Norway intends to withdraw residence permits for persons who have travelled to the Middle East to join Daesh and other terrorist groups, Justice Minister Jøran Kallmyr told the newspaper Verdens Gang.
This decision applies to both permanent and temporary residence permits. Also, Norway doesn't intend to make any exceptions for women who have turned into jihadis or become "Daesh brides". People linked to the terrorist groups will also be denied family reunification.
"They do not have the right to return to Norway", Justice Minister Jøran Kallmyr clarified, citing the serious security risk for Norway and Norwegian values that terrorists represent.
Kallmyr also pledged legal prosecution for returning jihadis.
"Norwegian citizens who have joined Daesh, either as fighters or with other affiliations, will be prosecuted if they return. If they have children, they will be handled by the child welfare service", Kallmyr explained.
READ MORE: Norwegian PM Splits Nation With 'Unwise' Plans to Bring Home 'Daesh Orphans'
While the government previously agreed to take back "Daesh orphans" from the Middle East, Finance Minister and Progress Party leader Siv Jensen announced that her party won't help women who have joined Daesh.
"We don't feel sorry for you. You have wilfully chosen the path of compromised safety for yourselves and your children. Let's make it clear. We won't lift a finger to help you", Siv Jensen said.
The development in Norway follows a pattern seen in other Nordic nations. On 1 May, a new Finnish law came into force, which makes it possible to withdraw citizenship from people with dual citizenship who have committed serious crimes aimed at Finland.
A prerequisite for the loss of citizenship is that the person is sentenced to a prison sentence of at least five years, and it is the Finnish Migration Board that decides on revoked citizenship, the Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet reported.
This includes, among other things, terrorism, espionage and endangerment of Finland's sovereignty. Violations of the ban on chemical weapons, gross human trafficking, taking hostages, and hijackings that are aimed at Finland's vital interests are also covered.
READ MORE: Finnish Imam's Daughter, Son-in-Law Revealed as Daesh Jihadists
However, the citizenship law doesn't apply to sexual crimes, despite previous suggestions by Interior Minister Kai Mykkänen, which came amid a grooming gang scandal involving Middle Eastern immigrants and underage girls as young as ten.
As the law lacks retroactive force, it cannot be applied to crimes that have occurred before it came into force. Thus, for example, Finnish jihadis found guilty of crime in the conflict area in the Middle East cannot be deprived of their Finnish citizenship.
In late March, the Danish government and the Danish People's Party agreed on new rules that will allow the authorities to deprive citizens who fought abroad alongside terrorist groups, including Daesh, of their citizenship without a court order or legal action.
So far, Sweden remains the only Scandinavian nation who hasn't considered withdrawing jihadists' citizenship, although this idea has been proposed by the right-wing Sweden Democrats.
READ MORE: Sweden Looking Forward to Welcoming 230 Daesh Returnees and Their Children
*Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and a number of other countries
