This is one of several pages linking to information about the immigration and emigration laws of specific countries, and implications for discussions of open borders.
Norway is a Scandinavian country with a population of 5.1 million. It is a First World country in Northern Europe. Although not a member of the European Union, it maintains close ties with the EU. For more, see the Wikipedia pages on Norway and immigration to Norway.
Norway is interesting in the context of debates about migration and open borders for these reasons:
- Public sentiment in Norway is more anti-open borders and anti-migration than in most other First World countries, and it contrasts heavily with its neighbor Sweden, which has the most pro-open borders public sentiment in the First World.
- Norway is wealthier than other First World countries partly on account of greater access to oil (natural resources). The greater hostility to migration has been explained by some as arising from the fact that a larger fraction of the country’s wealth arises from natural resources, compared to other First World countries, and the per capita wealth from natural resources declines with increases in population.
Blog posts discussing Norway in the context of open borders:
- Open borders in Scandinavia: a brief case study by John Lee, Open Borders: The Case, December 14, 2012, discusses attitudes in Norway to Swedish migrants.
- Who favors open borders? by Nathan Smith, Open Borders: The Case, December 3, 2012.
- Do countries where wealth comes more from natural resources tend to have less pro-migration attitudes? by Vipul Naik, Open Borders Action Group, March 27, 2014.