norway was considering doing the same in other countries. 

One of the largest groups of asylum seekers are Afghans. Norway considers Kabul relatively safe even though much of Afghanistan remains chronically unstable amid continued fighting between the Western-backed government and Taliban militants. - Read More at Reuters

Norway advertises stricter asylum rules in Afghan newspapers