Norway to get tough on deportation flaunters

The police in Oslo said that the numbers of returnees who are breaking their ban on entry has near doubled in the past two years. Lawmakers are now planning to get tougher on foreigners who have returned despite being deported from Norway, which is not part of the European Union.

"In simple terms, conditions across Europe are so appalling that people come to Norway to make a living," Oslo police spokeswoman Britha Røkenes told the NRK network on Tuesday.

"But that is just one of several reasons why they come back."

NRK reported that six out of ten people arrested at Grønland police station are foreign nationals, who have neither an address nor a job in Norway. Many are deported.

Lawmakers are set to double the amount of time in prison for deportation flaunters. Previously, returnees risked 35 days behind bars, but they will now face a minimum of one year in jail.

"We hope this will act as a deterrent, so people refrain from returning," Røkenes said.