Signe Kathrine Aaling, who heads the police security unit PST (Politiets sikkerhets tjeneste), thinks that foreigners whose identities can't be confirmed constitute "a considerable security risk for our entire society."
That's because asylum seekers without identification can be granted temporary residence and working permission in Norway while their case is being processed. That in turn gives them Norwegian identification papers.
Aaling worries that those papers, and the system itself, can be exploited by terrorists.
PST has sent a report to the government department responsible for immigration issues, warning of potential abuse and exploitation of the system.
Aaling notes that the relatively easy process of obtaining work permission, and thereby a Norwegian bank account and credit card, also can be exploited by organized crime.
"We don't know how widespread this may be, but want to point out that it's cause for unease," she told newspaper Aftenposten.
PST officials are urging more comprehensive means of trying to confirm an asylum-seeker's identity as soon as they arrive in Norway.
Terror researcher Brynjar Lia at the military research organization FFI (Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt) notes that most active terror cells in Europe are multi-national, and that the need for identification papers is huge. Both false and legitimate identification papers are important resources for international terrorist groups, so their members can get past border controls, Lia said.
