Qualifications passport to speed up refugee integration

Al-Fanar Media 10 September 2016

Faced with a flood of refugees, Norway has tested a new fast-track procedure to evaluate the qualifications of those who arrive in the country without proper documentation of their academic degrees or professional certificates, writes Burton Bollag for Al-Fanar Media.

This process should allow them to begin studying or working much sooner than has been possible up to now. The aim is to avoid months or years of forced inactivity for such asylum seekers and speed their integration into Norwegian society.

In a pilot project completed in May, authorities used the new procedure to issue a new type of document called a ‘Qualifications Passport for Refugees’ to 20 asylum seekers. Norway is working with other European countries to get them to adopt the new system. The ‘passport’ is based on an evaluation of any available documentation and a structured interview with the applicant, carried out by experienced case officers.
Full report on the Al-Fanar Media site

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