Section 28. Residence permit for foreign nationals in need of protection (asylum)

A foreign national who is in the realm or at the Norwegian border shall, upon application, be recognised as a refugee if the foreign national

a.
has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of ethnicity, origin, skin colour, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or for reasons of political opinion, and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of his or her country of origin; see Article 1 A of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967, or
b.
without falling within the scope of (a) nevertheless faces a real risk of being subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment upon return to the country of origin.

A foreign national who is recognised as a refugee under the first paragraph is entitled to a residence permit (asylum).

In an assessment under the first paragraph, account shall be taken of whether the applicant is a child.

An applicant shall as a general rule also be recognised as a refugee in accordance with the first paragraph when the need for protection has arisen after the applicant left the country of origin and is a result of the applicant’s own acts. When assessing whether an exception should be made to the general rule, particular weight shall be given to whether the need for protection is due to acts that are punishable under Norwegian law or whether it seems most likely that the main purpose of the acts was to obtain a residence permit.

The right to be recognised as a refugee under the first paragraph does not apply if the foreign national can obtain effective protection in other parts of his or her country of origin than the area from which the applicant has fled.

Subject to the exceptions established in regulations issued by the King, the spouse or cohabitant of a foreign national who is granted a residence permit as a refugee under the second paragraph, and the refugee’s children under the age of 18 who have no spouse or cohabitant, are also entitled to a residence permit as refugees.

When a foreign national’s application for a residence permit under this provision has been rejected, the decision-making authority shall on its own initiative consider whether the provisions of section 38 shall be applied.

The King may issue regulations containing further provisions on the application of this section and sections 29 and 30.