Frontline Experiences of Newly Arrived Refugees in Norway and Denmark

The article examines the experiences of Syrian and Ukrainian refugees in their encounters with municipal integration workers in Norway and Denmark. The empirical analysis takes its point of departure in street-level bureaucracy (SLB) theory on how informal practices of frontline workers are crucial for the delivery of welfare policies. It also departs from the more classical focus within the SLB literature by focusing more explicitly on the experiences of the claimants and how these experiences vary across groups and policy regimes. Thus, it examines whether the differences between Norwegian and Danish integration policies at the national level – the latter being more restrictive than the former – transpire into refugees having different frontline experiences. The article relies on original survey data collected in Denmark and Norway among sub-samples of Syrian and Ukrainian refugees, respectively arriving from 2015 to 2023 and from 2022 to 2023 (n=6,551). The survey data enable us to assess refugees’ experiences of service quality, in this article measured as communication difficulties, whether they get the help they need, and changes in experienced self-worth following encounters with integration workers. The article finds that, overall, experiences of service quality are positive, but that differences exist across refugee groups and country of residence. The Syrian refugees in Denmark report the least positive experience with the municipal integration workers. We also find that a remarkable number of refugees report experiences of lower self-worth and communication problems. These negative experiences are more prevalent among refugees from Syria than Ukraine and more prevalent in Denmark than in Norway. Finally, the article finds that experiences of service quality are shaped by the individual resources that refugees are in possession of.