Today, people living outside the European Economic Area (EEA) need a special authorization to apply for jobs in Norway. Companies in northern Norway have for many years tried to import Russian labour, but bureaucracy has made it very difficult.
The new bill, which the Norwegian Minister of labour and social inclusion Bjarne Håkon Hanssen will present in Kirkenes on Friday, will remove most of this bureaucracy. All persons with a job offer in Norway, no matter which country they origin from, can now get a work permit without endless red tape, Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen reports. For northern Norway there will be established special regulations for Russian labour. This will turn northern Norway and Northwest Russia into one joint labour market, just like the EEA is today.
It will now be up to the companies themselves to regulate the work immigration. As long as the person serves the company’s purpose, the Norwegian Government sees no reason to deny the work immigrant the right to work in Norway.
Minister Hansen has long looked for ways to make it easier for qualified work force from outside the EEA to be able to apply for jobs in Norway. Shortage of labour is the main argument for passing the new bill. Hansen underlines that there will be strict control to prevent that foreign labour are being exploited with low wages.
