During the first half of 2023, the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) has processed around 3110 cases, compared to 2820 cases at the same time last year. Of the cases processed, approximately 18% were reversed.
The reversal rate will vary over time, depending on the cases that UNE is handling. Nevertheless, we see that the reversal rate is the same as last year, where we reversed previous decisions entirely or partially in about 18% of the cases throughout 2022. The figures include both reversals of complaints about the Directorate of Immigration's (UDI) decisions and requests for reversals of UNE's decisions.
The majority of the cases we processed in the first half of the year have been various types of work cases, including EEA cases. Followed by expulsion and family immigration cases.
The number of processed asylum cases has decreased. In the first half of the year, we processed 273 asylum cases, compared to 347 in the first half of 2022.
*The figures may deviate somewhat from UNE's annual reports and other sources due to rounding and possible corrections in the data material.
Case processing time has been reduced since last year
Preliminary figures for 2023 show that the average case processing time in UNE is now 144 days per case, compared to 177 days at the end of June 2022. This average includes all types of cases, including requests for reversal. The average case processing time for the whole of 2022 was 166 days.
"It is very gratifying that the case processing time is decreasing, and that the priorities we make are effective. But the case processing time is still too long and we are still working to reduce it. We hope it will continue to decrease in the future," says the head of the unit for preparation and case flow, Torgeir Tofte Jørgensen.
The processing time is shortest for so-called Dublin cases, where the average time use is 37 days per case, compared to 150 days last year. A Dublin case is when Norway asks another European country to process an asylum application.
Jørgensen explains that the reduction in case processing time for Dublin cases is due in part to UNE receiving far more complaint cases from UDI compared to last year.
"Many of the cases we have received have been old and UNE has therefore prioritised the cases and processed these cases quickly", says Jørgensen.
The case processing time is longest for revocation cases, with an average time use of 236 days per case. But also in the revocation cases, the case processing time has decreased compared to the same period last year when it took 275 days per case. Of the revocation cases, 28% have been processed in a board meeting. Cases that are processed in a board meeting usually have a significantly longer average case processing time than other cases. This is largely because the cases are more complex and take longer to prepare.
You can find more updated figures on our statistics pages (in Norwegian only).
You can read UNE's annual report for 2022 here (in Norwegian only).