On 23 June 1940, Lavrenty Beria of the NKVD ordered the Murmansk Oblast, encompassing the entire Kola Peninsula, to be cleaned of "foreign nationals".

[citation needed] After 1992, some descendants of the original settlers began to emphasize their family backgrounds, although only a few had been able to maintain a rusty knowledge of the Vardø dialect of the Norwegian language.

There are special provisions in Norwegian immigration law which ease this process, albeit generally being less permissive than those which pertain in other countries which operate a "right of return".

In order to obtain a permit to move to Norway and work there, a foreign citizen must show an adequate connection to the country, such as having two or more grandparents who were born there.

[6] In 2007, the small village of Port-Vladimir [ru], the last stronghold of the Kola Norwegians lost its official recognition due to depopulation.