Asylum Seekers
Most read
Latest
-
Controversial Bill On Asylum Seekers Hits Parliamentary Floor
Minister of Justice Jón Gunnarsson has submitted a bill to Parliament that would make significant changes to the law regarding those seeking international protection in Iceland. This is the fourth attempt being made to pass this bill, which has received considerable pushback…
-
Justice Ministry To Let Asylum Seeker Legal Aid Contract With Icelandic Red Cross Expire
The Ministry of Justice’s contract with the Icelandic Red Cross, in which lawyers working for the Red Cross provide legal and interpretative services to those seeking international protection in Iceland, will be allowed to expire on April 30, Vísir reports. [su_pullquote]We have…
-
Changes To Law On Foreigners In The Works, Stricter Measures For Asylum Seekers Proposed
A draft of a bill from the Ministry of Justice proposing a number of changes to the Law On Foreigners expands police powers, evokes compulsory medical procedures, and gives veto rights to the chair and vice chair of the Immigration Appeals Board,…
-
Reykjavík Health Clinics Will No Longer Give Police Refugee Vaccination Certificates
While it is still unclear whether or not Reykjavík Health Services (RHS) can give the police vaccination certificates to then give to asylum seekers in Iceland, Vísir reports that the RHS have decided to stop the practice, and instead deliver the certificates…
-
Immigration Offers Money To Asylum Seekers To Leave Country; Offer Declined
The Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) invited a group of asylum seekers to a meeting at their offices in Hafnarfjörður yesterday morning and offered to pay them money to return to their home countries, Vísir reports. Kurds who were present at the meeting…
-
One Hospitalised, Other Deported After Violent Arrest At Immigration Centre
Of the two Palestinian men who were violently arrested last Tuesday at the immigration office at Bæjarhraun 18, one has since been deported to Greece, and the other was hospitalised from his injuries at the hands of police. Deportations to Greece remain…
-
Cleaning House: ÚTL, Evictions and Deportations to Greece
Last spring, the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) made an executive decision that would thrust the institution into the spotlight of criticism that extended from the general public and into the halls of Parliament: evicting asylum seekers from their housing, denying them even…
-
MP Harshly Criticises Palestinian Refugee Evictions
In the wake of recent news that the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) is evicting Palestinian asylum seekers from refugee centres and denying them their food stipend for refusing to take a pre-deportation COVID screening, Pirate Party MP Andrés Ingi Jónsson harshly criticised…
-
Refugee From Gaza Violently Arrested Trying To Admit Himself To Psychiatric Care
Mohammed Alsweirki, a 26-year-old man originally from Gaza, and his lawyer have confirmed that when Mohammed attempted to admit himself to psychiatric care last Thursday, he was denied entry and then violently arrested by six police officers, Mannlíf reports. Mohammed has had…
-
Palestinian Refugees Kicked Out Of Shelter For Refusing Pre-Deportation Test, Now Homeless
Palestinian refugees who were refused international protection in Iceland were kicked out of the shelter at Bæjarhraun in Hafnarfjörður, Kjarninn reports. According to sources close to Kjarninn and the Grapevine, they were denied housing due to their refusal to take a COVID…
-
Human Trafficking Survivor Facing Deportation Challenges Decision In Court
Uhunoma Osayomore, an asylum seeker who fled human trafficking and violence in Nigeria and is now facing deportation from Iceland, will have his case heard in Reykjavík District Court, Vísir reports. As reported, Uhunoma left home in Nigeria when he was only…
-
VIDEO & PHOTOS: Asylum Seekers Implore Iceland To Let Them Stay
Roughly two dozen asylum seekers, nearly all of them facing deportation to Greece, met at Hlemmur square in downtown Reykjavík this morning and from there, marched to Parliament and then back to Reykjavík police headquarters. All of them want to be able…
-
Asylum Seeker From Gaza Facing Deportation To Greece
Mohammed Alsweirki, a 26-year-old man originally from Gaza, has been living in Iceland for six and a half months and is seeking asylum. However, he faces deportation to Greece despite a rampant coronavirus pandemic in that country, despite requiring medical assistance that…
-
Senegalese Sisters Among Those Granted Citizenship
Two of the people recommended for citizenship by the parliamentary Judicial Affairs and Education Committee yesterday were Elodie Marie and Régine Marthe Ndiaye, Vísir reports. Their case drew national attention late last year when it was brought to light that despite having…
-
Survivor Of Human Trafficking Fears Deportation
A woman originally from Nigeria, who fled Italy where she had been held against her will in a human trafficking ring, has been denied international protection in Iceland after living here for two years, Vísir reports. Her lawyer is hopeful that the…
-
Cluster Coronavirus Infection Found In Asylum Seeker Shelter
Eight of the new coronavirus cases detected yesterday have been traced back to a cluster infection within a shelter for asylum seekers in Hafnarfjörður, Fréttablaðið reports. The first infection was detected on Tuesday, with another detected on Wednesday. In light of this,…
-
A Queer Utopia? Examining The Gap Between The Law And The People
Iceland has a reputation, in many ways well-deserved, as a good place for queer people to live. While the country has definitely made great strides—especially when it comes to gay people—to ensure equal rights and fair treatment for queer Icelanders, thereis still…
-
BREAKING: Egyptian Family Granted Asylum In Iceland On Humanitarian Grounds
A family of six, including four young children, have just been granted asylum in Iceland on humanitarian grounds, Kjarninn reports. The family were slated to be deported on September 16th, after over two years in Iceland, but went into hiding on that…
-
Police Start Search For Family Facing Deportation, And Icelanders Start Trolling Them
The police have announced that they have begun a formal search for a family of six, including four young children, who were set to be deported on September 16th. The family has been in hiding since that day, and Icelanders are responding…
-
Prime Minister Accused Of Embellishing The Leftist-Greens’ Refugee Response
The Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, has been accused of exaggerating her party’s success in dealing with refugee issues, an article from Vísir reported yesterday. She published a graph on her Facebook page which aimed to show that the Leftist-Greens were the best…
-
Left-Green MP Resigns From Party Over Government’s Handling Of Refugee Family Case
Rósa Björk Brynjólfsdóttir, (now formerly) an MP for the Leftist-Green Party and long a critic of the policies of both her party and the ruling coalition, has resigned from the parliamentary party, Kjarninn reports. The last straw, in her words, was the…
-
Family Of Six, After Over Two Years In Iceland, Now Facing Deportation
A family of six, who fled persecution in Egypt to seek asylum in Iceland, are now facing deportation next week, Stundin reports. The family, which includes four young children, have lived in Iceland for over two years now. Icelandic regulations specify that…
-
Beyond Words: Reykjavík’s City Libraries Use Art To Foster Interculturalism
Some Reykjavik residents wish they could emulate Lizzo; others dream of skydiving or travelling to space. Yet more merely hanker after a dozen parakeets and a bunch of grapes. Or at least that’s what the Reykjavik City Library’s collaborative collage “I Wish…