The ambiguous status of unaccompanied minors between 15–18 years old seeking asylum in Norway

Abstrakti

In the last few years a substantial group of unaccompanied minors have applied for asylum in the Scandinavian countries. It is well recognized that the minors represent a particularly vulnerable group of migrants, and international conventions as well as Norwegian legislation have provisions that apply specifi cally to them. The article discusses how the care arrangements for the applicants between the ages of 15-18 provided by Norwegian authorities are colored by their status primarily as children or primarily as asylum seekers.

We conclude that the new restrictive measures of 2009 show the relative subordinated position of the CRC to immigration control, which means that the older minors are treated more as adults, restricting that the special needs of this group are met. However we fi nd also the trend of granting unaccompanied minors rights as children: Their application assessment is given priority and that they are given equal civil rights in main welfare institutions and are included into the ordinary welfare system instead of given separate treatment.