Norway has expanded the list of Ukrainian regions from which it will not accept refugees.

The Norwegian government has expanded the list of regions in Ukraine that it considers safe. Residents of these areas will not be able to receive collective protection in Norway. This is stated in a report from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration.

In September 2024, the Norwegian government designated only the western regions of Ukraine as safe. These include Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, Volyn, and Zakarpattia regions.

However, the Directorate for Foreign Affairs assessed the security situation in Ukraine and on January 13 added eight more regions to the list of safe Ukrainian areas. The new additions are:

• Cherkasy region;
• Chernivtsi region;
• Khmelnytskyi region;
• Kirovohrad region;
• Kyiv region, excluding the city;
• Poltava region;
• Vinnytsia region;
• Zhytomyr region.

It is noted that the Norwegian government considers safe those regions of Ukraine where "the Ukrainian authorities largely control the situation, and Russia has little or no control and influence." If an asylum seeker in Norway has lived for the past six months in a region that the country has designated as safe, they are likely to be denied collective protection.

However, if a resident of a safe region applies for asylum in Norway, the country will consider the application on an individual basis.

“The criteria for obtaining individual protection are much stricter than for collective protection. It will be taken into account whether the Ukrainian authorities can provide you with protection. We will also determine if there are areas in Ukraine that are considered safe and suitable for your stay. This will not depend on whether you previously lived in these areas”, the report states.

It should be noted that as of December 2024, according to data from the UN, nearly 78,000 refugees from Ukraine were residing in Norway.