Two Swedish citizens have been expelled from Norway with lifetime entry bans after being stopped by police in Oslo shortly after entering the country. According to the Oslo Police District, these are individuals with ties to criminal networks and a serious criminal history.

The individuals were stopped on April 29, less than 24 hours after arriving in Norway. Following the intervention, they were detained pending their expulsion, before being returned to Sweden on Wednesday.

According to police information, one of the men has previously been convicted of murder in Sweden. The other has convictions including attempted murder. Both have been assessed as posing a serious risk to fundamental societal interests, which forms the basis for the expulsion decision and the lifetime entry ban.

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The decisions are based on a new directive from the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which came into force on January 23 this year.

The regulatory change gives police expanded powers to decide on the expulsion of citizens from EU and EEA countries, even in situations where the individual has not been convicted of a crime in Norway.

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The decisive factor instead is whether the individual is assessed as posing an especially serious criminal threat linked to organized networks, within the framework of the Aliens Act.

Police: “It’s About Security”

According to the Oslo Police District, this provides increased scope for action to act against individuals deemed to pose a risk to society. The police emphasize that the tool is now being used for the second time since its introduction.

– When foreign citizens with serious criminal records come to Norway without a legitimate purpose, we must act swiftly and consistently. It’s about security, preventive work, and protecting society from crime, said Police Inspector Henrikke Vestgren in a statement.

According to the authorities, it took less than a month from the introduction of the new directive until the first expulsion was carried out under the new rules. The two Swedish citizens now returned to Sweden are the latest to be subjected to this application.

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