During the past 25 years, a growing number of nation-states have introduced visa requirements for immigration policy reasons. Today, restrictive visa granting policies are the most important instruments of immigration control for many countries. This book presents the first extensive study of the effects of these policies in Norway. At present, the granting of a visa in Norway is largely dependent upon the nationality of the applicant. In refusing to grant visas, a standard practice of Norwegian immigration authorities is to refer to their experience that visa holders from certain countries remain in Norway after their visas have expired. The book's findings, however, show that there is little statistical evidence supporting this practice. In examining the practice of denying visas to persons of particular nationalities, the author discusses a number of issues within legal and moral frames of reference. Central among these are questions focused on the following areas: - Are such nationality-based decisions acceptable? - Do visa rejections of this sort constitute discrimination? - Are visa policies preventing access to asylum procedures, compatible with obligations to refugees? - On what grounds may foreign citizens be denied the right to visit family members in another country? Dr. Philos. Bente Puntervold Bø is Professor and leader of Social Welfare Research Center at Oslo University College (Høgskolen i Oslo). This is her doctoral dissertation from 2000 at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.