Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper)

Published by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Internet address: www.government.no

Printed by: 07 Xpress AS 08/2012 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper)

Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Translation from the Norwegian. For information only.

Contents Summary and main message ...... 5 5.2 Illness ...... 22 5.3 Theft ...... 23 1Introduction...... 7 5.4 Arrest and prosecution ...... 23 1.1 Background to the white paper .... 7 5.5 Serious criminal cases ...... 24 1.2 What are consular services? ...... 8 5.6 Piracy ...... 25 1.3 Other kinds of assistance to 5.7 Serving a sentence abroad ...... 26 Norwegians abroad ...... 8 5.8 Assistance to minors ...... 26

2Principles and practice ...... 9 6 Administrative assistance ...... 31 2.1 International legal framework ...... 9 6.1 Passports and other Norwegian 2.2 No legal right to consular travel documents ...... 31 assistance ...... 9 6.2 Registration in the National 2.3 Resources for dealing with consular Population Register ...... 32 matters ...... 11 6.3 Surrogacy ...... 33 6.4 Adoption ...... 34 3 International cooperation in 6.5 Solemnisation of marriage ...... 34 the consular field ...... 14 6.6 Deaths ...... 35 3.1 Nordic cooperation in the 6.7 Other assistance ...... 36 consular field ...... 14 3.2 Consular cooperation with the EU 15 7 Assistance in a crisis ...... 37 7.1 Assistance from the Norwegian 4 Who is entitled to assistance, authorities ...... 37 and where and when is it 7.2 International cooperation on crisis provided ...... 16 preparedness and management .... 39 4.1 Who is entitled to assistance ...... 16 4.2 Where and when assistance is 8 Reimbursement of expenses .. 41 provided ...... 17 4.3 Openness and information to the 9 Looking ahead ...... 42 general public ...... 18 4.4 Notification of suspected benefit Appendix fraud ...... 20 1 List of ministries, agencies and organisations consulted in 5 Assistance in critical situations 21 connection with the preparation 5.1 Accidents ...... 21 of the white paper ...... 43 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper)

Recommendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated 1 April 2011, approved by the Council of State on the same date. (Stoltenberg II Government)

Summary and main message

Norwegians are travelling abroad more and more The assistance provided by Norwegian authorities frequently, and an increasing number of Norwe- to Norwegians abroad is based on the principles gian citizens are taking up residence in other of individual responsibility and self-help. The most countries. This has resulted in more, and more important thing people can do to help themselves complex, requests for consular assistance, combi- is to ensure that they have adequate travel insu- ned with high, and at times unrealistic, expecta- rance. tions as to the assistance and support the Norwe- Most consular assistance is provided by Nor- gian authorities can provide to Norwegians way’s 95 embassies and consulates-general. Assis- abroad. tance is also provided by the Foreign Ministry in This white paper discusses the scope and Oslo, for example by the Foreign Service nature of Norway’s consular services today, iden- Response Centre, and the some 380 Norwegian tifies key trends and challenges, and provides gui- honorary consulates, which are spread over large delines for how these activities should be carried parts of the world. The Foreign Service uses an out in the future. It also touches briefly on a num- estimated 200 person-years to assist Norwegian ber of specific problems that arise in connection citizens abroad. with crises abroad where Norwegians are affec- The Nordic countries cooperate closely in the ted. consular field, for example by acting on each The Storting has dealt with individual consular other’s behalf in countries where they do not all cases and various aspects of Norway’s consular have a diplomatic or consular presence, and in cri- efforts on a number of occasions, but has not pre- sis situations. The Government will seek to estab- viously considered Norwegian consular services lish even closer consular cooperation with the as a whole. other Nordic countries, and with the EU in cases In order to reduce the gap between the servi- where this is considered expedient. ces offered and the public’s expectations, it is In this white paper, a distinction is made bet- important that there is general agreement on and ween assistance in emergencies on the one hand, acceptance for the kind of consular assistance that for example in connection with accidents, illness, should be provided and who should be eligible for death, theft and arrests, and more administrative such assistance. support on the other, for example issuing pass- Norwegians abroad are subject to the host ports, solemnising marriage, assistance in adop- country’s legislation. This imposes clear require- tion cases, etc. ments on the individual traveller and sets limits Priority will continue to be given to acute and for the consular assistance that may be provided. serious matters where human life or health is at 6 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad stake, and to cases that could involve violations of try’s operating budget, whereas the individual human rights and those involving minors. concerned is responsible for covering his or her The Government will seek to ensure that, inso- own expenses. Exceptions may be made in com- far as possible, the consular services provided in plex, acute crises. The Norwegian authorities may different parts of the world are as equivalent as also require that their expenses are refunded in possible in comparable cases. However, this is not exceptional cases involving gross negligence and always possible for both formal and practical rea- where preventive considerations weigh heavily. sons. In the Government’s view, higher priority The white paper does not contain proposals for should be given to assisting Norwegians on short any major changes in the consular services that trips abroad than those who are permanently resi- are currently provided. The Government will give dent in the host country. priority to further developing Norway’s consular In accordance with current practice, the For- services so that they continue to be as professio- eign Service’s expenses in connection with consu- nal, effective and efficient as possible in the lar assistance are covered over the Foreign Minis- future. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 7 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

1 Introduction

1.1 Background to the white paper time consular matters are attracting more and more attention, both in the media and among the Every year Norwegians make more than 7 million general public. We have also seen cases of people trips involving overnight stays to other countries, using media coverage to try to get more assis- while some 80 0001 Norwegian citizens are regis- tance from the Norwegian authorities. tered as permanently resident outside Norway. An The Storting has also shown interest in the increasing number of Norwegians are travelling way consular matters are dealt with, particularly abroad and spending longer periods of time out- after the tsunami in 2004, but also subsequently. side the country due to increased trade and inter- This has taken the form of written and oral ques- national cooperation, greater spending power, tions, debates and parliamentary documents such cheaper air tickets and stronger promotion of as Recommendation S. No. 306 (2008–2009), cf. tourism in many places. This trend is expected to the white paper on the main features of Norwe- continue in the years ahead. gian foreign policy (Report No. 15 (2008–2009) to The vast majority of trips abroad proceed with- the Storting). The Storting has drawn attention to out any problems. A small percentage of those the importance of providing professional consular who travel abroad need assistance, but are able to services and emphasised that this is a key task for resolve their problem with the help of their insur- the Norwegian Foreign Service. The Storting has ance company, fellow travellers, friends or rela- been concerned that consular services should be tives. There are many reasons why Norwegians consistently of high quality, but at the same time may need assistance; theft and illness are among made it clear that Norwegian citizens cannot the most common. Only a small percentage of expect to receive the same standard of social wel- those who need help contact the Norwegian fare services abroad as in Norwegian territory. In authorities. However, with the steadily increasing the above-mentioned recommendation, the Stort- number of Norwegians abroad, combined with ing therefore asks the Government to define more new, more exotic travel destinations, there are a clearly the kind of consular services Norwegian growing number of requests from the public for citizens can expect from the Foreign Service and assistance. Requests for assistance are also to ensure that the consular services provided at becoming more complex because many Norwe- the various missions abroad are comparable. gian citizens have close ties with other countries, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has drawn up and extensive legal assistance is often needed. this white paper in response to Norwegians’ At the same time, the eligibility requirements changed travel habits and the increasing number for receiving public assistance are becoming more of Norwegians who are permanently resident stringent. Some people seem to think they are abroad, and with a view to complying with the entitled to the same assistance when they are Storting’s request for a review of consular ser- abroad as in Norway. At times there is a consider- vices. Both government and private actors have able gap between the public’s expectations and provided valuable input.2 the assistance the Norwegian authorities can in The purpose of the white paper is to highlight fact provide under existing legislation and budg- the scope and nature of Norway’s consular activi- ets. ties today, identify key trends and challenges and In other words, the consular field is growing indicate how these activities can be further devel- and becoming increasingly complex. At the same oped to ensure that we can provide professional,

1 The figure is uncertain due to the different registration practices in the various countries and because many Nor- 2 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had meetings with a num- wegians do not register at a Norwegian diplomatic or con- ber of ministries, agencies and other partners in connec- sular mission when they travel abroad. tion with the preparation of this white paper, cf. Appendix 1. 8 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad effective and efficient assistance to Norwegian cit- citizens posted abroad by the Norwegian authori- izens abroad in the years ahead. ties through the Foreign Service and to persons The white paper does not contain proposals for participating in international military operations making any major changes to Norway’s current or other international service is generally not con- consular practices. Nonetheless, in the light of the sidered to be consular assistance and is therefore clear signals given by the Storting and the consid- not discussed further in this white paper. Nor is erable public interest in how the Foreign Service the assistance provided by the Foreign Service to deals with consular matters, the Government con- the Norwegian business sector or efforts to pro- siders that it is appropriate to submit this white mote Norwegian cultural interests abroad. paper to the Storting. The Foreign Service’s contact with Norwe- gians in Norway, for example in connection with a particular foreign policy or development policy 1.2 What are consular services? issue or a commercial matter, is not generally con- sidered to be consular assistance either. Work in Consular services are generally defined as ser- the immigration field, such as dealing with visa vices provided by a country’s authorities to its citi- matters, work and residence permits, etc., is only zens abroad. From the dissolution of the union dealt with briefly in this white paper as it involves with Sweden in 1905 to the end of the 1950s, this assisting foreign citizens who are seeking to come assistance was largely focused on seamen and to Norway and therefore does not come within the businesspeople. Today most of the requests for traditional definition of consular assistance. How- assistance come from tourists and other travel- ever, in the EU and Schengen cooperation, immi- lers, and from Norwegian citizens who have cho- gration matters are considered to be part of the sen to take up residence in another country for consular field.3 shorter or longer periods. In our efforts to further develop consular ser- The most common consular services provided vices that are as professional and consistent as today are assistance to Norwegians in connection possible in a situation where there is growing with theft, illness or accidents, applications for demand for such services, there are several key passports, legalisation of documents and maritime questions that must be answered. For example, matters. However, consular matters cover a wide who is eligible for assistance from the Norwegian range in terms of both complexity and use of authorities? And where and when should such resources, from straightforward questions about assistance be provided? This is discussed in Chap- visa requirements and forwarding of applications, ter 4. Other questions concern the level, scope which normally only take a few minutes to deal and nature of the consular assistance provided, with, to cases involving arrests and child abduc- both in critical and in non-critical situations. These tion, which can require several person-years to fol- are discussed in Chapters 5 and 6. Opportunities low up. and limitations regarding assistance in crisis situa- tions are discussed in Chapter 7. Finally, the white paper gives an account of key challenges and 1.3 Other kinds of assistance to choices in the consular field and the Govern- Norwegians abroad ment’s policy for providing assistance to Norwe- gians abroad in the years ahead. Not all assistance provided by the Norwegian authorities to Norwegians abroad is considered to be consular assistance. Assistance to Norwegian 3 Cf. Chapter 3.2. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 9 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

2 Principles and practice

2.1 International legal framework zens abroad is not only contingent on Norwegian legislation and policies, but also on the legislation Under international law, everyone has a duty to of the country where that person happens to be. comply with the legislation of the country where Norway’s ability to safeguard Norwegian citi- they are staying at any given time. This applies zens’ interests in, or in relation to, another coun- both to the inhabitants of the country and to visi- try may be governed by international agreements, tors. According to international law, the way a in addition to national legislation and basic princi- state exercises authority in its territory is consid- ples of international law. The most important mul- ered to be that state’s internal affairs. However, tilateral agreements for Norway in the consular human rights obligations and other international area are the Vienna Convention on Consular Rela- obligations to which the state is subject set limits tions4 and the Helsinki Treaty on Nordic Coopera- for how the state may treat both its own citizens tion.5 Norway has also entered into a number of and citizens of other countries. bilateral consular agreements. Therefore, the kind of assistance that the Nor- wegian authorities may provide to Norwegian citi- 2.2 No legal right to consular assistance

The primary responsibility for providing assis- Box 2.1 The Vienna Convention tance to Norwegians abroad lies with the Foreign and the Helsinki Treaty Service. According to section 1 of the Foreign Ser- The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations vice Act,6 two of the Foreign Service’s primary provides a comprehensive framework for con- functions are related to consular matters. They sular relations between states. It gives a detai- are as follows: led overview of consular functions and unders- – to provide advice and assistance to Norwegian cores the receiving state’s duty to ensure that citizens in relation to foreign authorities, per- embassies, consulates-general and honorary sons and institutions; and consulates are able to exercise these func- – to provide assistance to Norwegian citizens tions. It also establishes an overall system that abroad, including in connection with criminal enables states to give their citizens consular prosecutions, accidents, illness and death. protection. The Helsinki Treaty forms the basis for The Foreign Service performs functions on its Nordic cooperation. The treaty includes provi- own behalf or on behalf of other Norwegian sions governing consular cooperation bet- authorities and institutions. The provisions of the ween the foreign services of the five Nordic Foreign Service Act are further supplemented by countries and between their missions abroad. the provisions of the Instructions for the Foreign A key provision of the treaty sets out that Service.7 public officials in the foreign services of any of However, Norwegians abroad are not legally the Nordic countries are to assist citizens of entitled to consular assistance.8 This is partly another Nordic country if that country is not represented in the territory concerned. The 4 Vienna Convention of 24 April 1963 on Consular Relations. Nordic cooperation also includes close coope- 5 Treaty of Cooperation of 23 March 1962 between Norway, ration in connection with natural disasters, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. war and other crises. 6 Act of 3 May 2002 No. 13 relating to the Foreign Service. 7 Foreign Service Instructions of 13 December 2003, with comments. 10 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Box 2.2 An example of local rules and customs The rules for the citizens of Dubai, tourists, public and private institutions:

Offence Penalty “Indecent” behaviour (kissing, holding Warning or fine (particularly gross offences may be hands) punishable by imprisonment and/or deportation) Consuming alcohol outside designated areas Fine or imprisonment Purchasing alcohol without a licence to do so Fine or imprisonment Driving while under the influence of Fine, imprisonment and/or deportation – confisca- alcohol tion of vehicle Drug abuse or possession of drugs Fine, imprisonment and deportation Showing disrespect for Islamic customs Fine, imprisonment and deportation and symbols Showing disrespect for the customs and Fine or imprisonment symbols of other religions Using vulgar language Fine or imprisonment Littering and spitting Warning or fine Failing to pick up a pet dog’s excrement Warning or fine Vandalising public facilities Fine Failing to respect the environment and Warning or fine surroundings

because the Norwegian authorities do not have can do to help themselves is to ensure that they enforcement jurisdiction on the territory of other have adequate and valid insurance coverage. An sovereign states. act that in Norway would barely arouse the Nor may the Norwegian authorities force Nor- authorities’ interest may be regarded as a serious wegians abroad to accept assistance. The kind of offence in some countries. A number of people assistance that the Norwegian authorities can pro- have found out the hard way that there is a big dif- vide to Norwegian citizens abroad is contingent ference between being arrested with a small on several sets of legislation, the person’s ties to amount of hashish in Norway and in certain coun- Norway, the country where the person happens to tries of the Middle East. Others have found them- be and the consular resources available. It is selves in difficult situations while visiting parents- always up to the person concerned to decide in-law abroad because their children have been whether or not to contact the Norwegian authori- considered to be citizens of the country in ques- ties and accept any offer of consular assistance. tion, where the legal relationship between parents Self-help is a fundamental principle of all con- and children is very different to that in Norway. It sular assistance. The most important thing people is therefore always important for people to acquaint themselves with the rules and customs 8 According to the legislative history of the Foreign Service of the country they are visiting and to show Act, the rules are not intended to entitle individual citizens respect and understanding when they come up to require that the Foreign Service should intervene in a specific matter. The question whether the Foreign Service against them. is to intervene in a specific matter is subject to the discre- tion of the public administration. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 11 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

2.3 Resources for dealing with The percentage is considerably higher for consular matters many of the honorary consulates. The most important function of many of the consulates is Most of the assistance to Norwegians abroad is providing assistance to Norwegians, particularly provided directly by the 95 Norwegian embassies in areas where there are many Norwegian tourists and consulates-general located in many parts of and large colonies of Norwegian residents, such the world. These are diplomatic career missions9 as in Spain and Greece, as well as in Turkey, Bra- staffed by personnel posted from Norway. Such zil, France, Italy and Cyprus. assistance is also provided by the Ministry of For- In April 2010 the Foreign Service Response eign Affairs in Oslo and Norway’s some 380 hon- Centre (UD-OPS) was established at the Foreign orary consulates, as well as by consulates of the Ministry in Oslo. The centre has a staff of 13 and other Nordic countries in places where Norway is manned around the clock all year round. The does not have a diplomatic or consular presence. centre generally deals with about 100 inquiries The personnel resources devoted to consular concerning consular matters a day. One of its matters vary considerably, from almost none at main tasks is to assist members of the general the embassy in Astana to several person-years at public abroad, as all inquiries addressed to diplo- the embassies in Manila and Bangkok. Altogether matic and consular missions outside normal office the career missions use approximately 150 per- hours are channelled to the centre. Embassies son-years in assisting Norwegians with consular and consulates can also consult the centre on matters, which accounts for more than 13% of complex consular matters at any time. This is their total personnel resources. helping to meet the Storting’s call for greater con- sistency of consular services between missions. 9 A diplomatic career mission is an embassy, permanent mis- The establishment and operation of the centre sion/delegation or other foreign service representation have been funded by reallocating funds within the headed by a foreign service officer posted abroad. A consu- lar career mission is a consulate-general or a consulate hea- Foreign Ministry’s existing budget. The centre ded by a career officer. An honorary consular mission is a will soon have been operating for one year, and consulate-general, consulate or vice-consulate headed by internal evaluations and feedback from members an honorary representative. The term “diplomatic or con- sular mission” is a general term that covers embassies, con- of the public indicate that it has contributed to bet- sulates and missions/delegations. ter and more consistent consular assistance.

Figure 2.1 Total number of person-years in the Foreign Service and total number of person-years used to deal with consular matters 12 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Box 2.3 Tasks of an embassy with Box 2.4 Honorary consulates a heavy consular workload Norway’s aspiration for its own consular ser- The embassy in Athens has some 600 Norwe- vice triggered the dissolution of the union with gians who are permanently resident in its con- Sweden in 1905. To begin with, the consulates sular district, which also includes Cyprus. In had close links with Norwegian shipping and addition, approximately 360 000 Norwegian dealt with the shipping industry’s need for tourists visit Greece and Cyprus every year. assistance. They were therefore concentrated There are eight honorary consulates in in port cities. Dealing with the shipping indus- Greece and one honorary consulate-general in try’s needs is still an important part of the Cyprus. The embassy and consulates have a workload of many consulates, but the focus is heavy consular workload all year round. They increasingly on assistance to individuals and deal with most types of consular matters, the the Norwegian business sector. most common being paternity cases, solemni- Both tasks and workload vary considera- sation of marriage, registration of divorces, bly according to the consulate’s location and deaths, accidents, arrests and detention, vari- the number of Norwegians there. Some con- ous health and social welfare matters, includ- sulates in remote locations have very little ing mental illness, substance abuse and com- work in connection with Norwegians in need, pulsory committal, as well as repatriation, loss whereas others use most of their resources on of passports and emergency loans. The such tasks. embassy also deals with inquiries from the The honorary consuls perform their duties Greek police concerning verification of Nor- for Norway and Norwegian citizens without wegian travel documents on a regular basis, any remuneration from Norway. Only costs in and provides assistance and advice to Norwe- connection with duties performed in their offi- gians who are the aggrieved party, a witness cial capacity and, in some cases, office or the defendant in a court case. expenses are covered by the Norwegian authorities. An important part of the honorary consulates’ duties and income has been in con- nection with immigration and passport mat- A total of 20 people work full time on consular ters. The work in these areas has been reor- matters in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addi- ganised, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tion, a number of people are involved in legal, currently considering how many honorary communication-related and other aspects of con- consulates Norway should have, what tasks sular matters. Including the administrative sup- they should perform and how they should be port functions, it is estimated that the Foreign Ser- financed. Norwegians’ travel habits and need vice uses some 200 person-years to assist Norwe- for assistance are important considerations in gian citizens abroad. this assessment. All individual decisions of the public adminis- The need for a consular presence and the tration may be appealed in accordance with the type of consular services required will be Public Administration Act.10 This also applies to taken fully into account in the planning of the decisions relating to consular matters. Some Foreign Service’s future structure, including appeals are to be dealt with by the ministry con- the network of career missions and honorary cerned or other competent agency, for example consulates. appeals concerning the issuing of passports are to be dealt with by the Police Directorate. Every year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs receives a few dozen complaints concerning consular matters. Most of them are complaints about legislation. eign Service takes all complaints seriously, values Only a few of them concern the treatment of a per- all constructive feedback, and seeks to apply les- son in need of assistance. Nonetheless, the For- sons learned to provide even better consular ser- vices in the future. A small percentage of these inquiries concern 10 Act of 10 February 1967 No. 10 relating to procedure in cases concerning the public administration (the Public allegations of various forms of corruption. There Administration Act). is zero tolerance for corruption in the Foreign Ser- 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 13 Assistance to Norwegians abroad vice, and a whistleblowing channel has been established for registering anonymous inquiries and following them up in an appropriate manner. Box 2.5 Lessons learned Requests have occasionally been made for an A Norwegian citizen became entangled in a open hearing in the Storting on the way the For- legal nightmare in the Philippines and was eign Service has dealt with a specific consular unable to leave the country. His case became matter. However, on the basis of written informa- publicly known in 2004 through a series of tion from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the articles in a Norwegian newspaper. It came to Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitu- light that the Foreign Service did not have a tional Affairs found that there was no need for a good enough understanding of or failed to hearing in these cases. deal with a number of fundamental issues at The costs connected with consular tasks are any early enough stage, and that it failed to covered over the regular operating budgets of the ensure adequate transfer of information due to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic and staff rotation. This case has since been used in consular missions. On several occasions, the Min- in-house training in the Ministry of Foreign istry has reallocated personnel and economic Affairs in order to improve the Foreign Ser- resources in connection with particularly demand- vice’s ability to provide adequate, timely assis- ing consular matters. Substantial economic and tance. personnel resources have been used in special cases, such as that of the two Norwegian citizens who have been sentenced to death in DR Congo. In extraordinary situations, for example in con- nection with the tsunami in 2004 and the evacua- tion from Lebanon in 2006, the Storting has allo- cated extra funds for assisting Norwegians abroad. 14 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

3 International cooperation in the consular field

International cooperation in the consular field is based on the Vienna Convention on Consular Rela- tions,11 supplemented by other multilateral and Box 3.2 Nordic cooperation in the bilateral agreements. consular field In autumn 2010, the Norwegian Embassy in an African country was informed that a Danish 3.1 Nordic cooperation in the citizen had been arrested for having over- consular field stayed his tourist visa. The Norwegian Embassy immediately contacted the Danish The Nordic countries have cooperated closely in Embassy in the closest African country. After the administrative and consular fields ever since obtaining the Danish Embassy’s approval, the the Nordic Passport Union was established12 and Norwegian Embassy contacted a local lawyer the Helsinki Treaty concluded. There has also and the authorities of the country where the been close cooperation between the Nordic for- Danish citizen was being detained. The Dan- eign services, both at ministry level and between ish citizen was released on bail one month the diplomatic and consular missions in third later and left the country a few days after that. countries. The Danish authorities have expressed their With the exception of Iceland, which has limi- appreciation to the Norwegian Embassy for its ted opportunities to provide consular services assistance in the matter. because of its size, all the Nordic countries pro- vide roughly the same type and level of consular services. There are, however, differences as regards internal organisation and resource use. eign ministries. Diplomatic and consular officers The Nordic countries cooperate closely on an posted abroad from the Nordic countries have ongoing basis in the consular field. Nordic wor- local meetings to keep in contact and coordinate king groups have been established in a number of their activities. consular areas, and senior officials from the five The intensity of the consular cooperation countries meet on a regular basis to coordinate between the Nordic diplomatic and consular mis- their activities and exchange information. There sions varies from place to place – from physical co- are also exchanges of officials between the for- location and joint administrative support func- tions, to joint visa sections and mutual representa- tion in visa cases, as well as mutual assistance in consular cases in connection with major incidents. The Nordic embassies also generally cooperate Box 3.1 The Nordic Passport Union closely on crisis management and emergency pre- 13 The Nordic Passport Union was established paredness. on 1 July 1954. It allows citizens of the Nordic There is general agreement between the Nor- countries to travel freely across borders in the dic countries on the importance of further devel- Nordic region without carrying a passport, oping and strengthening cooperation in the consu- and to reside anywhere in the region without a lar field. A number of measures are being consid- residence permit. ered, such as closer cooperation on travel docu- ments, common procedures for registering infor- mation at the missions, common guidelines for appointing honorary consuls, etc. 11 Cf. Box 2.1. 12 Cf. the Protocol of 1 July 1954. 13 Cf. Chapter 7.2. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 15 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Further harmonisation in other areas seems interested in this. Thus, any extension of the more difficult because of different rules and dif- EEAS’s role to include consular matters is some ferent ways of organising consular assistance. The way in the future. The Nordic countries agree that various Nordic countries’ different forms of asso- developments in the EU must not prevent closer ciation with the EU also set limits on the extent to Nordic cooperation in the consular field. which Nordic consular cooperation can be formal- There is a growing tendency in the EU to view ised. the diplomatic and consular missions’ work with applications for entry and residence in Schengen countries as being related to the assistance pro- 3.2 Consular cooperation with the EU vided by these countries to their own citizens abroad. However, the EU member states have The EU has been seeking to improve coordination made more progress in coordinating procedures and cooperation in the consular field within the for dealing with immigration cases. Common Union for a long time. However, the EU has rules for processing and issuing short-stay visas encountered many of the same problems as the are already in place in the Schengen area. Norway Nordic region, such as lack of harmonisation of has formal cooperation arrangements with the EU legislation and differences in the practical organi- in this field, but they do not apply to assistance to sation of consular assistance. the respective countries’ own citizens. Under the Treaty of Lisbon,14 every citizen of It is possible that administration of visas may the Union is, when in a country where the mem- be incorporated into the work of the EEAS in the ber state of which he or she is a citizen is not rep- longer term as there is already a common policy resented, entitled to protection by the diplomatic in this area. One of the aims of the EU framework or consular authorities of any other EU member for cooperation in the field of justice and home state on the same conditions as the citizens of that affairs in the period 2010–2014, known as the state. With this in view, an effort is being made to Stockholm Programme, is to examine the possibil- facilitate the exchange of information and improve ities of establishing a common European mecha- coordination of the EU member states’ national nism for issuing visas. Another aim is to establish efforts in the consular field and in the field of cri- more Common Application Centres (CAC). Such sis management. A number of the EU countries centres could replace the current system, where are reluctant to accept a greater degree of supra- all or many of the member states have diplomatic nationality in the consular field. or consular missions in the same city and issue So far consular matters are not part of the visas to the same territory. It is possible that it will portfolio of the EU’s new common foreign ser- become more common for visa offices that serve vice, the European External Action Service the general public to be incorporated administra- (EEAS). No section or other entity for dealing tively into the various countries’ missions to the with consular matters has been established in the EU, and that these will also provide certain types organisation. The aspirations and needs of the var- of consular services. If the EU further develops ious EU countries differ as regards the role the cooperation in the consular field on the basis of EEAS should play in consular matters. Several of existing cooperation on the administration of the smaller countries would like EU representa- visas, this will also have consequences for Nor- tions in third countries to have responsibility for way. The Government will follow the situation in consular matters as well, while larger countries the EU closely and will assess the need for formal such as France, Germany and the UK are not association with EU cooperation in this area on a regular basis. 14 Cf. Article 23 of the Treaty of Lisbon. 16 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

4 Who is entitled to assistance, and where and when is it provided

The question of who is entitled to Norwegian con- sular assistance and where and when it can be provided may at first glance seem quite straight- Box 4.1 Which country should forward. In many situations, however, it is difficult provide assistance? to answer such basic questions, as the group of A Chechen who has been granted permanent people in need of assistance is becoming increas- residence in Norway generally has or is enti- ingly heterogeneous and they have increasingly tled to a Russian passport. If he travels to Tur- high expectations of what they are entitled to. key on a Russian passport and finds himself in need of assistance, any request for assistance must be addressed to the closest representa- 4.1 Who is entitled to assistance tive of the Russian authorities.

According to the Foreign Service Act, one of the functions of the Foreign Service is to provide advice and assistance to Norwegian citizens.15 ing to the Norwegian authorities that they no This means that all Norwegian citizens should be longer need protection in Norway. In such cases, able to expect assistance from the Norwegian the Immigration Directorate will consider authorities when they are abroad. There are, how- whether the person’s refugee status or other type ever, certain limitations in the case of Norwegians of permit should be withdrawn and their travel who are permanently resident abroad. This is dis- document or immigrant passport revoked. cussed in more detail below. Foreign citizens who use Norwegian travel Some categories of foreign citizens are also documents when travelling to their country of ori- entitled to certain types of consular assistance. gin cannot expect to receive the same assistance This applies to refugees and stateless persons res- they would be entitled to when staying in a third ident in Norway who hold a Norwegian refugee country, as it is highly probable that the authori- travel document or an immigrant passport.16 In ties of their country of origin would consider such such cases it is required that the person con- persons to be citizens of that country. If such per- cerned is both resident in Norway and possesses sons should, for example, be arrested in their a Norwegian travel document. It is also required country of origin, they will be tried, convicted and that he or she has entered the country in which sentenced on the same footing as other nationals assistance is requested on a Norwegian travel of the country concerned. In such cases, any document. If the foreign citizen has been travel- assistance provided by the Norwegian authorities ling on another travel document, for example one will be contingent on the explicit consent of the issued by the authorities of his or her country of authorities of the country of origin of the person origin, any request for assistance in a third coun- concerned. Experience shows that, as a general try must be addressed to the authorities of the rule, requests to make a visit or provide other country that issued the travel document. assistance are not complied with. Correspond- Foreign citizens who have been issued a Nor- ingly, the Norwegian authorities are very cautious wegian travel document and who use it when trav- about giving foreign authorities access to Norwe- elling back to their country of origin are indicat- gian citizens even in cases where they also have another nationality unless the person concerned 15 Cf. section 1 of the Foreign Service Act. so requests. 16 Cf. Chapter 8 of the Foreign Service Instructions. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 17 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

4.2 Where and when assistance is provided Box 4.3 Unrealistic expectations The assistance provided by the Norwegian A young man on a weekend trip to a major authorities is also dependent on the country European city calls the Foreign Service where the person happens to be and whether he Response Centre. He had been out on the or she is there on a short stay or permanently res- town with some friends and became separated ident abroad. from them. He is noticeably under the influ- The largest category of people who receive ence of alcohol and/or drugs and wonders assistance from the Foreign Service is Norwegian whether the Response Centre can help him citizens who are resident in Norway who need find his way back to a hotel whose name he assistance in connection with short stays cannot remember. The staff at the Response 17 abroad. In practice the Foreign Service bases Centre try to explain that he has to call his its assessment of where a person is resident on friends so that they can find each other. He information in the National Population Register. gets upset and asks why the Response Centre can’t use the GPS on his phone to guide him in the right direction. Finally he manages to con- tact his friends and they help him back to the Box 4.2 Payment of benefits to hotel. persons living/resident abroad Every year approximately NOK 4 billion is paid to persons entitled to Norwegian benefits who are resident abroad. This sum includes all An increasing number of Norwegian citizens kinds of benefits that are administered and reside abroad. Many of them are in close contact disbursed by the international office of the with the Norwegian authorities on a regular basis. Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administra- Permanent residence abroad has a bearing on tion (NAV International) to persons living the need for assistance from the Norwegian abroad. Most of the disbursements are in con- authorities and sets limits to the assistance the nection with old age pensions, disability pen- Norwegian authorities can provide, both in the sions and widow/widower’s pension. country where the person concerned is resident NAV also pays benefits to other categories and in third countries. A Norwegian citizen who is of persons who are staying abroad, such as: resident in Spain has a different status under – Pensioners who commute between Nor- Spanish law from that of a Norwegian on a charter way and another country and spend up to tour to the Canary Islands. A Norwegian citizen six months abroad every year who is resident in France and on holiday in Thai- – Family members who are resident in the land is not in the same situation as a Norwegian country of origin of labour migrants from citizen who is resident in Norway and on holiday EU countries. A number of them may be in Thailand. entitled to short-term benefits from the The Storting has drawn attention to these dif- National Insurance Scheme, such as health ferences in Recommendation S No. 265 (2004– services, child benefit and cash benefits for 2005) on the white paper on the tsunami disaster families with young children. in South-East Asia and the central crisis manage- – Labour migrants from EU countries who ment system (Report No. 37 (2004–2005) to the are entitled to sickness benefits. They may Storting), which reads: stay in their country of origin during the period specified in the doctor’s certificate. Such persons retain the pension rights they 17 In section 2.1 of the National Insurance Act, “resident in have accrued in the National Insurance Norway” is defined as follows: a person who intends to stay, Scheme. or has stayed, in Norway for at least 12 months. A person who moves to Norway is deemed to be resident in Norway – Pensioners resident in Norway who pro- from the date of entry into the country. A condition for vide for a spouse and children resident membership of the National Insurance Scheme is that the abroad person concerned is lawfully resident in Norway. In the event of a temporary absence from Norway for a period that is not intended to exceed 12 months, the person con- cerned is still deemed to be resident in the country. 18 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

wegians who are permanently resident in the host country to the local authorities where it is possi- Box 4.4 Mental illness ble and natural to do so. The Foreign Service has to assist Norwegian There is also an increasing number of Norwe- citizens who are, or become, seriously men- gian citizens who are permanently resident abroad tally ill outside Norway more and more fre- who have a greater need for assistance or are suffe- quently. Persons suffering from serious men- ring from a mental illness and who have rights tal illness are often particularly vulnerable and under Norwegian legislation. It can be difficult for it may be difficult to help them. Therefore a such persons to deal with the many different autho- special scheme, administered by the County rities in Norway, and they often have considerable Governor, has been established for assisting need for assistance from the diplomatic and consu- and repatriating Norwegians abroad who are lar missions. For this reason, the Government will suffering from such illness. An assessment of give priority to the work being done to make it eas- whether the person concerned should be ier to contact the appropriate authorities in Norway repatriated is made by medical personnel, and and to coordinate the various services. repatriation is conditional on the consent of The assistance provided will also vary accor- the person concerned. In recent years, 15–30 ding to the country concerned. In the Nordic mentally ill Norwegian citizens have been countries, assistance is provided by the local aut- repatriated to Norway. Persons suffering from horities, for example on the basis of the Nordic a serious mental illness who are unable to take Convention on Social Assistance and Social Servi- care of themselves abroad may be denied a ces19 and the Nordic Convention on Social Secu- passport or have their passport revoked when rity.20 Within the EEA, there are a number of they return to Norway. As a general rule, this rules that affect what kind of assistance the Nor- is only done in cases where a person has been wegian authorities may provide. in this situation on more than one occasion. Occasionally there have been allegations of differential treatment in consular cases on the basis of ethnic origin or social status. Such diffe- rential treatment is not acceptable. Consular assis- “The Committee has noted, and concurs, that tance is provided in accordance with requests for Norwegian citizens who are permanently resi- such assistance and within the framework provi- dent abroad are a special case and that they can- ded by international, local and Norwegian legisla- not expect the same assistance as Norwegians tion. At the same time, it is important to be aware who stay in a country for a short period of time.” that no two consular cases are the same and that it is not possible or appropriate to deal with all cases How this is followed up will in practice depend on in the same way. whether it is a matter of ordinary assistance in individual cases or assistance in connection with a 18 crisis. 4.3 Openness and information to the Norwegian citizens who are permanently resi- general public dent abroad often contact the Foreign Service and ask for assistance vis-à-vis the local authorities in Some Norwegians have an unrealistic idea of what the country of residence. As a general rule, Nor- kind of assistance they can expect from the Nor- wegians who are resident abroad should be on wegian authorities if they should encounter diffi- more or less the same footing as others who are culties abroad. Some seem to believe that the level resident in the country as regards both rights and of assistance is the same as that provided in Nor- obligations. Correspondingly, foreign citizens way, regardless of national and local legislation who are lawfully resident in Norway are increas- and Norway’s consular representation at the place ingly being accorded the same treatment as Nor- in question. wegian citizens. This means that Norwegians who In the Foreign Ministry’s view, it is important are permanently resident abroad will be given to reduce the gap between the consular services lower priority than Norwegians on a short stay offered and the public’s expectations. An effort is abroad if they need assistance. Thus, Norwegian diplomatic and consular missions will refer Nor- 19 Nordic Convention of 14 June 1994 on Social Assistance and Social Services. 18 Cf. Chapter 7. 20 Nordic Convention of 18 August 2003 on Social Security. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 19 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

are updated on a regular basis and the introduc- tion of new services is being considered. The Min- Box 4.5 Official travel advice istry is also considering the possibilities offered There are two main types of official travel by new technology and social media to facilitate advice in Norway: the travel advice provided dialogue and disseminate information quickly to a by the Foreign Ministry, and the information larger number of people. for travellers on health issues provided by the An information brochure on the assistance Norwegian health authorities. Norwegians can expect when abroad has been The Foreign Ministry publishes official published, which also includes travel tips. The travel advice in cases where there is reason to brochure is distributed via the diplomatic and con- caution Norwegians against travelling to a spe- sular missions and will be made available to the cific country, area or region, or advise them to general public by other means as well. It can also leave that place. This is generally because of be downloaded free of charge from the Internet.21 war, war-like situations or other forms of The Foreign Ministry has also developed an unrest that, on the basis of an overall assess- online form to be used by Norwegians travelling ment, indicate that Norwegian citizens should abroad to register where they are staying abroad. not travel to the place in question or stay This can be accessed via www.landsider.no (click there. Official travel advice is issued and with- on reiseregistrering for the online form – Norwe- drawn on the basis of a concrete assessment gian only). This will make it easier for the Foreign of the individual situation. Service to get in contact with Norwegians in the The Norwegian health authorities publish event of a crisis. The Foreign Ministry is also plan- advice on health issues to Norwegian citizens ning to develop a system for registering email travelling abroad on their websites. There are addresses that can be used to send information to links to these websites on www.landsider.no. Norwegians in non-crisis situations. It is recom- This gives an overview of advice and informa- mended that everyone who is planning to travel to tion from the Norwegian authorities designed countries outside Europe and North America for Norwegians who are travelling abroad or should register their whereabouts. Those who plan who plan to do so. to stay abroad for a longer period, such as students and other persons permanently resident abroad, are also advised to register. The information pro- being made to do this by actively disseminating vided will be dealt with in accordance with the Per- general information to the public and practising openness in relation to the various consular cases being dealt with within the limits imposed by con- siderations of privacy. Box 4.6 The Foreign Ministry’s Proper preparation is important for a success- travel tips ful trip abroad, regardless of the destination and 1. Do not set out on a trip abroad without a the duration of the stay. Experienced travellers valid passport and travel insurance will generally have obtained information about the 2. Register your destination destination and thought through what they would 3. Show respect for local customs do if a difficult situation should arise. It is impor- 4. Listen to experienced travellers tant to have valid insurance that covers all eventu- 5. Be equipped to deal with a crisis alities, as well as up-to-date information about 6. Remember your visa and vaccinations what assistance can be expected from the Norwe- 7. Keep away from dangerous situations gian authorities. 8. Turn back in time The Foreign Service publishes information 9. Save money and obtain new funds if neces- and practical advice, as well as official travel sary advice, on www.landsider.no. The Ministry of For- 10. A well planned trip can be the experience of eign Affairs will seek to ensure that the travel a lifetime. advice is useful and up-to-date and that it is coordi- nated with the information provided by the other Have a good trip! Nordic countries. The website www.landsider.no has links to the websites of the various diplomatic and consular missions, where more country-spe- cific information can be found. These webpages 21 See www.landsider.no. 20 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

extended and expanded and provides a good basis for further cooperation in consular cases. Box 4.7 Services and assistance This has not affected the annual operating provided by the Norwegian Church grant provided by the Ministry of Government Abroad to Norwegians abroad in 2010: Administration, Reform and Church Affairs to the Norwegian Church Abroad. According to the Solemnisation of marriage* 877 agreement between the Foreign Ministry and the Social welfare cases** 1599 Norwegian Church Abroad, the two organisations are to cooperate with a view to safeguarding the Visits to sick Norwegians in hospital welfare of Norwegian citizens abroad. The two and at home 5086 organisations have different roles and they supple- Visits to Norwegians in prisons 109 ment each other. The Norwegian Church Abroad is an NGO affiliated with the Church of Norway. It Funerals/memorial services 153 has approximately 50 churches/missions in more * In addition to this is the service of blessing on mar- than 80 countries on all continents. There are a riage after a civil wedding ceremony in places where number of examples of cases where the Foreign the chaplain is not authorised to perform marriages. Service and the Norwegian Church Abroad have ** Many of these cases are dealt with in cooperation with and at the request of the Foreign Service. joined forces to provide assistance to Norwegians in connection with a disaster, for example when the Air France aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Rio in 2009, and in difficult sonal Data Act.22 It will not be disclosed to third individual cases, such as that involving two Norwe- parties, and will be deleted soon after the person’s gians sentenced to death in Congo and the stu- stay abroad has ended. Those who have registered dents in Budapest after the tragic murder of a Nor- their personal data have full access to this data and wegian citizen in August 2010. may change it at any time. Such registration is extremely important to enable the Foreign Service to provide rapid and effective assistance in a crisis situation. At the same time it is important to note 4.4 Notification of suspected benefit that such registration alone is not sufficient in the fraud event of a crisis. Other information channels will The diplomatic and consular missions occasion- also be used should a crisis arise. ally become acquainted with information that It can be difficult to provide adequate, correct gives grounds for suspicion, for example, of bene- information to the people who need it most. The fit fraud. This may be in connection with an appli- Government therefore intends to intensify its infor- cation for a new passport where it transpires that mation efforts in the time ahead, for example by the person concerned has not been in Norway for expanding the existing cooperation with other organ- a long time, and is receiving benefits from the isations that deal with Norwegians abroad, such as Norwegian authorities that he or she is thus not the Association of Norwegian Students Abroad entitled to. The missions are not authorised to (ANSA) and the Norwegian State Educational Loan investigate such cases. At the same time informa- Fund. The Government will also increase its contact tion about such cases is of great interest to the with other actors and organisations, such as the Con- competent Norwegian authorities, particularly federation of Norwegian Business and Industry NAV. The provisions of the Personal Data Act do (NHO), Finance Norway (FNO) and the Norwegian not prevent the authorities from obtaining infor- Shipowners’ Association, and will consider the possi- mation from a diplomatic or consular mission bility of making greater use of new technology and under the National Insurance Act.23 At the same social media in its information efforts. time the relationship between the missions and There has been close cooperation between the the people requesting assistance must be one of Foreign Service and the Norwegian Church Abroad mutual trust. In the light of this, the Government for a long time, but this cooperation was not formal- will continue to encourage the missions abroad to ised until 2008, when an agreement was concluded inform the competent Norwegian authorities in between the two. This agreement was recently cases where they have reliable information that gives grounds for suspicion of benefit fraud. 22 Act of 14 April 2000 No. 31 relating to the processing of per- sonal data. 23 Cf. section 21.4 of the National Insurance Act. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 21 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

5 Assistance in critical situations

The assistance provided by the Foreign Service to Norwegians abroad may be divided roughly into two categories. The first is assistance in critical sit- Box 5.1 Travel insurance is uations in connection with accidents, illness, essential death, arrest or detention, etc., and the follow-up of Many people have accidents in mind when such cases. The second is in connection with they consider the need for travel insurance. It administrative tasks, such as issuing passports, is, however, important to check exactly what solemnising marriage, performing notarial acts, such insurance covers – and what it doesn’t. etc. The second category of assistance is generally For example, ordinary travel insurance does provided by the diplomatic and consular missions not cover accidents that occur in connection on behalf of other Norwegian public institutions or with extreme sports or expenses in connec- as authorised by such institutions. This type of tion with illnesses known to the insured per- assistance is dealt with in Chapter 6. The missions son before starting on the trip. There are big also provide assistance to Norwegians in crisis sit- differences between the various types of insur- uations, and this is discussed in Chapter 7. ance. A year-round travel insurance generally For many Norwegians, the first encounter provides much better coverage than a one-off with the Norwegian Foreign Service is due to an insurance policy that is sold together with unforeseen incident during a trip abroad, such as another product as an extra service. illness, an accident, theft or death. The Foreign Service always gives priority to assisting people who have an acute need for help, regardless of where they happen to be or the time of day or sometimes even require their clients to use them night. The Foreign Service Response Centre can in order to have their expenses reimbursed. convey information and put the closest embassy The assistance provided by the Foreign Ser- or consulate in contact with a person in distress vice after a person has been treated by a doctor or when necessary. at a hospital is mainly in the form of help to con- The Norwegian authorities do not keep regu- tact family members, relevant hot-lines, insurance lar statistics on Norwegians who are involved in companies and, if appropriate, the Norwegian accidents abroad. Figures from Finance Norway Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) and the show, however, that there were more than 260 000 Norwegian Church Abroad. accidents in 2010, an increase of more than 13% Sometimes Norwegian citizens abroad expect, over the previous year. More than NOK 1.3 billion and even demand, that the Norwegian authorities was paid out in damages. cover both medical expenses and their return tic- ket to Norway. The Foreign Service does not, however, have funds available for such purposes. 5.1 Accidents Therefore it cannot cover such expenses or pro- vide a guarantee for such expenses unless the per- Many Norwegians who are involved in accidents son concerned, a family member, an employer or abroad contact the Foreign Service in connection some other person provides a guarantee. If there with treatment by a doctor or at a hospital. All is no one who can provide a guarantee for such embassies and consulates are required to have an expenses, a mission may in certain cases grant overview over doctors and hospitals in the area. the person concerned an emergency loan. The missions cannot, however, guarantee the Likewise, the Foreign Service may not reim- quality of the services these doctors and hospitals burse expenses for search or rescue operations provide. Insurance companies generally have involving Norwegians who are missing in connec- their own lists of hospitals they recommend, and tion with an expedition abroad. In such cases, too, 22 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

5.2 Illness

Box 5.2 Emergency loans As a general rule, Norwegian citizens are not enti- Only after all other means have been tled to medical treatment abroad. This does not, exhausted may a diplomatic or consular mis- however, apply to stays in another Nordic country 24 sion grant an emergency loan, which will nor- or temporary stays in another EEA country or 25 mally be for transport back to Norway at the Switzerland. In such cases, Norwegian citizens earliest available opportunity. An emergency are entitled to reimbursement of expenses for any loan may not be given to enable a person to medical treatment required during their stay on continue their holiday or a stay abroad for an equal footing with citizens of the country con- other reasons. In order to be eligible for an cerned on presentation of a European health emergency loan for transport back to Norway, insurance card certifying that he or she is a mem- the person concerned must be a Norwegian ber of the Norwegian National Insurance 26 citizen, have a permanent address in Norway Scheme. If a need for medical treatment should and receive a fixed salary, pension or social arise during the trip and the person concerned security benefits in Norway. Applications for has not taken such a card with them, they may loans must be made on the prescribed form, contact the HELFO service centre, which will and the applicant must confirm that he or she issue a temporary card and send it to the institu- consents to regular deductions being made tion providing treatment. The temporary card from his or her income, social security bene- entitles the holder to the same rights as the health fits or pension to repay the loan. If an emer- insurance card. It is important to be aware that gency loan is not repaid as agreed on return to not all European countries have the same health Norway, the amount will be collected by the service standards as Norway. tax authorities, who will deduct it from earned Medical expenses incurred during temporary income, pensions or social security benefit stays outside the EEA/Switzerland are not cov- payments. ered by the Norwegian authorities or the authori- ties of the country concerned. Norwegian citizens who have moved away any assistance will be confined to notifying and fol- from Norway are not entitled to reimbursement of lowing up the matter with the competent local aut- medical expenses regardless of their place of resi- horities in the country concerned. dence as they are no longer members of the Nor- wegian National Insurance Scheme. Persons who have resided or intend to reside abroad for more Box 5.3 Search and rescue than 12 months, or for more than six months a operations year over a period of two years or longer, are con- sidered to have moved away from Norway. This The responsibility for search and rescue fol- does not apply for example to students who are lowing accidents or natural disasters lies with financing their studies abroad through the Nor- the authorities of the country concerned, wegian State Educational Loan Fund, or to per- whereas the Norwegian authorities are in con- sons who have been granted voluntary member- trol of and responsible for any rescue opera- ship of the National Insurance Scheme.27 tions carried out in areas that fall under Nor- It is therefore essential that persons travelling wegian search and rescue jurisdiction. The or staying outside the EEA/Switzerland for priorities set by the authorities in another extended periods have travel insurance. country may differ from those many Norwe- gians would consider to be reasonable and prudent. This may be due to different tradi- 24 tions, different ways of organising rescue In accordance with the Nordic Convention on Social Secu- rity and the EEA Agreement, respectively. operations or differences in terms of available 25 http://www.helfo.no/privatperson/Sider/eos-landene.en- resources. It is important that Norwegians are GB.aspx. aware that any expenses incurred in connec- 26 A European health insurance card may be obtained from tion with search and rescue operations abroad the Health Economics Administration (HELFO). 27 are not covered by ordinary travel insurance. For example, the Embassy in Bangkok makes advances of about NOK 12 million every year for treatment and return transport for Norwegians who become ill while in Thai- land. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 23 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

ing on the trip. Thus, private trips abroad for med- ical treatment entail a considerable financial risk. Box 5.4 Illness abroad The vast majority of travel insurance claims are related to illness abroad. In 2010 there 5.3 Theft were more than 83 000 claims for compensa- tion in this category, totalling NOK 594 mil- Various types of theft are very common in many lion. Since 2005, this type of compensation has countries, not least in many typical tourist destina- more than doubled measured in constant tions. The Foreign Service is not always involved prices. Compensation for illness while travel- in cases involving theft of money, credit cards and ling is increasing much more quickly than mobile phones, as the persons concerned often compensation for other losses due to theft and contact their bank and insurance company and lost baggage, trip cancellation and accidents. the police themselves. In 2010, travel insurance compensation In cases where a traveller’s passport is stolen, payments totalled NOK 1.36 billion, and there however, the assistance of a Norwegian diplo- were a total of 260 000 claims. The second matic or consular mission is required to obtain a highest category was compensation for losses new passport or other travel document. due to theft and lost baggage, which totalled The Foreign Service can also provide travel- NOK 296 million. This was followed by trip lers with advice and guidance in other areas cancellation claims, totalling NOK 203 million, where they are unable to resolve their problems and accident compensation claims, totalling on their own. NOK 130 million.

5.4 Arrest and prosecution

Although the Foreign Service does not have Sometimes Norwegians are arrested while they resources to cover hospital expenses incurred by are abroad. The grounds for the arrest may be Norwegians abroad, the missions may provide a anything from suspicion that the person has over- financial guarantee to cover such expenses pro- stayed his or her visa to allegations of sexual vided the patient, a relative or other person has assault or murder. If a diplomatic or consular mis- deposited sufficient funds with the Ministry of sion learns that a Norwegian citizen has been Foreign Affairs beforehand. The same applies arrested, it will give the matter high priority. The with regard to return transport to Norway in the mission will seek to ensure that the person’s right event of serious illness.28 Both hospital care and to due process is respected, but will not interfere return transport to Norway can be extremely in the case itself or take a position on the question expensive. For example, emergency treatment for of guilt. The mission can, however, assist the a heart attack at a private hospital in the US may arrested person by contacting family members cost several hundred thousand Norwegian kro- and others he or she may wish to speak to. The ner. The cost of transporting a patient back to mission will also ensure that the arrested person Norway in a hospital bed, accompanied by medi- has access to a lawyer or legal aid in accordance cal personnel, is in the same range. with the rules and procedures applicable in the An increasing number of Norwegians are trav- country in question. If a lawyer has not been elling abroad on their own initiative to try out new appointed, the mission may provide the person and often untraditional treatment methods concerned with a list of lawyers and help establish because they consider the treatment available in contact with them. The Foreign Service may not, Norway insufficient. For example, clinics in a however, recommend a specific lawyer or pay for number of countries offer experimental cancer legal expenses or other legal aid. treatment that Norwegians may be interested in. Norwegian citizens who are accused of seri- It is important to be aware that travel insurance ous criminal offences or are the victim of a serious does not cover expenses in connection with ill- crime abroad (see Chapter 5.5) may apply to the nesses known to the insured person before start- County Governor in Oslo and Akershus for free legal aid.29 The mission can assist in forwarding applications for such assistance. Legal aid may 28 This does not apply to the Nordic countries, as extra expen- ses for return transport from these countries in the event of illness may be reimbursed. 29 Act of 13 June 1980 No. 35 relating to free legal aid. 24 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad cover expenses for legal expenses in the country for a serious criminal offence, the Norwegian in question and other expenses connected with authorities may become involved in various ways. any judicial proceedings. In certain cases, In some cases, the Norwegian police authorities expenses related to the assistance of a Norwegian may, subject to certain restrictions, initiate an lawyer may also be covered. Free legal aid is gen- investigation.31 The Norwegian authorities may, erally only provided to persons whose income and in cooperation with the local authorities, assist in assets are below a certain level. If there are legal establishing the facts of the case provided that aid arrangements that cover legal assistance in they have information that is relevant for the the country in question, the person concerned investigation. The Norwegian authorities may must avail him- or herself of those. There seems also be requested to provide legal assistance. In to have been some doubt in certain cases as to recent years, international police cooperation has whether the Norwegian legal aid system covers been intensified and there is closer cooperation legal aid provided abroad. The Ministry of Justice between foreign and Norwegian police and prose- and Public Security will therefore consider cuting authorities, including in cases where Nor- whether there is a need to amend the Act relating wegians are under criminal prosecution abroad. to free legal aid in order to clarify this point. Such cooperation involves Norwegian police liai- If the diplomatic or consular mission is in rea- son officers who are attached to the embassies, sonable proximity to the prison, it will generally and it is important to clarify the roles to be played also be able to assist in transferring money so that in relation to the consular assistance provided by the arrested person can buy necessary items and the Foreign Service. In cases that go on for some services while in custody. The mission will not time or are complex, it may be difficult to find a provide translation services, neither simultaneous balance between various Norwegian considera- interpretation nor translation of documents, in tions. The Government is seeking to improve connection with court proceedings. In all coun- coordination in such cases. tries, it is the responsibility of the prosecuting The Norwegian authorities set clear limits to authority to ensure that persons charged with an the right of foreign states to intervene in legal pro- offence understand the proceedings. In civil cases ceedings before Norwegian courts.32 Likewise, it is up to the parties to produce certified transla- they show great caution about going into the legal tions of the documents concerned. aspects of cases that are being prosecuted before The Norwegian authorities can only provide foreign courts. However, the Norwegian authori- assistance if the mission has been informed of the ties may become more actively engaged in cases arrest and the arrested person wants such assis- where Norwegian citizens are involved and the tance. This is not always the case. When Norwe- criminal process is obviously unsatisfactory, there gian citizens are arrested abroad, the Norwegian is gross differential treatment, or human rights authorities are not automatically informed of the are being violated. matter,30 as it is up to the arrested person to request that this be done. Moreover, sometimes the arrested person does not want any contact 5.5 Serious criminal cases with the Norwegian authorities. Despite extensive efforts in recent decades to Norwegian citizens abroad are occasionally sub- promote human rights and the rule of law across ject to gross violence, such as rape or murder, for national borders, legal systems and due process example in connection with crimes for gain. The guarantees vary from country to country. Norwe- need for assistance varies considerably according gian citizens who are arrested and detained to the type of crime, where in the world it took abroad cannot expect the same standards as in place and how long ago. The Foreign Service Norway. always gives priority to such cases. The assistance In cases where Norwegian citizens abroad are provided by the diplomatic and consular missions suspected of and perhaps subsequently charged primarily involves contact with relatives, and if necessary with local welfare services and the Nor- 30 It follows from the Vienna Convention on Consular Rela- tions that States are not entitled or obliged to contact the 31 authorities of the receiving State when a foreign national is Cf. section 12 of the Penal Code. detained. This does not, however, apply to the UK or Russia 32 According to the principle of territoriality in international because of special bilateral agreements. Persons who are law, the receiving State is entitled to exercise authority by detained, on the other hand, are entitled to contact consu- enacting legislation, rendering judgments and employing lar representatives of their own country (cf. Article 36). coercive measures within its own territorial limits. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 25 Assistance to Norwegians abroad wegian Church Abroad. It may also be appropriate As long as the suspect remains in his or her coun- to establish contact with the local police and the try of origin, the only option may be to transfer judicial authorities, and with a lawyer if the victim criminal proceedings to that country. However, so chooses. this is not possible in cases where there is insuffi- Judicial procedures and views of the serious- cient information or where the prosecuting ness of various crimes vary greatly from country authority of the country where the crime was to country. This applies not least to cases involv- committed does not wish to transfer the proceed- ing violence against women. Reporting cases of ings to that country. There may be a number of rape and other forms of violence against women reasons why a country does not wish to transfer to the police and judicial authorities in certain proceedings to the suspect’s country of origin. countries may put a great strain on the victim. For example if that country practises the death Because of differing views of the victims’ legal sta- penalty. In such cases, the only solution is to issue tus, particularly if they are women or children, international bulletins with a view to apprehend- some people choose not to pursue a case any fur- ing the suspect in connection with a trip abroad ther abroad even though they would have done so and for him or her to be extradited to the country in Norway. where the crime was committed, alternatively for The authorities of the country where the the suspect to return to that country voluntarily. crime was committed are responsible for investi- The Norwegian authorities are strongly gating and prosecuting the case. In murder cases, engaged in international efforts to abolish the relatives may have a need for contact with the vic- death penalty. In cases where Norwegian citizens tim’s local police in Norway, and the Norwegian are sentenced to death abroad, or are indicted for police authorities may also have information that crimes that may carry the death penalty, the Nor- is relevant to the investigation being carried out wegian authorities will underscore Norway’s by the foreign authorities. Such contact is gener- opposition to the death penalty as a matter of prin- ally in the form of cooperation between the prose- ciple and request that the sentence not be carried cuting authorities of the two countries. This coop- out. The possibility of the perpetrator being sen- eration is subject to the approval of the country tenced to death will affect cooperation on the conducting the investigation and it must be in investigation with the country concerned as the accordance with existing legislation and agree- Norwegian authorities will not provide informa- ments. Foreign police authorities may request tion or other evidence that enhances the possibil- assistance from their Norwegian colleagues ity that a person will be sentenced to death. through police channels. In some cases, vital time and information can be lost and important investi- gative steps impeded because a request from 5.6 Piracy another country is received too late or not at all. With a view to assisting relatives as best possible In recent years there has been an increase in and helping to solve the case in the best possible piracy, particularly in the sea areas off the coast of way, the Foreign Service and the National Crimi- Somalia. On several occasions, attempts have nal Investigation Service (Kripos) will develop been made to board ships with ties to Norway. new routines for notifying family members when Shipping today is truly international. The crew Norwegian citizens are killed abroad. This will members are often from a number of different enable the Norwegian police to contact relatives countries, the ship may be owned and operated by quickly and to offer assistance and information on another country, and it may be registered under their own initiative to the foreign police authori- the flag of yet another country. Under interna- ties investigating the case. tional law, if a ship is attacked by pirates, the pri- Criminal prosecution is difficult in cases mary responsibility for dealing with the situation where Norwegian citizens are injured or killed lies with the flag state. If there are Norwegian citi- abroad and the suspect is from a third country zens among the crew, the Government will seek to and manages to return to that country after com- ensure that they are released, regardless of the mitting the crime. Regardless of whether there flag state. In other cases, for example where the are convention obligations or an extradition agree- ship’s ties to Norway are primarily commercial, ment with the third country in question, most the Norwegian authorities will play a less promi- countries, including Norway, have provisions in their domestic legislation that prevent them from 33 Norway may only extradite its own citizens to other Nordic extraditing their own citizens to a foreign state.33 countries. 26 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad nent role unless there are special circumstances 5.8 Assistance to minors indicating that they should do otherwise. Every year the Foreign Service is contacted in cases where Norwegian minors36 abroad are in 5.7 Serving a sentence abroad acute need of assistance. Most of these involve a serious disagreement between the parents and As of 1 April 2011, there were about 60 Norwe- the child, or between the parents themselves on a gians serving prison sentences in other coun- matter regarding the child. Both types of case can tries.34 They are in prisons all over the world. The be very difficult. Foreign Service seeks to visit Norwegian inmates Most of the cases involving disagreement in foreign prisons as often as possible if the per- between the parents and the child concern the sons concerned so wish. However, some of the abandonment of children. For example, immi- prisons are located far from any Norwegian diplo- grants sometimes entrust the care of their child to matic or consular mission, which makes frequent others, for example relatives, in their country of visits difficult. There are a number of other factors origin, to ensure that the child is brought up in that determine how many visits Norwegian accordance with that country’s culture and values. inmates can expect, such as the size of the staff at If the parents have joint parental responsibility the nearest mission, whether special permission and both agree that the child should remain is required, security considerations, etc. The Nor- abroad, there is little the Norwegian authorities wegian Church Abroad and other NGOs also can do. The Norwegian child welfare service can carry out such visits. only intervene in cases of proven neglect when Norwegian citizens serving sentences in other the child is in Norway. Once the child has left the countries cannot expect standards that are higher country, the Norwegian authorities cannot for- than the general prison standards in the country mally pursue the matter, even if the child is a Nor- in question. In many prisons, however, inmates wegian citizen, without the parents’ consent. How- may purchase items and services that make their ever, if the Foreign Service learns that a Norwe- situation easier. In many cases, the Foreign Ser- gian child is in a difficult situation abroad, it will vice will be able to assist in transferring funds pro- generally contact the parents and/or notify the vided by relatives or others to the inmate. child welfare service in the country in question. Once there is a final judgment, the convicted Unless the parents give their consent, the Foreign person may apply to be transferred to Norway to Service will only take further steps in cases where serve his or her sentence. Such applications may it is deemed that the child’s life and health are in be sent via the nearest Norwegian embassy to the immediate danger. Ministry of Justice and Public Security for consid- In 2004 a proposal was put forward in the eration.35 The Council of Europe Transfer Con- Storting to amend the Child Welfare Act37 to apply vention, which Norway is party to, has been rati- also to Norwegian children who are resident fied by 64 member states. Norway has also abroad. The proposal was not adopted, partly entered into a bilateral agreement on the transfer because it would be incompatible with the princi- of sentenced persons with Thailand and a similar ple of territoriality in international law. agreement with Romania. The Norwegian authori- Norwegian children may also be abandoned ties may also enter into transfer agreements in for short periods of time, for example because individual cases, for example in cases where Nor- their parents have drug abuse or mental health wegians are serving a sentence abroad under dif- problems. In such cases care of the children may ficult conditions and wish to be transferred to Nor- need to be provided until the parents are once way. Such agreements only apply to a specific more able to care for them. Several times a year, case. the Foreign Service has to organise assistance for children who have been abandoned by their par- 34 The Foreign Ministry’s statistics on Norwegians serving ents while on holiday abroad. This is done in close prison sentences abroad may not be up to date, among consultation with the tour operator, the Norwe- other things because some inmates do not want the Norwe- gian authorities to know that they are in prison and there- gian Church Abroad and, if necessary, the local fore do not contact the Foreign Service. The real figure is therefore probably somewhat higher. 36 35 Act of 20 July 1991 No. 67 relating to the transfer of convic- In Norway, persons under the age of 18 are considered to ted persons and the Council of Europe Convention of 21 be minors. March 1983 on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Council 37 Act of 17 July 1992 No. 100 relating to child welfare servi- of Europe Transfer Convention). ces (Child Welfare Act). 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 27 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Box 5.5 Abandoned children Box 5.6 Forced marriage The Foreign Service Response Centre Seventeen-year-old “Nora”, who is a Norwe- received a call at 04:30 one morning from a gian citizen and resident in Norway, was taken representative of a tour operator who said that to her father’s country of origin with the rest they were concerned about an 11-year-old. His of the family. There she became engaged to a mother, who had been intoxicated for much of much older cousin. She did not want to marry the stay, was nowhere to be found despite the him, so she contacted a friend in Norway and fact that they were due to leave for Norway in told her what had happened. Her friend noti- a few hours. The Response Centre contacted fied a member of staff at the school, who con- the child welfare duty officer in the child’s tacted Nora. The school counsellor also con- county of residence, who arranged for some- tacted the integration and diversity adviser at one to fetch the child on arrival at the airport the embassy in the country concerned, who in Norway if the mother did not turn up. The followed up the case there. However, as Nora Response Centre therefore advised the tour was still under 18 years of age and had to have operator to send the child to the airport. The her father’s consent to leave the country, child’s mother came back to the hotel just which he refused, it was not possible to help before they were to depart for the airport, but her to return to Norway. Nora contacted the was not allowed to board the plane because school counsellor again immediately after her she was intoxicated. The child travelled back 18th birthday. She said that she would soon be home with another family and was fetched by forced to move in with her cousin, who had his uncle on arrival in Norway. His mother abused her and threatened to rape her. She returned on a later flight. was in a desperate situation and requested help to leave the country. She would have to leave without her cousin finding out about it. The Embassy arranged transport to the air- health service, child welfare service or police. In port and issued an emergency passport, and particularly grave cases, the Foreign Service helped to get her back to Norway. She had to assists in the child’s return to Norway, after which break off all contact with her family. the child welfare service arranges for further fol- low-up. The Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion has drawn up guidelines for dealing with embassies: Amman, Ankara, Islamabad and Nai- cases involving children who have been abando- robi. Their task is to prevent these practices, for ned abroad,38 and a guide for Norwegian families example through networking, and they also give with children who move abroad.39 advice in specific cases. If a diplomatic or consular Such problems may also arise in connection mission becomes aware of a serious risk of such with forced marriage and female genital mutila- abuse, it will immediately contact the competent tion, both of which are criminal offences under authorities in the country concerned and in Nor- Norwegian law.40 The Norwegian authorities are way with a view to preventing a forced marriage very concerned about both these forms of abuse or female genital mutilation from being carried and have drawn up action plans for combating out or facilitating the victim’s return to Norway. them.41 In addition to the measures implemented As of 2009, persons who reside in Norway and in Norway, such as employing advisers on minor- were under the age of 25 when they married, and ity matters at several Norwegian schools, integra- whose spouse is a citizen of a country from which tion advisers have been posted at four Norwegian a visa is required to enter Norway, are required to submit to an interview in connection with an appli- 38 Cf. http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/bld/dok/rund- skriv/2002/q-1038-b-retningslinjer-for-handtering- 41 The Government’s current action plans for combating forced a.html?id=109059 (Norwegian only). marriage and female genital mutilation (2012) are a follow- 39 Cf. http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/bld/dok/ up to the previous plans in these areas, which covered the veiledninger_brosjyrer/2005/veileder-for-norske-familier- period 2008–2011, cf. http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ som-flytter.html?id=461431 (Norwegian only). bld/dok/rapporter_planer/planer/2010/handlingsplaner- 40 Cf. section 253 of the Penal Code and section 1 of the Act mot-tvangsekteskap-og-kj.html?id=670387 (Norwegian relating to female genital mutilation. only). 28 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Box 5.7 The Hague Convention Box 5.8 Child abduction – amicable settlement The aim of the Hague Convention is to restore the child’s situation to the way it was before A mother and father had joint custody of their the abduction or retention took place. Chil- daughter after a family break-up. The mother dren abducted from Norway to another coun- took the child with her on holiday to her coun- try must be returned to Norway so that deci- try of origin, but failed to return as agreed. sions about their future may be made there. The father contacted the Ministry of Foreign The return of a child does not entail a decision Affairs and the Norwegian embassy and con- about who will have custody, where the child sulate in the country where the child was stay- will live or the extent of access in future. How- ing and engaged a lawyer. The honorary con- ever, in practice it determines which country sul helped him to find his daughter. The father will deal with these issues. brought the case before a court and was awarded the day-to-day care of the child. According to the ruling, she was to return to Norway. However, the daughter had dual citi- zenship, and in the country in question the cation for family reunification. The purpose of this mother was automatically awarded the care of new rule is to identify cases of forced marriage. the child until her seventh birthday. The only The interview is generally carried out after the solution was to reach an amicable settlement spouse has applied for family reunification, but it with the child’s mother. The father contacted may also take place before the marriage is solem- the mother and child and made an agreement nised. with the mother that the child could return Cases where the parents disagree on what is home with him. The embassy issued a pass- in the child’s best interests can be both deeply dis- port and provided practical assistance in con- tressing and very difficult for everyone invol- nection with the trip back to Norway. ved.42 The Norwegian authorities regularly come into contact with families where the parents have different nationalities and where, after a separa- tion or divorce, they are unable to agree on who abduct a child from the child welfare service or should have responsibility for the child. If the foster parents after a care order has been made. child is also of foreign nationality and is staying in Child abduction cases are often very complex that country, the assistance the Norwegian because those involved – both parents and chil- authorities can offer is limited. dren – may have different nationalities. In some Child abduction cases are particularly chal- cases the legislation of the two countries may lenging. These are cases where a child is taken come to different conclusions with regard to out of the country unlawfully, i.e. in contravention which of the parents has responsibility for the of the parental rights of one of the parents. The child. International conventions and agreements term also covers cases where a child is retained have been drawn up to safeguard the best inter- abroad following a holiday or access visit, and ests of the child in situations where the parents cases where a child is abducted after being placed disagree on who is to have parental responsibility. in care by the child welfare service. Child abduc- The most important of these is the Hague Con- tion by a parent is unlawful under Norwegian vention of 1980,45 but there are other agreements law43 and subject to a penalty in cases where the as well.46 parent who has access rights abducts a child from the parent with whom the child lives perma- 44 Cf. section 216 of the Penal Code. nently.44 It is also a criminal offence for parents to 45 The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, incorporated into 42 See Chapter 6.1 for a discussion of the challenges involved the Child Abduction Act. in issuing passports to minors. 46 Cf. the European Convention on Recognition and Enforce- 43 Act relating to the recognition and enforcement of foreign ment of Decisions concerning Custody of Children and on decisions concerning custody of children, etc., and on the Restoration of Custody of Children of 20 May 1980, but it is return of children. rarely invoked. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 29 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

A legal settlement is generally reached in cases covered by international agreements. However, as a number of cases illustrate, it can Box 5.9 Child abduction – take a long time to reach a decision, and this can legal settlement be difficult to implement. One reason for this is a A foreign citizen who is resident in Norway lack of expertise in this area of law in the local had children with two different Norwegian courts of certain countries. fathers. She was deprived of the day-to-day The most difficult child abduction cases are care of the children by the District Court. those between Norway and countries that are not Soon afterwards she took the children with party to the Hague Convention or other interna- her to her country of origin, an island state in tional agreements. This includes Middle Eastern the Pacific Ocean. The case was brought countries in particular as well as other countries before a local court. The judge gave decisive where the case-law differs greatly from that in weight to the ruling of the Norwegian District Norway. In these cases, the Norwegian authori- Court and the children were returned to their ties can do little more than seek to facilitate arbi- fathers in Norway. tration between the parties, put them in touch with local lawyers and, if necessary, issue pass- ports and provide assistance in connection with the child’s return to Norway where the applicable national law provides for this. tion cases. It is also considering practical and A total of 43 new cases involving 64 children financial arrangements for returning minors to were registered in 2010. Sweden (18) tops the list Norway without both parents’ consent. The of countries to which children were abducted Government attaches great importance to preven- from Norway in the period 2004–2010, followed by ting child abduction. The Norwegian authorities the UK (15), the US (12), Denmark (10), Iran* are for example seeking to persuade more coun- (9), Iraq* (9), Turkey (9), Brazil (8), Spain (8) and tries to join the Hague Convention of 1980. the Philippines* (7).47 The Government’s aim is that Norway should There is reason to believe that the increase in also accede to the Hague Convention of 1996.49 the number of marriages and partnerships bet- This convention entered into force in 2003 and ween people from different countries will lead to supplements the child abduction conventions with an increase in the number of child abduction provisions governing parental responsibility and a cases. The Norwegian authorities are therefore number of procedural measures for protecting working actively, both internationally and natio- children. An interministerial committee is in the nally, to prevent child abduction and further process of reviewing the Children Act, the Child strengthen legislation in this field. Information on Welfare Act, the Guardianship Act and the legisla- the Government’s efforts and measures to deal tion relating to the administration of justice to with child abduction is available on a special web- determine whether Norwegian legislation would site on the subject.48 The Government is also con- need to be amended if Norway were to become sidering the possibility of stopping public benefits party to the convention. and child allowance in international child abduc-

49 Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, 47 The countries marked with an asterisk have not acceded to Enforcement and Cooperation in respect of Parental the Hague Convention. Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Chil- 48 www.barnebortføring.no. dren. 30 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Cases involving the abduction of children from Norway to another country, 2004–2010

70

60

50

40 Cases 30 Children 20

10

0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Figure 5.1 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 31 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

6 Administrative assistance

Most consular matters involve routine administra- tive tasks, such as issuing passports and other travel documents, solemnising marriage, provid- Box 6.1 Obtaining a passport ing notarial services, providing assistance in adop- abroad tion cases and in connection with deaths, etc. A Norwegian citizen who spends large parts Most of these tasks are straightforward and are of the year in Spain applies for a new passport therefore only dealt with briefly in the following. from the police in Bodø while visiting her fam- The main focus of this chapter is on new develop- ily during the Christmas holiday. She asks to ments and their consequences for consular ser- have the passport issued at the consulate- vices. general in Alicante. After returning to Spain, she is contacted by the consulate-general and informed that her new passport is ready and 6.1 Passports and other Norwegian can be fetched there. When she goes to the travel documents consulate-general to receive her new passport, she also hands in her old one. In the past few years, Norwegian diplomatic and consular missions have issued between 15 000 and 20 000 passports a year, cf. Table 6.1 Career missions have the same authority to sular mission other than the one where the appli- issue passports as police districts in Norway. The cation was submitted. statutory basis,50 application procedures and fees Norwegian citizens who have lost their pass- are the same as those in Norway. However, it port abroad and who cannot wait for a new stand- generally takes longer to obtain a passport from a ard passport to be issued may apply for an emer- diplomatic or consular mission as passports are gency passport. An emergency passport may be produced in Norway for security reasons and then issued, for example, in cases where the person sent abroad to be issued.51 Once a passport is concerned is already abroad and cannot continue ready, it may also be issued by a diplomatic or con- their journey without a valid travel document. The criteria and fees for emergency passports are the same as those for standard passports. However, Table 6.1 the period of validity is limited to a maximum of one year. Since emergency passports are issued at Year Emergency passports Standard passports missions abroad, they can be processed very 2008 1 567 17 156 quickly. It is important to note that some countries do not accept emergency passports, whereas oth- 2009 1 617 17 423 ers only accept such passports in connection with 2010 1 559 14 396 return travel to Norway. In order for a minor to be issued with a pass- Source: The Norwegian police. port, both parents must sign the passport applica- tion. The purpose of this is to prevent one of the parents from taking the child out of the country or 50 Act of 19 June 1997 No. 82 relating to passports (Passport Act). away from its permanent place of residence wit- 51 In order to enhance the security of Norwegian passports, a hout the consent of the other parent. There is, requirement has been introduced whereby fingerprint data however, a drawback to this requirement in that it is to be collected from all persons above the age of 12 who may impede the implementation of legally binding apply for a standard passport. This requirement came into effect in April 2010. Fingerprint data may only be registe- court decisions, for example in child abduction red at career missions. cases where the child happens to be abroad and 32 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad the parent who has not been awarded the day-to- any passport is to be reported to the police or a day care of the child (often the abductor) is oppo- Norwegian diplomatic or consular mission. The sed to the child being issued with a passport. A passport will then be registered as invalid both similar problem may occur in cases involving with the National Criminal Investigation Service female genital mutilation or forced marriage (Kripos) and in Interpol’s database in France. Peo- where minors are subjected to abuse while ple who attempt to use these passports will be abroad, but do not themselves possess travel apprehended. documents for returning to Norway. In such cases There is an ongoing effort to make Norwegian the mission may, in consultation with the compe- passports more secure. For example, all passports tent authorities in Norway, invoke the exception that are issued today contain both a portrait photo clause in the Passport Act as regards the issuing and biometric fingerprint data. The Ministry of of a passport to a minor without the consent of Justice and Public Security will continue to give both parents.52 priority to this work. Under the Passport Act, the authorities may also refuse to issue a passport in other exceptional cases, for example on the grounds that the appli- 6.2 Registration in the National cant is suffering from a serious mental illness and Population Register is not considered capable of taking care of himself while abroad, or that the person has repeatedly Children born in a country other than Norway are incurred expenses for the public purse by failing Norwegian citizens if their father or mother is a to repay emergency loans, etc. Norwegian citizen,53 but the child is not automati- In certain cases, diplomatic and consular mis- cally registered as a citizen of Norway. The par- sions may also issue other types of travel docu- ents must apply for a national identity number and ments, but only when this has been agreed with registration in the National Population Register the competent Norwegian authorities. For exam- before they can apply for a passport for the child. ple, foreign citizens who have lost their Norwe- This may be done through a Norwegian diplo- gian refugee travel document or immigrant pass- matic or consular mission on the basis of a birth port while travelling abroad may be issued with a certificate issued by the authorities in the country laissez-passer that authorises a single entry into where the child was born.54 Norway. A laissez-passer is only issued on the Paternity may only be registered in the basis of written instructions from the Directorate National Population Register when it has been of Immigration. established in accordance with the provisions of Diplomatic and consular missions may also the Children Act. Paternity may be established issue an Emergency Travel Document (ETA) according to the pater est rule and may be instead of an emergency passport in special cases. acknowledged by the embassy if the parties have Such a travel document, which is only accepted by sufficiently close ties to Norway. Alternatively, a certain countries, applies only to return travel to foreign certificate of paternity may be submitted Norway. In the EU, a special form has been drawn to NAV International for recognition under Nor- up for applying for an ETA. The Ministry of For- wegian law. In some countries it is relatively easy eign Affairs will, in cooperation with the Ministry to obtain false documents. In certain countries, of Justice and Public Security, examine the use of therefore, men who claim to be the father of a temporary travel documents more closely. Approximately 27 000 Norwegian passports 53 were reported as lost in 2010. Most of them are Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51 relating to Norwegian nationa- lity (Nationality Act). probably still in the possession of the holder, as 54 The Directorate of Taxes, which is responsible for the Nati- many people are simply unable to find their pass- onal Population Register, has, in cooperation with the ports when preparing for a trip. These passports Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion and the are not usually misused. Nevertheless, the loss of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, drawn up guidelines for regis- tering Norwegian children born abroad: http://www.skatte- etaten.no/no/Artikler/2010/Barn-fodt-i-utlandet/ 52 Cf. section 4, last paragraph, of the Passport Act. (Norwegian only). 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 33 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

6.3 Surrogacy

Surrogacy is an arrangement by which a woman enters into an agreement with another woman to become pregnant and give birth to a child, and then to hand the child over to the other party to the agreement. The surrogate mother may be the child’s genetic mother or be implanted with an egg donated by the woman who commissioned the surrogacy arrangement or a third woman. Egg donation is prohibited under Norwegian law,56 which means that gestational surrogacy, i.e. using a fertilised egg from a woman other than the one who will carry the child to term, is illegal. Thai-Norwegian Children Some Norwegian couples and single people travel to other countries and make agreements with women who bear a child on their behalf. When the child is born, they apply to a Norwegian diplomatic or consular mission for assistance in Figure 6.1 Brochure on the rights of Thai– establishing paternity, registering the child in the Norwegian children National Population Register and obtaining a pass- port for the child. Under the Children Act,57 the woman who has child are required to submit to a DNA test in con- given birth to the child is regarded as the mother nection with the registration of children.55 of the child. Some children who have Norwegian citizens- The man the woman is married to at the time hip are not registered with the Norwegian autho- of the child’s birth is regarded as the father. In rities until several years have passed. There is cases where the mother is unmarried, the father also reason to believe that there are children who may acknowledge paternity.58 A Norwegian diplo- have, for various reasons, never been registered matic or consular officer may accept such as Norwegian citizens, for example in cases acknowledgement of paternity in cases where the where one of the parents is a citizen of the coun- requirements of the Children Act have been ful- try where the family is resident and the child filled.59 If the surrogate mother is married, pater- becomes a citizen of that country and grows up nity may be transferred to another man who has there. If a Norwegian father dies or abandons a acknowledged paternity provided that all the par- child abroad, it may be difficult for a foreign ties affected agree to this and the Norwegian mother to obtain information about the child’s Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) consid- rights as a Norwegian citizen. This has been a ers it probable that the other man is the father of problem in Thailand, for example. The Norwegian the child.60 A DNA analysis is made as a matter of authorities have therefore published a brochure routine in surrogacy cases where the surrogate in Norwegian and Thai providing information for mother is married, in order to exclude the possi- mothers and children who find themselves in bility that the woman’s husband is the biological such a situation. It is important to be particularly father of the child. Diplomatic and consular mis- aware of this group of children in order to ensure sions may provide assistance in connection with that their rights are safeguarded. DNA testing. DNA samples are sent to the Insti- tute of Forensic Medicine in Oslo to be analysed.

56 Act of 12 May 2003 No. 100 relating to the application of 55 In certain cases where registration in the National Popula- biotechnology in human medicine, etc. tion Register is considered unproblematic beyond any rea- 57 Section 2 of Act of 8 April 1981 No. 7 relating to children sonable doubt and there are weighty reasons to issue an and parents (Children Act). emergency passport, diplomatic and consular missions 58 Cf. section 4 of the Children Act. may issue such a passport to a child who has not been 59 given a national identity number. This exception is practi- Cf. section 81 of the Children Act. sed very restrictively. 60 Cf. section 7 of the Children Act. 34 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Surrogacy raises some serious ethical and lining adoption procedures and improving their legal dilemmas. Currently, a child born of a surro- quality. Efforts are currently being made to follow gate mother may risk ending up stateless and up these proposals. without rights. There is also reason to be con- cerned that surrogacy could encourage traffick- ing in children and other gross abuse of children. 6.5 Solemnisation of marriage In June 2010, an interministerial working group submitted a report on some of the challenges Under Norwegian law,63 Norwegians may be mar- posed by surrogacy.61 ried abroad either by a public official of the coun- The Government attaches great importance to try in question or a chaplain of the Norwegian complying with the provisions of the UN Conven- Church Abroad, or at a Norwegian diplomatic or tion on the Rights of the Child. Insofar as Norwe- consular mission.64 The Foreign Service was ori- gian citizens are involved in surrogacy cases, the ginally authorised to solemnise marriage in order Government will focus primarily on safeguarding to give Norwegian seamen who were rarely in the best interests of the child within the frame- Norway an opportunity to marry. Today both par- work of local, Norwegian and international law. At ties to a marriage tend to be permanently resident the same time it will seek to promote greater in Norway, but prefer a less traditional wedding. It international understanding of the many ethical is very popular to get married at a diplomatic or and legal problems raised by surrogacy. consular mission. There are long waiting lists at the most sought-after places (for example Madrid, Paris and Rome), particularly at certain times of 6.4 Adoption the year, and a number of missions have had to limit the number of marriages they perform. Children who are adopted in accordance with In order for a diplomatic or consular mission Norwegian law62 become Norwegian citizens as to perform a marriage, the marriage must be legal soon as the adoption process has been completed. in form and substance, both under Norwegian law Parents may register the child in the National and under the legislation of the country where the Population Register and apply for a national iden- ceremony is to take place. The Ministry of For- tity number for the child through a diplomatic or eign Affairs may authorise a mission to solemnise consular mission. In many cases the time it takes marriage after having consulted the authorities of to obtain a national identity number and then a the country concerned. Without such authorisa- standard passport may seem unnecessarily long. tion, no diplomatic or consular mission has the In some countries where there is no Norwegian authority to solemnise a marriage between a Nor- embassy, the procedures may be very time-con- wegian citizen and a citizen of the country where suming and complex. Therefore an arrangement the mission is located.65 has been established whereby certain honorary Since the entry into force on 1 January 2009 of consulates have been authorised to issue emer- amendments to the Norwegian Marriage Act gency passports for single entry into Norway for newly adopted children, provided that this is in accordance with local legislation. Table 6.2 The Norwegian authorities are obliged under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Year Heterosexual Homosexual Total the Hague Convention to ensure that adoption is marriages marriages in the best interests of the child, and to prevent 2008 743 16* 759 abduction and child trafficking in connection with 2009 656 16 672 adoption. In autumn 2009 an official Norwegian report 2010 639 14 653 on adoption was presented, which proposes a * Partnerships entered into before the new Marriage Act number of measures for simplifying and stream- came into force.

61 Cf. the report of 28 June 2010 from the interministerial wor- 63 Act No. 20 of 30 June 1955 relating to the authority of Nor- king group on dealing with surrogacy cases to the Ministry wegian public officials to solemnise marriage abroad, and of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion. of foreign public officials to solemnise marriage in Norway. 62 Act of 28 February 1986 No. 8 relating to adoption (Adop- 64 Regulations of 21 May 2001 relating to the solemnisation of tion Act). marriage by Norwegian Foreign Service officers. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 35 Assistance to Norwegians abroad according homosexual couples the same right to 6.6 Deaths marry as heterosexual couples, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been examining the possibili- It is only natural that the increase in the number ties of marrying people of the same sex in those of Norwegians travelling and living abroad has countries where Norwegian diplomatic or consu- been accompanied by an increase in the number lar missions already have the right to solemnise of deaths outside Norway. In 2010 the Foreign marriage. The feedback from most countries is Service received reports of 753 Norwegians who that this is not possible as such marriages would died while abroad, and the mission in the consular not be valid under the law of the country con- district concerned provided assistance in most of cerned. Thus, at present same-sex couples may these cases. only get married at the missions in Brussels, Notification of next-of-kin is an important task Copenhagen, Sofia, Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, in the event of a death. In cases where close rela- The Hague, Madrid and Lisbon. Some of these tives or friends were together with the deceased, countries require both parties to the marriage to the mission will attempt to put them in contact be Norwegian citizens, and none of them allow a with a chaplain of the Norwegian Church Abroad mission to solemnise a marriage where one of the or other appropriate support person at the place in parties is a citizen of that country. question. If the closest relatives are in Norway, Now that there are far fewer Norwegian sea- the mission will, after having obtained the neces- men and it is much easier for Norwegians who are sary documentation from the local authorities, resident abroad to travel to Norway, it can be inform the Foreign Service Response Centre, argued that there is no longer a need to solemnise which will contact the National Criminal Investiga- marriage at Norwegian diplomatic and consular tion Service (Kripos), which will then see to it that missions. Nonetheless, given that Norwegian mis- relatives are notified by the police, a district sher- sions have a long, highly valued tradition of solem- iff or a clergyman at their place of residence.66 nising marriage, the Ministry intends to maintain Great importance is attached in this connection to this service at the current level. If this should ensuring that no personal data concerning the require additional resources, or if the waiting deceased is released and that relatives are not times at certain missions should become exces- notified until the deceased’s identity has been sively long, the Ministry will recommend an established beyond doubt. In some cases it may amendment to the Regulations relating to the sol- take some time before the mission receives writ- emnisation of marriage abroad whereby at least ten confirmation of the deceased’s identity, and one of the parties to the marriage must be perma- can thus begin the notification process. In the nently resident in the country in which the mar- meantime, the next-of-kin may have been riage is contracted. informed of the death through other channels, There are business policy considerations that which of course creates a very difficult situation. could make it potentially profitable to expand the Nonetheless, the missions will continue to follow right to solemnise marriage, for example by the existing routines as the incorrect notification authorising captains of Norwegian-registered of a death can be very distressing. cruise ships to perform civil marriages on board. In the event of a death abroad, the diplomatic The Government is currently considering or consular mission will also be able to assist in whether the Marriage Act should be amended to establishing contact with the local authorities and provide for this. providing information and practical assistance in Although bigamy is not a big problem in con- connection with transporting coffins or urns back nection with marriages performed abroad, there to Norway. However, the Foreign Service does not have been instances of Norwegian citizens marry- have funds to cover local expenses or transport ing two or more spouses in different countries. costs to Norway. Bigamy is illegal under Norwegian law; it also cre- The settlement of an estate after a death ates major problems in connection with inherit- abroad may be a complex matter, particularly if ance, for example when two surviving spouses are the deceased owned property abroad. In some both legally registered as married to the deceased countries, the legislation of the country of which and are thus entitled to inheritance. the deceased is a citizen applies in such cases. In other countries, the legislation of that country –

65 An overview of the diplomatic and consular missions that are authorised to solemnise marriage and the conditions 66 In the event of a death in the Nordic region, notification is that must be fulfilled is available at www.landsider.no. made directly through the Nordic police districts. 36 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad i.e. the country of residence or the country where the property is located – applies. In the latter case, the diplomatic and consular missions advise the Box 6.2 Legalisation next-of-kin to contact the local probate authorities Legalisation is the formality by which a Nor- and a lawyer for assistance. The settlement of an wegian public official certifies the authenticity estate is generally less complicated if a proper will of the signature and the capacity in which the has been drawn up with the help of a local lawyer. person signing the document has acted. The document must bear the official seal or stamp of the institution concerned. Legalisation does 6.7 Other assistance not entail any validation of the accuracy of the content of the document. The general proce- The diplomatic and consular missions also per- dure is that a document is certified first by a form other legal acts and services for Norwegian notary public (i.e. the city recorder or the dis- citizens abroad, primarily in connection with mari- trict court), then by the Ministry of Foreign time matters, legalisation, service of process and Affairs, and finally by the respective countries’ letters of request. embassies that are accredited to Norway. The Norwegian diplomatic and consular missions diplomatic and consular missions are author- deal with a large number of maritime matters ised to act as notary public abroad. every year. These services are carried out on behalf of the Norwegian maritime authorities and include assistance to Norwegian and foreign sea- men who are employed on Norwegian-registered vessels. This work is extremely important in common international electronic procedures and terms of safeguarding Norwegian shipping inter- standards are established in this field. ests. The diplomatic and consular missions also per- In recent years there has also been a consider- form other legal services, such as tasks on behalf able increase in the need for notarial services,67 of the Norwegian judiciary in connection with the particularly legalisation.68 This is not only extradition of offenders and letters of request. because more Norwegians need to have docu- The latter include service of process, recording ments legalised in their dealings with other coun- statements and taking evidence. The diplomatic tries, but also because an increasing number of and consular missions are involved in the service foreign citizens and recently naturalised Norwe- of process (notification to the parties and witnes- gian citizens have documents that they need to ses from the public authorities, or in connection have legalised. In 2010, the Foreign Service legal- with court proceedings) and letters of request ised approximately 16 000 documents in Oslo, and (requests from one court to another to perform a more than 6 000 at missions abroad. Most of these legal service, for example to take evidence or were certificates, notifications, articles of associa- serve process) in approximately 800 cases a year. tion and export documents. Efforts are being The missions will continue to give priority to these made at international level to simplify legalisation tasks as long as there is no alternative that adequ- procedures by means of electronic systems. Nor- ately safeguards the interests of Norwegian citi- way is participating actively in this work, but it zens. seems that there is still a long way to go before The diplomatic and consular missions also provide facilities for receiving absentee ballots in connection with all types of official elections in Norway. The ballots are sent to the voters’ respec- tive constituencies. Therefore there are no overall statistics on the number of ballots cast abroad. In 67 The tasks imposed on a notary public by statute or regula- tions, for example solemnising marriage and legalising the general election in 2009, it was possible to vote documents. at some 100 diplomatic and consular missions and 68 Act of 1 July 2002 No. 12 relating to the notary public. 200 honorary consulates. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 37 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

7 Assistance in a crisis

Travelling and living abroad will always entail some risk of serious accidents, terrorist attacks, natural disasters or other crises. There are, how- Box 7.1 The Foreign Ministry’s ever, many things that can be done to avoid such crisis management system situations and minimise the damage if they do The Foreign Ministry has established a crisis arise. Firstly it is important to consider carefully preparedness and management system to sup- whether it is safe to travel to the destination in port local crisis management operations led question and whether it is absolutely necessary to by the diplomatic or consular mission in the do so. The Norwegian authorities may provide area in question. information that can help people make a well-con- The Ministry’s strategic leadership group, sidered decision, but it is the traveller himself who headed by the Secretary General, is responsi- must make that decision. ble for the strategic aspects of crisis manage- Once the decision has been made and prepa- ment. An emergency response team, consist- rations have started, there are a number of steps ing of four groups on a roster, is established as that can be taken to enhance safety and security needed to take care of operational tasks. One besides registering with the Norwegian authori- of the groups on the roster must be able at any ties,69 such as obtaining further information on given time to get to the Ministry within one the general security situation in the area and hour if a crisis occurs. The emergency notifying family members of the destination and response team also includes liaison officers dates and contact information. It may also be from the Armed Forces, the health service and useful to refresh general first aid skills and take the police. The team is prepared to send out a along certain useful items when travelling.70 special emergency response unit made up of The Ministry of Justice and Public Security has personnel from the police and the health ser- published a handbook on how to prepare for a vice, in addition to Foreign Ministry employ- trip and how to enhance personal safety and ees, at five hours’ notice to assist the Norwe- security and deal with serious incidents while gian diplomatic or consular mission with the abroad.71 management of a local crisis. The emergency response team also includes a number of peo- ple with particular responsibility for dealing 7.1 Assistance from the Norwegian with family members and with the media. All authorities members of the Foreign Ministry’s crisis man- agement system are given thorough training Thorough preparations will help to ensure a suc- and take part in regular exercises. cessful trip, and will be valuable in the event of an In addition to providing information and accident or crisis. It is recommended that every- advice and helping to establish contact one planning to travel to countries outside Europe between those affected by a crisis and their family members, the emergency response team assists in the voluntary evacuation of Norwegian citizens from crisis areas.

69 Cf. Chapter 4.3. 70 For example, a first aid kit, torch, extra mobile phone bat- and North America should register their travel tery, etc. details in advance. 71 Cf. http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/jd/dok/ Veiledninger_brosjyrer/2009/sikker-reise.html?id=582926. If a crisis should occur, Norwegians abroad (Norwegian only). should be aware that it is the authorities of the 38 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad country they are staying in that are responsible for taking immediate action such as fire fighting and rescue operations and searching for survi- Box 7.2 The Government’s crisis vors, and for maintaining law and order and imple- council menting measures to prevent pandemics.72 The Government’s crisis council is responsi- Some crises are of such a magnitude that the ble for the strategic coordination of complex country concerned requests international assis- crises. A crisis does not have to be particularly tance. Any such assistance will always be a supple- severe for the crisis council to be convened. It ment to the national relief effort. Moreover, such assesses which ministry should lead the government-to-government assistance must be response, and ensures that the measures provided in accordance with general criteria implemented are closely coordinated and that established by the authorities of the recipient information to the media, the general public country. A more detailed discussion of such assis- and others is clear and consistent. The perma- tance, which may take different forms and involve nent members of the crisis council are the sec- non-state actors as well, falls outside the scope of retaries general of the Prime Minister’s Office, this white paper. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry The measures taken by the Government in cri- of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of ses abroad in which Norwegian citizens are Defence and the Ministry of Health and Care involved will depend on the scale of the crisis and Services. the particular needs of those affected. As a gen- The Government’s crisis council is to eral rule, it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that ensure that matters requiring political deals with crises affecting Norwegians abroad.73 approval are quickly submitted to the minis- If the Ministry’s crisis management system is una- ters concerned or the Government for consid- ble to deal with the situation alone, an emergency eration. The crisis council has a coordinating response team will be established. Other minis- role, but the competent ministry still has deci- tries and government agencies will support the sion-making authority regarding individual Ministry of Foreign Affairs as needed, depending matters in crisis situations. The ministry that on the scale and nature of the crisis. In such situa- is designated to lead the response serves as a tions, the Government’s crisis council may be con- secretariat for the crisis council and is assisted vened to coordinate the ministries and others in this task by the Government’s crisis sup- involved in the crisis management operation. port unit. The crisis support unit is responsi- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ crisis man- ble for preparing up-to-date situation reports agement system was established on the basis of and analyses and dealing with information to the guidelines set out in the white paper on the the media and the general public. tsunami in South-East Asia and the central crisis management system. As part of ongoing crisis preparedness, all dip- lomatic and consular missions carry out risk anal- Since 2005, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yses and draw up contingency plans for their established a crisis response team on a number of respective areas of responsibility, which are occasions, for example, in connection with the ter- updated annually or more frequently. Regular rorist attack in London in July 2005, the cartoon exercises are also held both at the missions controversy in 2006 (when the Norwegian abroad and in Oslo to prepare for different types Embassy in Damascus was set on fire), the Leba- of crisis. non crisis in summer 2006, the attack on the Ser- ena Hotel in Kabul in January 2008, the kidnap- ping of a Norwegian journalist in Afghanistan in 72 Norway has for example drawn up a national preparedness November 2009, the earthquake in Chile in spring plan for pandemic influenza, cf. http://www.regjerin- 2010, the political unrest in Egypt at the beginning gen.no/en/dep/hod/documents/reports-and-plans/ of 2011, and the earthquake and tsunami that plans/2006/Norwegian-National-Influenza-Pandemic- Pr.html?id=102132. struck Japan in March 2011. 73 Exceptions to this may be made in the case of incidents On the whole, the Ministry’s crisis manage- that occur in the immediate vicinity of Norway. In such ment system has functioned well. However, ways cases, the ministry responsible for the sector that is most to further professionalise the system are consid- severely affected will lead the response, with the support of other affected ministries and the Government’s crisis sup- ered on an ongoing basis. These include improv- port unit. ing training and exercises, closer coordination 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 39 Assistance to Norwegians abroad between the Foreign Ministry Response Centre gers. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, in coop- and the rest of the crisis management system, and eration with the Directorate for Civil Protection the introduction of new technology to maintain an and Emergency Planning, has therefore drawn up up-to-date overview of Norwegian citizens in crisis contingency plans for rapid provision of food, areas and to get in touch with them. water, life jackets, etc. The civil defence has also Experience from previous crises has demon- developed plans for establishing reception centres strated the importance of maintaining a close dia- for large numbers of Norwegians who return to logue with other actors such as the Norwegian Norway after having been evacuated from abroad. Church Abroad, travel agencies, insurance com- No two crises are alike, and it is essential to panies, etc. This will continue to be in focus in maintain a strategic and operational flexibility for future crises. dealing with individual crises within a general Experience from situations where the Norwe- framework. In the Foreign Ministry’s view, the gian authorities have helped to evacuate people current crisis management system takes this fully from a crisis area has revealed a need to clarify into account. who may be included in such evacuations. For example, only Norwegian citizens and others who are lawfully resident in Norway are entitled to 7.2 International cooperation on crisis transport back to Norway. One of the challenges preparedness and management that arose during the Lebanon crisis was that fam- ily members of Norwegian citizens were evacu- The Nordic countries cooperate closely in matters ated to Norway without a visa or residence per- concerning crisis preparedness and management, mit. There were also problems involving Norwe- both at capital level and in third countries. This gian citizens with no ties to Norway, and no social cooperation is in addition to the established con- or family network here, who did not have any- sular cooperation between the Nordic countries. where to stay or anyone to turn to for help when Cooperation in crisis situations includes every- they arrived in the country. thing from contingency planning and the regular The Government has therefore decided to exchange of information to joint exercises and introduce more clearly defined rules for dealing coordination of activities in actual crisis situations. with such situations. Importance will be attached The division of tasks such as dealing with the to keeping families together. This means that media, manning family support centres and set- when a person is offered assistance in leaving an ting up rosters at hospitals, airports, etc., is also area, his or her immediate family (spouse, regis- agreed at local level as needed. tered partner/cohabitant and children) will be Formalised consular cooperation between the offered the same assistance. EU countries is still being developed. At the same The Lebanon crisis also showed that, in some time, the EU countries are increasingly coordinat- cases, Norwegian citizens may need to be evacu- ing their response to accidents, natural disasters ated rapidly by sea. Most ships are not, however, and other crises, particularly with regard to infor- equipped to transport a large number of passen- mation sharing, but also with regard to evacua-

UD-OPS

Foreign Service Response Centre Open round the clock Answers inquiries from the general public

May be reached via the Foreign Ministry switchboard 23 95 00 00

If you are abroad call the Embassy’s number. Outside opening hours you will be automatically transferred to UD-OPS

Figure 7.1 40 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad tions. The European Commission is currently con- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue sidering establishing common guidelines under to attach great importance to assisting Norwegi- the Community Mechanism for Civil Protection ans abroad in connection with crises and disas- on how the member states can coordinate their ters, and will improve crisis preparedness, hold efforts to safeguard the needs and rights of EU regular exercises, further develop the system for citizens in the event of major incidents and crises. registering travel information prior to departure, The Nordic EU countries are participating and provide information and advice to Norwegian actively in EU cooperation in this area and are citizens abroad. Importance will also be attached interested in coordinating their efforts with Nor- to further developing Nordic cooperation in this way as well. In some cases Norway has been able field and cooperating more closely with the EU on to participate directly in EU coordination activities crisis management where possible and appropri- at both local and central level. ate. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 41 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

8 Reimbursement of expenses

The increasing number and complexity of consu- Today, the general rule is that the consent of lar matters, sometimes combined with irresponsi- the person concerned or a family member must ble behaviour on the part of Norwegian citizens, be obtained before any measures entailing raises the question whether the Norwegian extraordinary expenses are implemented. Excep- authorities can or should claim reimbursement of tions are very rarely made to this rule, and only in expenses incurred in providing assistance to Nor- cases where there is serious threat to life. In such wegian citizens abroad. This applies both to indi- cases the Foreign Service requests the person vidual cases and to more extensive crises. concerned to reimburse the expenses incurred Under the current rules, expenses incurred by afterwards, either themselves or through their the Foreign Service in connection with consular insurance company. assistance are covered over the Ministry of For- The possibility of claiming reimbursement of eign Affairs’ operating budget, whereas the indi- expenses incurred by the authorities in connec- vidual concerned covers his or her own expenses. tion with assistance to a Norwegian citizen abroad As a general rule, the same distinction applies who has, deliberately or negligently, taken a great in crisis situations. This means, for example, that risk is being considered. According to case law if the Norwegian authorities provide assistance in and administrative practice relating to search and connection with an evacuation, those evacuated rescue operations in Norway, the authorities may, are responsible for covering the expenses this in special cases, claim reimbursement of search entails. In practice this means that prior to evacua- and rescue expenses in cases where the person in tion, they must confirm that they have adequate need of assistance has shown gross negligence. insurance coverage or sign an agreement in which The Supreme Court has ruled that the authorities’ they undertake to repay an emergency loan. In claims for compensation are not limited to general, evacuation assistance is only provided expenses incurred through the purchase of pri- from a country or area in which the situation is vate services. The Norwegian authorities will dangerous to a safe area. This is in keeping with therefore seek to recover the costs from the per- the coverage provided by most insurance policies. son concerned (or their insurance company) in In certain cases, however, it may be appropriate to extraordinary cases where gross negligence has assist those concerned with transport all the way been shown and where preventive considerations back to Norway. In connection with the earth- weigh heavily. quake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011, a The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to con- plane was chartered to transport Norwegians and tinue its stringent practice as regards individuals’ their families and other Nordic citizens to Nor- responsibility for covering their own expenses in way. Each person paid the regular airfare. consular matters. 42 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 2010–2011 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

9 Looking ahead

In this white paper, the Government has sought to Priorities in the various areas of consular assis- present the scope and nature of Norway’s consu- tance will be determined in accordance with the lar services today. As mentioned at the beginning, guidelines set out in this white paper. the Foreign Service devotes considerable The Government will seek to ensure that the resources to consular activities. Other ministries consular services provided in different parts of and central and local government institutions and the world are as equivalent as possible in compa- agencies also provide assistance in consular mat- rable cases. This will, however, be difficult for ters. both formal and practical reasons. The demand for consular services is expected The Government will give higher priority to to increase in the years ahead. In order to prevent assisting Norwegians staying abroad for a short an even greater gap between the public’s expecta- period than those who are permanently resident tions and the actual services offered to Norwe- in another country. gians abroad, it is important to foster general Under the current rules, expenses incurred by agreement on the extent of consular assistance the Foreign Service in connection with the provi- that should be provided and who should be eligi- sion of consular assistance are covered by the ble for it. This is particularly important given the Norwegian authorities, whereas the individual high level of interest in the consular field shown covers his or her own expenses. This will continue by both the general public and the media. to be the case. However, the Norwegian authori- It should be absolutely clear that the Norwe- ties will consider the possibility of claiming reim- gian welfare state only covers Norwegian terri- bursement of the expenses they have incurred in tory and that it is the legislation of the country cases where the person concerned has shown concerned that applies to Norwegians when they gross negligence or where preventive considera- are abroad. tions weigh heavily. In the Government’s view, consular assistance Assisting Norwegians abroad requires exper- must continue to be based on the principles of tise in a number of different areas. Importance individual responsibility and self-help. It is essen- will be attached to continuing efforts to ensure tial to have adequate travel insurance that covers that all employees working in the consular field all eventualities. have relevant, up-to-date expertise. Further meas- The Government will continue to give priority ures will also be taken to improve the internal and to acute and serious cases where human life or interministerial coordination of the Norwegian health is at stake, including cases that involve vio- authorities’ assistance to Norwegians abroad. lations of human rights or minors. The Government will continue to give priority The Government will seek to establish even to providing professional, effective and efficient closer consular cooperation with the other Nordic consular services to Norwegians. countries and with the EU in cases where this is considered appropriate. Efforts to develop and mobilise support for The Ministry of Foreign Affairs multilateral agreements in the consular field will hereby recommends: be continued. The possibility of entering into agreements concerning specific situations will that the recommendation from the Ministry of also be considered. Foreign Affairs of 1 April 2011 on assistance to Norwegians abroad, dated 1 April 2011, be sub- mitted to the Storting. 2010–2011 Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper) 43 Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Appendix 1

List of ministries, agencies and organisations consulted in connection with the preparation of the white paper

Prime Minister’s Office Oslo Police District Ministry of Justice and Public Security Oslo Tax Office Ministry of Labour Directorate of Immigration Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Adopsjonsforum Ministry of Finance Norwegian Bar Association Ministry of Defence Association of Norwegian Students Abroad Ministry of Health and Care Services (ANSA) Ministry of Local Government and Regional DIXI Resource Centre Development Norwegian Refugee Council Ministry of Trade and Industry Federation of Norwegian Commercial and Service Ministry of Government Administration, Reform Enterprises and Church Affairs Finance Norway Directorate for Civil Protection Islamic Council of Norway County Governor of Oslo and Akershus Norsk Reiselivsforum Directorate of Health Save the Children Norway Directorate of Integration and Diversity Red Cross National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) Norwegian Church Abroad Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration Stiftelsen Kirkens Fengselsarbeid (KIFA) (NAV) Norwegian Shipowners’ Association Meld. St. 12 (2010–2011) Report to the Storting (white paper)

Published by: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assistance to Norwegians abroad

Internet address: www.government.no

Printed by: 07 Xpress AS 08/2012