Oslo (SD) – A total of 1,600 Somali immigrants in Norway who were previously denied asylum in that country are granted citizenship.

The registered refugees have already applied for a residence permit which should’ve allow them to become citizens of that country.

According to a statement from Norway’s Ministry of Justice, many people who have been waiting for citizenship are now granted under humanitarian grounds.

The majority of these Somali migrants who just got approved for citizenship arrived in Norway between 2012 and 2016.

Parliamentarian Bashe Muse, from the Oslo City Council, told the VOA that he had worked hard to stop the Norwegian government in sending the refugees back to Somalia.

The move have been welcomed by all Somali refugees in Norway, the majority of whom have been waiting for a long time to get legal status.

Norway is one of the countries that strongly vets refugees claimants, and have stripped several Somali refugees of their citizenship lately.