As an international student in Norway , my perspective .
International students should first understand that Norwegian students and their parents and their previous generations have been paying taxes for years to have free education . How can we compare that to us international students who just come here for time being and don’t really pay taxes in commensurate to them overtime , unless you’re on a full time working salary for a specific time period ? Imagine being in your own country and being denied housing because others are prioritized. It is absolutely true that international students are prioritized for housing over Norwegian students. Won’t we be mad if we pay taxes all our life for free education and associated study privileges whilst non tax payers get to jump the queue ? ( Of course we pay taxes while working part time but are we really comparing the amount of money paid in total to how much the citizens pay ? )
Secondly , for the people who think international students leave Norway after studies . It’s because most have no CHOICE. 126k to be shown for visa the first year then also the second year and then around 256k to stay back after studies !! Add to this that the waiting period for this visa is 10 months now . Which means you cannot re enter the country if you cross the border during that period , so essentially locked in without being even able to travel to adjacent country for work or pleasure . It’s extremely difficult to find a job directly after studies if you’re in a highly specialized field due to many factors , one being the ability to speak norsk (IT being an exception) . This forces the students to either work part time in an unskilled job or leave , many choose the latter because they would like to work in a skilled field and not lose out on an year/ work experience.
I speak Norwegian , completed a masters degree here and I’m came here to live life the Norwegian way and pay taxes and be a good citizen. I’m looking for a job (not easy) but the timeline isn’t in my favour . I wish to see my parents back home but I have to wait for 10 months ?? for a 12 month visa ?? So basically I just have 2 months with the travel rights . I chose Norway because of my love for this country , not to sound condescending but my friends who chose Canada and Australia are applying a permanent residency now whereas I am struggling to stay back one year.
No doubt that Norway will lose out on talented students but it’s not for us , but for the Norwegians to decide if that’s something they’re comfortable with or something that they want for their country. As someone pointed out before , this would mean influx of spoilt kids and the talented ones would chose other countries . Let’s not act surprised when we hear international students come here to stay back . Of course they do. Most of them do. It’s easier and the only way actually to get a foothold into the Norwegian society because then you have Norwegian experience and credentials. It’s next to impossible to get a job from abroad very easily unless you’re in a very advanced state in your career/ management positions/ company transfers/ IT etc. So it’s not making it easy for the skilled people from other countries.