In 2006 the directorate established and started to run the departure centre at Lier upon instructions from the authorities. The departure centre is a temporary offer of residence for those who no longer can stay in the ordinary reception centres due to final rejection of their applications.
By establishing the departure centre, the state authorities maintain the offer of residence to asylum seekers. The offer is available from when the application for asylum is made until the person concerned has either been granted a residence permit and been settled in a municipality, or has his/her application rejected. Upon rejection, the offer of residence in an ordinary reception centre applies until the exit date as set by the authorities.
Asylum seekers who have previously sought asylum are therefore not referred to the municipality's social services while waiting to be escorted out of the country by the police.
Unaccompanied minors who seek asylum, families with children, sick people or asylum seekers who cooperate with IOM (International Organization for Migration) or the police about their return, can continue living in the ordinary reception centres until they leave the country.
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has established a programme for voluntary return for asylum seekers in asylum centres. The programme consists of guidance on voluntary return given to employees in asylum centres, as well as information and counselling given to asylum seekers who have a final rejection of their application.
The Norwegian refugee council’s programme INCOR (Information and Counselling on Return and Repatriation) provides asylum seekers with information and counselling so that they have sufficient knowledge to make the decision on whether or not to return to their home country.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) provides information to asylum seekers and is in charge of arranging and seeing to that the different programs for voluntary return to the asylum seekers’ home countries are put into action.
There is also a particular return program for persons from Afghanistan who have received a final rejection of their application.
The National Police immigration service is responsible for returning persons with final rejections on their applicants who decline to return voluntarily.
