Balancing the borders: Irregular migrants as the excommunicated of the Norwegian welfare state

Cecilie Øien (Fafo – Institute for Applied International Studies)

The living conditions of irregular migrants in Norway are to a large degree characterized by them being a marginalized group. While they have certain rights in regard to welfare, their access to welfare benefits is very restricted as is their access to the formal labour market. While it is clear that these migrants have limited rights in Norway, I will discuss that an important challenge within this field is in fact the relationship between legal rights, institutional practices and the benefits migrants have access to. The paper is based on a qualitative study I undertook with colleagues at Fafo in 2010-11 for the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, looking at the living conditions and experiences of rejected asylum seekers. I argue that policy related to irregular migrants, and more generally immigration, are defined and implemented according to contemporary perceptions of Norway as an imagined community. The mainstream political expectation is that rejected asylum seekers are themselves responsible for leaving the country. Irregular migrants are thus particularly interesting to understand Norwegian citizenship because they represent the opposite of what is defined in public discourse as being a responsible citizen. Apparently irregular migrants exclude themselves from this imagined community by not qualifying for asylum and by remaining when they “should” leave. By staying they thus not only break the law, but also the prevailing moral contract of what it means to deserving recipient of welfare as a common good to which all citizens are expected to contribute.

Cecilie Øien is research coordinator at Fafo. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester, and her research areas include migration, gender, child migration, transnational families and visual anthropology.

Time: 2 September, 13.15-15.00
Venue: Uni Rokkansenteret, Nygårdsgaten 5, 6. etg (5th Floor)

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