Norway set to deport record number of people in 2016: report

Norway is set to deport a record number of people who were living illegally in the Nordic country, local media reported on Friday.

Norwegian police sent out a total of 7,312 people at the end of November, which is the highest number ever and 5 percent more than the same period last year, newspaper VG reported, citing figures from the Police Immigration Service.

The Police Immigration Service is responsible for forced return of persons who do not have legal residence in Norway.

Although a record number of people will be sent out of Norway by force this year, police said they are unlikely to achieve the government's goal of deporting 9,000 people before the New Year, the report said.

Norway deported a record of 7,825 people in 2015, representing an increase of 8 percent compared to the year before, according to the Police Immigration Service.

Final figures for December and 2016 overall will not be ready until later in January, VG reported.

Of the 7,312 who were sent out by force at the end of November, 2,041 were with criminal charges. Most of those were from Romania, Poland and Lithuania, the report said.

A total 1,225 people who had applied for asylum were deported, while 1,280 others were returned to another European country as a result of the Dublin regulation, which stipulated that the first country refugees set foot in is responsible for their asylum claims. Endit