directorate of immigration
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Directorate Of Immigration Employee Shares Clients’ Information
On December 20, Gímaldið media reported that a Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) employee had breached confidentiality when sharing personally identifiable information of its clients. According to Gímaldið, the employee shared the clients’ names on an Instagram close friends list, photographing handwritten task…
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Surge Of Applicants Causing Student Enrolment Difficulties At Icelandic Universities
This year, applications for student visas in Iceland were up by 40% from 2024, according to the Directorate of Immigration (Útlendingastofnun). The Grapevine has been contacted by phone and email regarding difficulties for international students that seemed greater than in past years.…
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Volunteer Nominated As Outstanding Icelander Faces Deportation
Rima Charaf Eddine Nasr is set to be deported, despite recently being nominated as one of ten candidates for the “Outstanding Young Icelander” award, reports Heimildin. She was nominated for her volunteer work with children. Despite having several family members settled in…
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Yazan Tamimi Receives International Protection in Iceland
Yazan Tamimi and his parents were granted international protection in Iceland on October 2, according to Heimildin. They were previously set to be deported to Spain, but the Minister of Justice halted the deportation at the request of the Minister of Social…
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Palestinian Family Reunification No Longer Prioritised
The Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL), in collaboration with the Ministry of Judicial Affairs, no longer prioritises Palestinian applications for family reunification. Palestinian applicants have received priority since October 2023. Authorities have granted 160 residence permits to Palestinians on the grounds of family…
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Directorate Of Immigration Denies Venezuelans Asylum In Landmark Ruling
On Wednesday, October 4, the Directorate of Immigration’s court of appeals ruled in three cases concerning Venezuelan refugees in Iceland, denying their application for asylum. The rulings are expected to set a precedent in the cases of the Venezuelan refugees who applied…
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Wants To Move Immigration Offices To Reykjanesbær
Four Independence Party MPs from the South Iceland district, which includes Reykjanesbær, have submitted a parliamentary proposal that would move the Directorate of Immigration offices from its current location in Kopavogur to Reykjanesbær. [su_pullquote]Join our weekly newsletter to get our next quiz…
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Government Still Preparing To Deport About 200 People, Including Families & Wheelchair User
While the government has reduced its numbers of planned deportations from about 300 to 200, many of them are still intended to be sent to Greece, Iraq, and Nigeria, including families and at least one man who uses a wheelchair. [su_pullquote]If you…
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Au Pair Nearly Deported For Leaving Family Who Overworked Her
The Immigration Appeals Board has overturned a ruling from the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) that sought to deny a residence permit for a Filipina woman who originally came to Iceland as an au pair but ended up leaving the family due to…
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Evicted Refugees Now Also Reportedly Being Denied Medical Care
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, it is now being reported that 14 refugees…
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Immigration Directorate Said To Be Untruthful With Media
Recent remarks from the director of the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) contradict the experiences of the lawyer for an Iranian family, including a trans teen, who face imminent deportation. The lawyer’s response has been posted by No Borders Iceland. As reported, the…
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MPs, Bishop Of Iceland And Others Condemn Deportation Of Pregnant Asylum Seeker
Yesterday’s deportation of an Albanian asylum seeker family, including a woman who is nine months pregnant, has raised pointed questions and strong condemnation from numerous corners of Icelandic society. The Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) continues to contend that they have done nothing…
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Hunger-Striking Iranian Asylum Seeker Deported Without Notice, Lawyer Never Notified
Amin Ghayszadeh, an asylum seeker from Iran who had been on a hunger strike since August 23rd, was suddenly arrested Sunday evening and deported yesterday, Fréttablaðið reports, without even his lawyer being alerted to the arrest. As reported, Amin left Iran five…
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Iranian Asylum Seeker On Hunger Strike, Faces Deportation To Greece
Amin Ghayszadeh is on his 13th day of his hunger strike, and faces deportation to Greece, a country often cited as one of the worst for refugees. A petition is currently being circulated, imploring immigration authorities to reconsider the deportation decision. Amin…
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Small Business Owner Facing Deportation, In Part For Not Being European
The co-owner of a boutique featured in the Grapevine is now looking at being deported, in part for being from outside the European Economic Area. She has been given a matter of days to leave Iceland, and is reaching out to the…
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Legal Fund Launched For Child, Born In Iceland, Who Faces Deportation
A refugee family is fighting to stay in Iceland, as immigration authorities have slated their two-year-old child for deportation, despite being born in Iceland. Appealing their case will mean taking the matter to court, and so a legal fund has been started…
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Refugees In Iceland Will March From Keflavík To Reykjavík
Refugees will march tomorrow from the Ásbrú shelter in Keflavík to Austurvöllur, the square in front of Parliament in Reykjavík. The event begins tomorrow morning at 8:15 and is expected to last until 20:30 that evening. The choice of Ásbrú as a…
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Trial Of Icelandic Deportation Protesters Begins
The trial of two Icelanders who attempted to stop the deportation of an asylum seeker on board an Icelandair flight has begun, but questions have been raised about how prosecutors have handled the case, and an inconsistency in whether or not Icelandair…
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District Court Upholds Deporting Child Born In Iceland, Family Says They Will Appeal
Reykjavík District Court confirmed a ruling today that would deport a 20-month-old child born in Iceland, despite both international and Icelandic laws that expressly forbid this practice. The family of the child told Grapevine that they will appeal this decision. The case…
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State Attorney In Child Deportation Case Criticised For Xenophobic Testimony
A person present for the initial trial involving the possible deportation of a child was reportedly shocked to listen to the arguments from the State Attorney, María Thejll, saying facts were not presented so much as “a lot of gut feelings”. The…
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Icelandic Court To Decide Whether A Child Born In Iceland Can Be Deported
Reykjavík District Court began proceedings today on the case of a 19-month-old child set to be deported, despite being born in Iceland. The case is one that sparked considerable public criticism of the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL). It begins with Nazife and…
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VIDEO: Satirical Christmas Card (Not Actually) From Immigration Directorate Mailed Out
Numerous people, including reporters at Grapevine, has received a satirical Christmas card that sharply criticises the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL). Now, that card has been given a dramatic reading on a video, which also translates the card’s text to English. The card…
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Two Icelanders Who Attempted To Block A Refugee’s Deportation Arraigned, Tell Their Story
Ragnheiður Freyja Kristínardóttir and Jórunn Edda Helgadóttir, two Icelanders who attempted to stop the deportation of a refugee on board an Icelandair plane in May 2016, were arraigned in Reykjavík District Court yesterday. The arraignment was a brief affair. Prosecution, representing the…