Priority area 4 – Involuntary stays abroad
Youth informant in the report It wasn’t just a holiday by the Expert Group on Children and Young People Who Are Left Abroad Against Their Will (2020) (available in Norwegian only).
The Government will strengthen its efforts to prevent involuntary stays abroad and safeguard individuals who are subjected to, or who are at risk of being subjected to, such stays abroad.
Involuntary stays abroad is a serious form of negative social control and involves a person being sent, taken or left behind abroad against their will. Both children and adults may be subjected to involuntary stays abroad. Preventing individuals from being subjected to involuntary stays abroad is a priority area for the Government.
In line with the terminology used in Norwegian Official Report (NOU) 2024: 13 Lov og frihet [Law and Freedom] (available in Norwegian only) this Action Plan uses both the term involuntary stay abroad and harmful stay abroad to describe several different situations that children and adults may experience when staying abroad. See further description under the section on Terms.
There are various reasons why parents send their children out of the country. There may be a desire for the children not to become ‘too Norwegian’ and for them to have a stronger connection to the culture of their parents’ country of origin. Other reasons include alternative schooling, behavioural problems, substance abuse or negative experiences from contact with the support system in Norway. Children and young people who are at risk of being taken abroad against their will may fear the consequences of resisting the journey. Adults, who have the legal right to make decisions about their own lives, may find that their families do not accept them making independent choices.
In principle, Norwegian acts and regulations do not apply abroad. Those located in another country must comply with that country’s legislation. However, under certain conditions, Norwegian criminal law applies to certain criminal offences committed abroad, including forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Essentially, it is a requirement that either the perpetrator or the victim is a Norwegian citizen or resident of Norway. Cases involving negative social control and honour-motivated violence are particularly challenging if they involve circumstances that are punishable under Norwegian law, but are not necessarily punishable in the country in which the person is staying. Once someone has been taken abroad, it may therefore be too late to prevent them from being subjected to negative social control and honour-motivated violence.
It is important that employees in both the ordinary and specialised services are aware of the risk of involuntary stays abroad and know how to prevent, identify and avert such stays. It is also important that parents are aware of the consequences of subjecting their children to involuntary stays abroad.
Individuals who return to Norway after an involuntary stay abroad may have significant follow-up needs from the service system. The specialised services report that boys and young men in particular who are assisted in returning to Norway have few adapted support services on arrival. Behavioural problems, substance abuse and crime may be reasons why boys and young men are sent on involuntary stays abroad. A lack of follow-up when they return to Norway can lead to a risk of them returning to the same environment. The Government wants to ensure that individuals returning to Norway from involuntary stays abroad receive comprehensive and coordinated follow-up.
This Action Plan strengthens both the preventive work and the follow-up of vulnerable people returning to Norway after an involuntary stay abroad, with measures in the following areas:
- Strengthen the legal safeguards of individuals who are or are at risk of being subjected to an involuntary stay abroad
- Comprehensive and coordinated follow-up before, during and after an involuntary stay abroad
Measure 25: Proposal for travel bans etc.
Norwegian Official Report (NOU) (2024) 13 Lov og frihet [Law and Freedom] (available in Norwegian only) contains several proposals for legislative amendments that would strengthen the legal safeguards of individuals subjected to involuntary stays abroad.
The Government aims to present proposals on:
- a travel ban for children and young people who are at risk of being subjected to harmful stays abroad, and the possibility of penalising anyone who takes a minor out of the country in violation of such a travel ban.
- amendments to the passport legislation and rules on information exchange/duty to provide information when issuing, refusing or revoking passports and travel documents to ensure that the travel ban has the necessary effect.
Responsible government ministries: Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion, Ministry of Children and Families and Ministry of Justice and Public Security
Measure 26: Measures before, during and after an involuntary stay abroad
Norwegian Official Report (NOU) (2024) 13 Lov og frihet [Law and Freedom] (available in Norwegian only) proposed a package of measures before, during and after an involuntary stay abroad. The Government believes that the proposals are important and will help to strengthen efforts to prevent children and adults from being subjected to such stays abroad. The Government will review the proposals in NOU 2024: 13. This will be a highly prioritised effort.
- a. The Government will particularly consider:
- whether the Penal Code – including the provision on the duty to avert a criminal act – adequately protects children from harmful stays abroad.
- the possibility of a continued residence permit in Norway if the residence permit has lapsed as a result of the stay abroad.
- clarification of the child welfare services’ responsibilities and jurisdiction in cases concerning children who may be subjected to involuntary stays abroad.
- Responsible government ministries: Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Ministry of Children and Families, and Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion
- b. Establish regulations for a scheme for coverage of expenses to return to Norway
- The Government will consider proposals to establish regulations for a scheme to cover the expenses of persons who are abroad and who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, negative social control, forced marriage or female genital mutilation, to return to Norway.
- Responsible government ministries: Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- c. Extraordinary admission to upper secondary education and training after returning from an involuntary stay abroad
- For children and young people who return to Norway after an involuntary stay abroad, it is important to give them the opportunity to reintegrate into Norwegian society. The Ministry of Education and Research will in particular consider the proposal from NOU 2024: 13 on admission to upper secondary education and training after the application deadlines for pupils returning to Norway after an involuntary stay abroad.
- Responsible government ministry: Ministry of Education and Research, in co-operation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion
Measure 27: Explore the possibility of suspending public benefits and child benefits in the event of harmful stays abroad
In NOU 2024: 13, the Committee proposes a new penal provision on harmful stays abroad for children, which will make it a criminal offence for parents to send children abroad where there is a serious risk that the child will be subjected to criminal offences, etc. The payment of public benefits and child benefits to parents who subject their children to harmful stays abroad may be perceived as public funding and legitimisation of such conduct. In cases involving international child abduction, the legislation allows for the suspension of public benefits and child benefits, see the Act of 6 June 2014, No. 19 relating to the stoppage of public benefits and child benefits when one parent has abducted a child to another country.
The Government will investigate the suspension of public benefits and child benefits in cases where children are subjected to harmful stays abroad.
Responsible government ministries: Ministry of Children and Families and Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion
Measure 28: Investigate the possibility of establishing a right and duty to undergo education and qualification for individuals who have returned to Norway after an involuntary stay abroad
Individuals who are in the target group for the introduction programme, but who are withheld from participation due to abuse, negative social control, honour-motivated violence or involuntary stays abroad, may lose their right to participate in the introduction programme if the participant has extensive absences for which permission has not been granted. Individuals who have been held back abroad against their will may be granted a residence permit pursuant to Section 8-9 of the Norwegian Immigration Regulations. Individuals with such a residence permit are not in the target group for introduction programmes under the Norwegian Integration Act. They may have lost their language skills and need to undergo education and qualification upon return to Norway.
The Government will investigate whether individuals who have been held back abroad against their will and have a residence permit pursuant to Section 8-9 of the Norwegian Immigration Regulations should be given the right and duty to undergo the introduction programme. The Government will also investigate how individuals who are in the target group for the introduction programme may retain their rights when they are withheld from participation against their will.
Responsible government ministry: Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion
Box 18: Assistance to victims abroad
Every year, the foreign service provides assistance in around 250 cases involving negative social control and honour-motivated violence abroad. The Norwegian Embassies in Amman, Ankara, Islamabad, and Nairobi have special representatives on integration issue. Most individuals who receive assistance have a connection to a country in the Middle East, East Africa or South Asia. Many of the victims have dual citizenship, which may affect whether Norwegian authorities can offer certain forms of consular assistance. Many are also travelling to countries where Norway has limited or no consular presence.
The Norwegian authorities are particularly limited in what they can do if the victim is under the age of 18.
Norway is a party to the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children of 1996 and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980. Bufdir is the central authority for both conventions. Norwegian authorities can utilise one or both conventions in cases where a child has been taken abroad. However, both conventions presuppose that Norway and the country to which the child has been taken have entered into formal co-operation. The conventions cannot be applied to countries with which Norway does not have formal co-operation.
The Government has presented a white paper on consular assistance and assistance from Norwegian authorities in crisis situations abroad: Meld. St. 18 (2024–2025) Når uhellet er utenlands. Konsulær bistand og bistand fra norske myndigheter i krisesituasjon i utlandet [When trouble strikes abroad – Consular assistance and assistance from the Norwegian authorities in crisis situations abroad], white paper from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Among other things, the white paper discusses the foreign service’s scope of action to provide assistance to individuals subjected to negative social control and honour-motivated violence abroad
Box 19: Regarding funding of trips abroad
It has become known through the media that some child welfare services have funded trips abroad. These have been both voluntary, short journeys, but also longer, involuntary stays that later turned out to be harmful. Even in cases where the child welfare services believe they have control, it is important to emphasise that Norwegian law does not apply abroad. No potentially harmful stays abroad are to be facilitated and shall not be financed by the services. This is clear advice and an expectation for municipalities to prevent the risk of these types of harmful stays abroad. The annual emergency preparedness letter sent to county authorities, municipalities, and county governors before the summer holidays addresses funding from the child welfare services for stays abroad. The aim is to prevent the risk of harmful stays abroad for children and young people. See also the guidelines here: Barn i utlandet – retningslinjerom etterlatte barn i utlandet [Children abroad – Guidelines for children left behind abroad] | Bufdir (available in Norwegian only)
Measure 29: Better safeguarding of individuals subjected to involuntary stays abroad
Several reports underscore the need for better follow-up of individuals subjected to involuntary stays abroad.
The expert team against negative social control and honour-based violence is the focal point for the foreign service and coordinates reception and follow-up with the service system in Norway in cases where victims are assisted to return to Norway.
The Government will:
- strengthen co-operation between the expert team, Norwegian foreign service missions and other relevant public services in the follow-up of individuals subjected to involuntary stays abroad. The work will include updating and strengthening information, developing guidelines/guides and other initiatives that can help clarify responsibilities.
- consider further measures to better safeguard individuals returning to Norway from an involuntary stay abroad.
Responsible government ministries: Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Box 20: Pilot – housing programme for individuals returning from involuntary stays abroad
In 2024, the Government launched a pilot scheme with a housing and support programme for individuals over the age of 18 who have returned from an involuntary stay abroad. The service is an extension of existing housing and support services for individuals subjected to negative social control and honour-based violence (see Box 4). An external evaluation will be initiated towards the end of the pilot period.
The background to the pilot scheme is the report It wasn’t just a holiday by the Expert Group on Children and Young People Who Are Left Abroad Against Their Will (2020) (available in Norwegian only), which highlighted the need for a service for young people returning from stays abroad, but who do not meet the criteria for accommodation under the existing housing and support services.
The target group for the pilot scheme is individuals who have returned from an involuntary stay abroad, and
- are, or have been subjected to, negative social control and/or honour-motivated violence,
- are in need of housing and support services, and adapted environmental therapeutic follow-up and
- have significant assistance needs and/or additional problems such as substance abuse, crime and/or physical and mental health challenges.