EEA citizen convicted of theft could not be expelled

A Romanian national was expelled with a two-year entry prohibition after having accepted two fines for thefts, see section 122 subsection 1 of the Immigration Act on expulsion of EEA nationals. Unlike the previous instances, the Supreme Court ruled the expulsion decision invalid. The EEA national had sufficient legal interest in having the expulsion decision reviewed although the entry prohibition had expired. The Court mentioned the nature of the dispute and the need for clarification of the law. Although public order interests suggested expulsion after the latest theft, there were still no circumstances that provided a basis for concluding that he, at the time of the decision, posed a genuine, relevant and sufficient threat to fundamental societal interests. The Court pointed out that the thefts were not very serious, that he was not part of a criminal environment or involved in any other form of anti-social activity, and that his life situation had changed since the last theft.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Areas of law: Administrative law, immigration law, section 122 of the Immigration Act

Justices: Skoghøy, Matheson, Kallerud, Bergh, Høgetveit Berg