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Norway: Permission to stay refused

01 September 1996

Sumbel Pervaiz, aged 23, from Pakistan, whose mother, father and sister are Norwegian citizens has been refused permission, together with her son (aged 2), to stay in Norway. Sumbel broke with her husband's family in Pakistan because of his violent behaviour towards her. After her departure the disagreement between the two families has increased. Now the Minister of Justice in Norway, Grete Faremo, wants to send Sumbel and her son back to her husband in Pakistan. They have been waiting for this decision for 22 months, and the Norwegian authorities have taken more than 15 months to deal with her residence application. This rule usually implies that if an applicant has to wait for more than 15 months, they will automatically get permission to stay in Norway. The Norwegian authorities claim that Sumbal has stronger bonds with Pakistan than to Norway, where her father, mother, and sister are residents. Sumbel's lawyer, Trygve Tveter, fears that there will be two classes of Norwegian citizens, those with a Norwegian background, and those with an immigrant background, and that this would never have happened to a family with a Norwegian origin. Sumbal's mother was hospitalized in a psychiatric institution because of a nervous breakdown when she learnt that her daughter had been refused permission to stay. Despite this, Justice Minister Faremo will not let Sumbal stay in Norway, even on humanitarian grounds. Dagbladet 7.10.96.