(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[visa] Summer 2009 introduces the new visa information system (VIS) in the country. This means that anyone who applies for a visa to Norway is registered with fingerprints in a large European database. But the registry will not only be used in visa matters. EU documents state that the police should also be able to use the information. The aim is to prevent and investigate "terrorist acts and other serious, criminal offenses". Data Protection Director Georg Apenes is critical.
- When the public sector collects information about me, it must always be clear what they are to be used for. What does "terrorist acts and other serious criminal offenses" really mean? Where does the border go? This is imprecise, Apenes states.
He sees the scheme as part of a growing surveillance of foreigners in Norway.
- When the police obtain fingerprints in a case, there is a hypothesis that the person in question may have committed a criminal act. Such a suspicion does not exist when all immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers are systematically registered, says Apenes.
Calls for debate
The new visa register is introduced in Norway as a result of the Schengen cooperation. Initially, the purpose was to make it easier to identify and send back undesirable foreigners. In Norway, the case has therefore been dealt with in connection with amendments to the Immigration Act. But the police's ability to search the register has not been heard as an independent matter.
- This seems like an unsatisfactory case processing, says lawyer Harald Stabell, head of the criminal justice committee in the Norwegian Bar Association.
He believes the police's access to such information requires thorough treatment, and he is skeptical that this possibility will come in the same vein as the introduction of the new visa register.
- This type of information can be misused, it can be used for other purposes than what was intended. Therefore, this requires thorough preparation and debate. It must not enter the back door, says Stabell.
It is usual for such new rules from the EU and Schengen to be adopted in Norway without a public consultation, unless a legislative amendment is to be presented. This is stated by Tom Brunsell, department director in the Department of Justice.
Effective
Brunsell understands that some people find it daunting that police have access to growing amounts of information about individuals.
- But the thinking in the EU is that the fight against organized crime and terrorism is based on the exchange of information. This is and will be an effective way for the police to cooperate. And everything happens in the framework of privacy and data protection, he says.
In this collaboration, foreign police will also be able to search for information that Norway has registered.
- As a participant in Schengen and VIS, the Norwegian police are given the opportunity to obtain such information from other countries, and foreign police are allowed to apply among visa applicants registered by Norway. We both provide information and use other people's information, says Brunsell.
Persons applying for a visa to Norway and the Schengen area shall be stored with ten fingerprints, photo and other personal information in the register. And the police can extract a lot of information about those who are registered.
- You get access to information such as name, nationality, destination, place of arrival, place of departure, place of residence, who you are invited by, what was stated about the purpose of the trip and so on, Brunsell says.
PST positive
The initiative of the Vis Register came in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In addition to stopping so-called illegal immigration, the fight against international terrorism has been an important justification for the scheme. The Police Security Service (PST) is positive about the proposal.
"We emphasize that registration of biometric data on visa applications could also be an important contribution to the fight against international terrorism. Against this background, we assume that PST, who is responsible for internal security in Norway, will have access to Vis, ”writes PST in its consultation statement on the changes in the Immigration Act.
The so-called legal acts that formally establish the visa register have not been finally adopted by the EU. But the work is underway, and Norway's part of the system has already been developed and under test. The register will become the world's largest database of biometric data and is expected to contain information on up to 70 million men's boxes.
