Witnesses in human trafficking cases to be granted residence in Norway

On 1 November, the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion sent instructions to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) with a view to ensuring that people who testify in criminal cases relating to human trafficking are given residence permits.

“The purpose of these instructions is both to ensure that victims of human trafficking can testify without fear of retaliation in their country of origin, and to make sure that we catch more ringleaders,” says State Secretary Libe Rieber-Mohn of the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion.

The instructions are intended to ensure that, as a main rule, victims of human trafficking shall be given a residence permit that forms the basis for a settlement permit. This is a good measure that will make it easier to persuade the women to testify against the ringleaders, while at the same time ensuring guaranteeing the safety of the women involved.

The fight against human trafficking is one of the Government's focus areas. Human trafficking is a cynical industry in which the ringleaders make billions. The victims have a central role, and they are often decisive in terms of bringing criminal charges and convicting the ringleaders.  If the victims risk being sent out of the country after a criminal case, they are vulnerable to further harassment and abuse in their countries of origin. The new instructions allow permanent work or residence permits for Norway to be issued to the persons in question.