During the refugee influx from Ukraine from 2022 and onwards, the number of refugees staying outside reception centers before settlement in Norwegian municipalities increased significantly compared to previous years. This project aims to gain more knowledge about how IMDi and the municipalities' follow-up these refugees and how the refugees have experienced staying in private accommodation before settlement.
Before the refugee influx from Ukraine started in 2022, there were few refugees in Norway who lived in private accommodation before settlement. On March 16, 2022, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security issued an instruction that municipalities with Ukrainian refugees outside the asylum system could receive grants from UDI for temporary alternative reception placement (MAMOT). This instruction was repealed on February 15, 2024, and the scheme will be discontinued in spring 2024.
The MAMOT Scheme:
Under the MAMOT scheme, Ukrainians who found private accommodation, for example with family, friends, or voluntary organizations, could register for MAMOT in the municipality. Participation in the scheme was voluntary for municipalities, and if a municipality rejected an application for MAMOT, the refugees were referred to a reception center. Upon approval of MAMOT, the municipality was responsible for the refugees' living expenses and received financial compensation from UDI. Refugees who were not in need of support could live in private accommodation without public assistance.
Purpose of the Project:
While many Ukrainians have expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to live in private accommodation while waiting for settlement, it has been pointed out that this group may have had particularly poor access to information about their rights, and that the scheme could lead to some refugees being exploited in a vulnerable situation.
This project will gather more knowledge about both IMDi and the municipalities' practices related to the follow up and settlement of Ukrainian refugees. It will also investigate the refugees' own experiences of living in private accommodation before settlement—both with and without approved MAMOT—and the settlement process itself.
More about the project
Method:
The project uses a combination of surveys and qualitative interviews with:
- Employees of IMDi
- Refugee services and settlement officials in the municipalities
- Voluntary organizations
- Ukrainian refugees who have lived in private accommodation before settlement
Based on analysis of the findings, NIBR aims to provide recommendations to IMDi and Norwegian municipalities on good ways to protect the interests of refugees living in private accommodation.
