Asylum seeker: A person who on his or her own initiative, and without prior notification, asks the authorities in Norway for protection and recognition as a refugee. The person is called an asylum seeker until a decision has been made on the application.
 
Quota refugee: Also referred to as quota refugees or UN refugees. Resettlement refugees are permitted to come to Norway following an organised selection process run by the UDI in cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  The annual quota is set by the Stortinget (the Norwegian parliament) following a proposal from the Government.
 
Refugee: In everyday language, the term refugee is used to mean a person who has fled war, civil war or infringement of his or her human rights. In the legal sense (defined in the UN Refugee Convention), a refugee is a person who has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.