A survey by the government agency in charge of integration said immigrants from Asia and Africa in particular feel the sting of discrimination both at work and in interactions outside the office.

The poll found that 19 percent of immigrants said they had personally experienced discrimination in employment or on public transit. Another 15 percent said they were victims of discrimination in restaurants and other public places.

"When I don't get enough help at the doctor's office, or when folks are unpleasant on the bus, I have to wonder whether it's because of my background," Catalina Tetlie, originally from the Dominican Republic, told Aftenposten. "Maybe it happens to everyone? I try to just block it out."