Palestinians won in the Court of Appeal and are allowed to retain Norwegian citizenship

The Palestinian couple were granted asylum as stateless Palestinians in Norway 24 years ago, writes Klassekampen.

Seven years later they were granted citizenship. In 2016, the decision came from the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) that they – and their children and grandchildren – had to return their Norwegian passports and leave the country.

Last year, the couple lost in the Oslo district court. On 4 June this year, the verdict was handed down in the Court of Appeal, where the couple won, the newspaper writes.

The reason why the couple’s Norwegian citizenship was revoked is that the authorities were able to verify via the Norwegian embassy in Jordan that they are Jordanian citizens, not stateless Palestinians as they stated on arrival. The couple themselves say that the Jordanian citizenship was arranged for them following they had fled, and that they did not know regarding it.

According to the judgment, even before the Norwegian authorities granted the couple citizenship in 1997, they had “clear indications” that they were Jordanian, without this having consequences for the granting of Norwegian citizenship. The Court of Appeal emphasizes this when they conclude that revocation is disproportionate.