Faster Processing For Foreign Specialists - Bright Future proposes changes to attract foreign specialists

Bright Future proposes changes to attract foreign specialists

Members of Alþingi on behalf of the Best Party offspring, Bright Future, have proposed a resolution, that would oblige the Minister of Industry and Commerce to propose changes to legislation that would attract “foreign specialists” to the country, and expedite their applications for residence and work permits.

In the exposition attached to the proposal, the Alþingi members cite economic reasons, arguing that easy access of foreign specialists to the country is “among the key premises for a diverse business environment to grow and prosper in this country, with a strong emphasis on companies founded on innovation, research and development.”

The exposition further claims that it is important that applications for residence and work permits are not too complex for foreign specialists, and that this can be critical in an international competition about their forces. Furthermore, the members of Alþingi who make the proposal suggest that the Ministry should “design an application process for foreign specialists that would not take longer than two or three weeks to conclude, given certain preconditions.”

Speaking for the motion, Guðmundur Steingrímsson emphasized that tax significant breaks might be an important measure to compete with other countries in this arena.

The third category of measures to be considered, mentioned in the exposition, is to ensure that families of foreign specialists can rely on basic services being provided, such as elementary schools for foreign-speaking children.