Immigration Control, Law, and Morality
Visa Policies Towards Visitors and Asylum Seekers : an Evaluation of the Norwegian Visa Policies Within a Legal and Moral Frame of Reference
Description:... This research paper evaluates Norwegian visa policies within a legal and moral frame of reference. It discusses the use of restrictive visa granting policy as an instrument of selective, nationality-based immigration control and examines its implication on Norway's compliance with its refugee obligations and on refugee access to normal asylum procedures. The discussion is based on a case study of visa applications from Pakistani citizens as opposed to other nationalities. The researcher reveals that despite a consistent pattern of discrimination towards targeted national groups like Pakistanis, the Norwegian government cannot be challenged for this differential visa policy since the letters of rejection are formulated in very general terms. The thesis is divided into three parts. Part I presents an empirical description of the development of the Norwegian visa policies; in Part II the visa policies are discussed in a legal framework of reference and evaluated according to accepted principles of law; and in Part III visa and immigration policies are evaluated according to principles of morality.
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