immigrants
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Foreign Labour Is Underutilised In Iceland
Workers’ organisation BHM states that foreign labour is underutilised in Iceland, with the majority working in jobs that are not aligned with their education, reports RÚV. Over the past 20 years, the labour market has grown by 37 percent, and of that…
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Proposal To Strip Convicted Criminals Of Icelandic Citizenship
Five MPs from the Independence Party have submitted a bill proposing amendments to the laws on Icelandic citizenship, reports Vísir. The bill seeks to allow the revocation of citizenship for individuals who commit serious offences or provide false information to the Directorate…
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Immigrants Now Make Up 18.2% Of Iceland’s Population
As of January 1, 2024, immigrants made up 18.2% of Iceland’s population, totaling 69,691 individuals, reports Statistics Iceland. This marks a steady rise from the previous year, when immigrants constituted 16.7% of the population (62,821). Over the past decade, the proportion of…
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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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Meet The Candidates: Here Are A Few Of The Immigrants Running For Alþingi
Catching up with a few people of foreign origin throwing their hat into the political ring Immigration has been a hot-button issue over the past several months, with interim Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson declaring border security among his top priorities when he…
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One In Five Icelandic Preschool Staff Are Foreign-Born
New data from Statistics Iceland reveals a notable increase in the diversity of Iceland’s preschool workforce, with foreign-born employees now making up over 21% of the staff. This is a significant rise from 15.5% in 2020. Among those directly involved in children’s…
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The Unlikely Perfumer
Meet an American immigrant who followed his nose toward the scents of Iceland “I worked as a software developer until I was just so burnt out from it, I just hated that life,” Nicholas Brittain Shaber shares as we meet in his…
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40% Of Workers Unable To Make Ends Meet
A recent study reports that 40% of workers in the Icelandic job market are unable to make ends meet. A similar proportion of people would be unable to deal with an out-of-pocket expense of 80.000 ISK. The annual study was conducted by…
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Italian Man Arrested In Iceland For Sexual Coercion
A man in his fifties has been arrested for sexually exploiting underage girls, reports RÚV. Though he is a resident of Iceland, the man is an Italian national and authorities in that country have requested his extradition. He is not suspected of…
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The Palestinian Entrepreneur Innovating Geothermal And Boosting Other Women
GeoSilica founder Fida Abu Libdeh on paving the way and shattering ceilings Slowly but surely, Reykjavík is evolving into a melting pot — from the diverse language options at your supermarket checkout to an array of businesses run by “new Icelanders.” Meet…
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TikTok Celebrity Eventually Gets A Work Permit In Iceland
Social media influencer Kyana Sue Powers, who was denied an Icelandic residence permit twice, has now received a work permit and can legally stay in the country, RÚV reports. [su_pullquote]If you appreciate our journalism, join our High Five Club. As well as helping…
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Icelandic Tenants Association “Demands Answers” From Electoral Candidates
The Tenants’ Association in Iceland says that the local elections in 2022 will most likely revolve around an emergency situation in the housing and rental market RÚV reports. According to a recent survey conducted by the Housing and Civil Engineering Institute, only…
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Foreign Nationals Now 14.5% Of Iceland’s Population
According to the latest data from the National Registry, immigration to Iceland slowed slightly between 2020 and 2021, but nearly 1 in 7 Icelanders are now foreign nationals. [su_pullquote]You can now take walking tours of Reykjavík with Grapevine crewmembers Valur, Pollý and…
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Ask An Expert: Why Are There So Few Immigrants In Parliament?
Iceland’s immigrant population—which includes those who are now citizens, capable of voting in parliamentary elections—is over 15%, but this is not reflected in the number of immigrants currently in Parliament. How do we account for this? We asked Eva H. Önnudóttir, a…
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New “Know Your Rights” Project Aims To Help Immigrants
A new initiative called the Know Your Rights Project, or KYR Project for short, hopes to assist immigrants with a wide range of issues—both in the workplace and in their daily lives. “KYR aims to train migrant workers to improve their knowledge…
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Icelander’s Immigration Tolerance Increasing
A new Gallup world survey, reported by Fréttablaðið this morning, has shown that Icelanders’ tolerance of immigrants is increasing. The survey gives countries up to a maxim score of 9.0, with Iceland’s increasing from 8.26 to 8.41 since the last survey in…
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After The Fire: We Can Do More To Protect Immigrants. When Will We?
On June 25th, a house fire at Bræðraborgarstígur 1 killed three people and injured numerous others. The house had been reported on several times before for its dilapidated and unsanitary living conditions. When a clearer picture emerged of how people were living…
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400 Gather In Remembrance, Call For End Of Exploitation Of Foreign Workers
Some 400 people gathered in front of Parliament last Saturday in remembrance of those who perished, were injured, or displaced by last Thursday’s house fire in West Reykjavík. By all accounts, the residents were foreign workers living in deplorable conditions, and so…
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Immigrants In Iceland Compete To Set Up Food Truck Representing Their Home Cuisine
Over 100 immigrants from more than 20 countries are competing now to develop, establish and run a food truck, representing cuisine from their home countries, in Reykjavík, Vísir reports. Innovation Center Iceland, in cooperation with the City of Reykjavík and Reykjavík Street…
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Labour Rental Company Officially Bankrupt After Abuse Cases Brought To Light
In the midst of attempting a lawsuit against two labour officials for statements they made about the labour rental company, Menn Í Vinnu has officially gone bankrupt, RÚV reports. Those who feel as though the company owes them money—for back wages, for…
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Icelanders Asked To Show Foreign Workers “Patience And Goodwill”
Two different petrol station chains have taken to setting up a sign at select locations that asks Icelanders to show foreign employees a little more courtesy. Management for both of these chains told reporters that while most Icelanders show kindness to employees…
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Immigrants In Iceland: Paid Less For Same Work, While Accepting Fewer Social Benefits
New data shows immigrants in Iceland are paid less than Icelanders for the same work, and the wage gap between immigrants and Icelanders is growing, even as immigration increases. At the same time, immigrants accept fewer social welfare benefits than Icelanders. All…
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Iceland’s Umbrella Academy: Immigrants Getting Organised
Over the past few decades Iceland has transformed from an isolated, homogenous country of emigration to a globalised, diverse country of immigration. Until the twentieth century, the population sat below 100,000. It recently surpassed 350,000, with over ten percent of residents being…