As has long been known by Iceland-enthusiasts longing to live the good life in the North Atlantic, cavorting with elves and singing along with Sigur Rós, immigrating to Iceland is no easy feat for those lacking citizenship to a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
A set of twin brothers being deported to New Zealand next week are being made aware of this, as Iceland’s Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) has denied their applications for residence permits based on familial ties to Iceland, mbl.is reports.
The brothers, whose mother is a New Zealander and father is Icelandic, applied for residency in Iceland 16 days prior to their 18th birthday this past summer. They had been living for a year with their father and his family, including two other brothers. As some documentation was reportedly missing from the applications ÚTL did not process the requests for residency, in part because applications based on familial ties must be processed while the child applicant is still considered a dependant (i.e. before their 18th birthday).
ÚTL reportedly looked into granting residency to the twins on the basis of a special connection to Iceland. This regulation stipulates that the connection must be so strong that it would be unfair to not grant a residence permit. However, ÚTL decided in the end that twin boys with an Icelandic father and half-siblings in Iceland do not have a strong enough bond to the country to warrant residency.
Typically a hopeful immigrant from outside the EEA must either have a familial connection to Iceland (e.g. a dependent child, spouse or co-habitating partner), must have an employer contracting them for work in Iceland, or must have been accepted to study in Iceland.
Related:
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