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University Of Iceland May Participate In Controversial Dental Age Determination Testing
The University of Iceland (HÍ) and the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) are currently trying to finalise a work agreement on determining the age of asylum seekers based on dental examinations—a procedure that has been heavily criticised as being inaccurate and yielding many…
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Iceland Set To Deport Another Child Born In The Country
A loophole in Icelandic law, that appears to violate international law, enables the Icelandic government to deport an Albanian family, which includes a 14-month-old child born in Iceland. Fréttablaðið reports on the case of Nazife and Erion, an Albanian couple who first…
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ÚTL Barred From Opening New Shelter For Asylum Seekers In Iceland
The Directorate of Immigration in Iceland (ÚTL) has recently been barred from opening a new shelter for asylum seekers in Reykjavík, Vísir reports. ÚTL had been renting the top floor of a building in a commercial area of Grafarvogur, just outside downtown…
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Number Of Asylum Applications In Iceland In Sharp Decline
According to new data from The Directorate of Immigration, the number of asylum seekers applying for international protection in Iceland has sharply decreased between the years 2016 and 2017, Kjarninn reports. In addition, the number of applications filed so far this year…
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Icelandic Man Isn’t Granted Icelandic Citizenship
The Directorate of Immigration recently refused to grant Icelandic citizenship to a man who was born in Iceland from an Icelandic woman, RÚV reports. Eggert Einer Níelson, who lives in Ísafjörður with his family, was born in Reykjavík in the 50s but…
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New Law On Foreigners Hitting Asylum Seekers In Iceland Hardest
Changes to asylum seeker regulations has left many of them broke and isolated, when most of them already do not have the right to work. The Red Cross has criticised these changes, and an MP for the Left-Greens believes it is likely…
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Asylum Seekers Will Get Holiday Payments After All
Minister of Justice Sigríður Andersen says she will introduce legislation that will see to it that asylum seekers receive their modest bonus before Sunday. As reported, asylum seekers in Iceland are legally barred from working. They are housed in shelters and are…
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No Holiday Payments For Asylum Seekers This Year
Asylum seekers in Iceland are normally granted a little something extra in December, but this year will be an exception. In Iceland, asylum seekers are legally barred from working. They are housed in shelters and are given a weekly allowance of about…
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Man Denied Citizenship For Speeding Ticket Gets Verdict Overturned
Last month, Bala Kamallakharan, who has lived in Iceland for the past eleven years, had his application for citizenship turned down due to a speeding ticket, but now the Directorate of Immigration (UTL) has reversed its decision, granting him Icelandic citizenship. Bala,…
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Denied Citizenship For A Speeding Ticket
After living 11 years in Iceland, Bala Kamallakharan was denied citizenship on the grounds that he received a speeding ticket. This is despite the fact that not only was the ticket issued and paid after his application was filed; the fine itself…
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Responsibility Shifts Between Officials In Deportation Case
Numerous questions have been raised regarding the case of Eugene Imotu, a father of three and asylum seeker who was arrested without warning last Tuesday and subsequently deported. The arrest not only has no legal basis, as his lawyer has said; there…
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Eze Okafor Denied Asylum In Iceland
The Directorate of Immigration (UTL) has denied asylum for a man who came to Iceland in 2012, fleeing persecution from Boko Haram in his home country of Nigeria. According to a copy of UTL’s decision that Grapevine was able to review, the…
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Petition Going To Protest Deportation
A petition is going protesting the impending deportation of asylum seeker Sid Ahmed Haddouche and his family. Sid is a former police officer from Remchi, an Algerian bordertown close to Morocco. In 2013, Sid and his colleague arrested a member of AIS…
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“Papers, Please” Isn’t The Answer
Four reasons to repeal Article 14 of the new law on foreigners: Recently the Icelandic Parliament passed a package of laws aimed at updating and better defining the rules on immigration and residency for foreign residents. One of these statutes, Article 14,…
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Hunger-Striking Afghan Arrested, Will Be Deported Tomorrow
Abdolhamid Rahmani, an Afghan asylum seeker who went on hunger strike nearly three weeks ago, has been arrested. He is slated to be deported tomorrow. A source close to the Grapevine told us the arrest occurred about an hour ago. Three officers…
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UTL In Its Current Form “Should Be Discontinued”, New Report Concludes
Even workers within refugee services want to change the system, and there is a tremendous difference between how “quota refugees” and asylum seekers are treated. As such, the Directorate of Immigration (UTL) in its current form should be discontinued, a new report…
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Justice Minister Promises To Rectify Funding For Immigration Appeals Board
The Minister of Justice told reporters that the government is currently working on a solution to ensure that the Immigration Appeals Board (KNU) will not be left stranded and sorely lacking in funds. As reported, despite a plea for a budget increase…
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Immigration Appeals Board To Be Reduced Due To Budget Constraints
Despite a plea for a budget increase due to an ever-increasing number of asylum applications, Parliament only allocated about half the funds the Immigration Appeals Board (KNU) had asked for. As such, they have been compelled to reduce their numbers from 19…
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Asylum Applications Triple Between The Years
Over 1,100 applications for asylum were submitted in 2016; about three times more than the year previous. Most of these applications came from people from Macedonia and Albania, but the average processing time shortened between the years. RÚV reports that in all,…
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17-Year-Old Asylum Seeker Imprisoned, Despite Int’l Law And Child Protective Services
A 17-year-old asylum seeker was arrested upon arrival in Iceland for carrying a false passport – despite international law forbidding this practice. In addition, Child Protective Services was never notified of his incarceration, as Icelandic law requires, and jailing children with adults…
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Law On Foreigners Expands Police Power
Police can search homes without a warrant if they suspect someone is helping a foreigner conceal information from authorities, and foreigners are required to have a passport or other form of legal identification on them at all times. These are amongst the…
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If You Do Nothing, Nothing Changes: An Interview With Sema Erla Serdar
Sema Erla Serdar, a Social Democrat who has been very active on the subject of foreigners in Iceland, was distraught by news reports that, at some residence centres for asylum seekers in Iceland, the people who live there are missing basic household…
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Asylum Seeker Dies From Self-Immolation Injuries
Grapevine received word late last night that an asylum seeker who set himself on fire last week has succumbed to his injuries. The asylum seeker in question is reportedly a man from Macedonia who recently received word he is to be deported.…