Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.09.2009, Side 10

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2009
10
So, you’ve decided to immigrate to Iceland?
Congratulations! Please respond to this
brief questionnaire to assess your eligibility
for a permanent residence permit:
1. Are you married to/related to an
Icelander?
2. Are you a citizen of Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
or Switzerland1?
If you answered ‘yes’ to one or both
of these questions, welcome to Iceland!
Frolic about the mossy lava fields, soak in
the geothermal waters and apply for jobs
generously.
If you answered ‘no’ to both questions
please confine your enjoyment of Iceland
to the legally permitted 90 days,2 and
promptly return to your country of origin.
Takk fyrir.
what’s that? You don’t want to go
home?
Fear not, beloved foreign reader, for you too
can (try but most likely fail to) realise your
dream of staying permanently in Iceland.
Here’s how:
are you working in iceland? / will you
be working?
I’ll give it to you straight, my dear
prospective permanent residency-permit
holder, this category is a tough one to fulfil
and takes some advance planning.
Firstly, non-EEA nationals cannot
apply for a residence permit once they have
already arrived in Iceland. So if you show up
here and happen to be offered an incredible
employment opportunity with a gallery,
a bank, a school or a popular English-
language magazine, you had better hope
that your would-be employers fancy you
enough to wait the 90-day’s required by the
Directorate of Immigration to process your
residence application (as article 9 of the
Act On Foreigners No. 96 /2002 reads, “a
foreigner wishing to accept employment,
with or without remuneration, or to work
as a self-employed person in Iceland, must,
in addition to a work permit when this is
required by law, possess a permit to stay in
Iceland.”) and that there is nobody within
the EEA qualified for your job. They get
first dibs.
Secondly, you have to fall under one
of three categories to be granted a permit
on grounds of employment: temporary
shortage of labourers, athletes and
qualified professionals. Only the latter
counts toward a permanent residence
permit, the two former are temporary and
expire when the work expires. That’s when
you have to leave. I’m not saying you have
to go home, but you’ve got to get the hell out
of Iceland.
are you a relative of an eea citizen? /
are you in iceland to join your family?
So you’ve read the words “relative of an
EEA citizen” and naturally you think
to yourself “Oh my goodness! My third
cousin, twice removed on my father’s side
is a Liechtensteiner residing in Iceland!
I’m in!” No. No you’re not.
“Relative” in this case means either
a spouse or registered partner or a
dependent child or parent. So unless you’re
the dependent minor offspring of the
Liechtensteiner in question, no dice.
Moreover, if you’ve been living in
Iceland for 90-days and are madly in love
with a fine Icelander and you’ve been co-
habitating and all that don’t get your hopes
up that you can register as common-law
spouses. Couples in Iceland have to have
been living together for two consecutive
years before they are considered common-
law.
But how are non-EEA/EEA pairings
supposed to reach that 2-year benchmark
if one half of the partnership isn’t allowed
to live in the country? Good question. The
only option seems to be tying the knot.
Keep in mind that Rósa Dögg
Flosadóttir, of the Directorate of
Immigration, asserts, “The Icelandic
Directorate of Immigration absolutely
does not support marriage solely for the
purpose of obtaining a residence permit. If
there is reason to suspect that a marriage,
registered partnership or cohabitational
partnership has been established solely
with a view to obtaining a temporary
residence permit, and no incontrovertible
demonstration to the contrary is made,
then this shall not confer an entitlement to
a temporary residence permit.”
Before engaging in faux-matrimonial
bliss, give the Act on Foreigners a read-
through. Rósa Dögg pointed out the
particularly poignant Article 57, paragraph
2, item ‘g’, which warns that if anyone
“intentionally or through gross negligence
obtains, or attempts to obtain, a temporary
residence permit on the basis of marriage”
they will find themselves subject to fines or
two years imprisonment.
couldn’t i just fall off the grid?
If you are so keen on staying in Iceland
that you feel the need to just say “to hell
with the regulations and permits, I’m
staying!” keep in mind the risks you
are taking. Aside from the immediate
deportation, “an overstay in the Schengen
states (not only Iceland) can ban you from
entering the Schengen countries for up
to 3-4 years,” according to the Directorate
of Immigration in response to a general
inquiry. “You are on your own when you
take a risk like that.”
chances are slim
From what we can gather here, unless
you’re in a legitimate relationship and
marry an Icelander or a citizen of another
EEA nation who is living in Iceland your
chances of being granted a permanent
residence permit are slim to none. The
laws are in place for reasons, but it sure
is frustrating if you’re interested in living
here for a relationship or for professional
reasons, as the Act of Foreigners denies
you the pleasure of doing so based solely
upon the country listed on your passport.
Of course, if you’re hankering for a
short-term fix, apply for school in Iceland,
become an au-pair for a year (both of which
will secure you a temporary residence
permit… though, one assumes that
two years of school whilst living with a
sweetheart makes for a legit common-
law arrangement the Directorate of
Immigration would not confirm or deny
this), or just make the most of your 90-
days and come back again after another 90
spent outside the Schengen. I know, it’s not
the same, but sometimes beggars can’t be
choosers.
Opinion | Birkir Fjalar Viðarsson
Birkir Fjalar Viðarsson was the singer of
now defunct HxC act I Adapt. They were
awesome.
I used to be one of the best.
My small talk skills were
immense.
I could keep up with anybody
and make every small-talk session
count. For an outsider looking in, there
probably wasn’t much to talk about. But
for us, villagers in a town of 730, there
was plenty to sink our teeth into. There
was plenty to hold on to.
The isolation, the limitations, the
no-internet-era, the mountains, wind,
ocean, dark nights and amalgam of
characters that made up the town's
soul—these were the elements that
stimulated and entertained me.
So, the small-talk skills came
natural, just like being breastfed the
essential nutrients—you just knew what
to say. We would talk about things we
didn’t know anything about. The topic
could last for days.
The town only had those seven
hundred something souls. Many of them
were too old to hold a conversation,
and others were too young to talk. This
left me with the rest of its inhabitants.
There was no Internet, cinema, malls
or anything of the sort. You didn't pick
the hippest people to talk to. You made
do with anybody you came across, a
62 year-old lady on your newspaper
delivery route, and the 12 year old that
got the first backyard basketball hoop.
You can only imagine the topics
of discussion between all of us. But
you’d be forgiven if you cannot. We
just talked, elaborated, articulated,
pretended and got involved. Debates
were great too. I remember getting
angry with a dock worker who was
older than my dad because he claimed
heavy metal was stupid and that my dad
was a little weird for backing me up in
my love for metal.
I was almost in tears. I hastily rode
away on my BMX, fishing rod in one
hand and three gutted cods dangling
from my left handle bar. But it was
great. This dockworker was an integral
part of my reality and intellectual
stimulation. We were all experts in
this little town. We were all experts on
matters regarding the neighbouring
villages, too. We didn't need anything
else. Yeah, the city was interesting
and throbbing with fun things to do,
andwe'd go there once or twice a year.
A nice change, but hardly relevant to
us, just like Disneyworld wasn’t.
This lasted for 18 years. I was
content and wanted little else. See, not
having a choice provided me with the
tools and skills to make the most of my
little world. Later, I braved the world
and my skills evaporated Bermuda
Triangle style. More on that later.
The Importance
Of Small Talk
Article | Immigration
CATHARINE FULTON
JULIA STAPLES
The Grapevine Helps You Immigrate To Iceland!
It’s really easy… unless you’re from one of the 164 countries outside of the EEA
Why would folks want to immigrate here at this point anyway? Unless they found true love or something, the act seems a bit pointless at present.
At least if you like jobs and fancy electronics and imported goods and stuff.
1 Such is the all-powerful European Economic Area (EEA), plus Switzerland, because what did the Swiss ever
do to you? Exactly.
2 If you carry a passport for Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Croatia,
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong (HKSAR only), Israel, Japan, Macao (MACAOSAR
only), Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, South
Korea, United States of America, Uruguay, Vatican, Venezuela… otherwise you need a visa to begin with. Sorry.
Name: Karl
Motherland:
United States of America
Permit Type: Pending… and it’s a secret
Útlendingstofnun just chooses people
based on where they were born that
has nothing to do with whether they’ll
contribute or not, whether they’ll learn
Icelandic, whether they have a criminal
record. That’s a real slap in the face for
me; I was learning Icelandic and I knew
that once my degree was over I would be
kicked out. I was really trying to fit in here
but they make immigration solely about
where you’re born.”
Name: Shauna
Motherland:
United States of America
Permit Type: SF - Residence permit for
qualified professionals
Before 2008 I could apply for a
residence permit based on being financially
independent and able to support myself
in Iceland. Once I was here I started a
company and then hired myself as an
employee and reapplied for a residence
permit based on employment.
“It felt really frustrating going through
the process and seeing that I really wanted
to be here for professional reasons and I
really had to struggle, but other people from
the EU could just come here if they felt like it.
Also I was frustrated at the misinformation
I seemed to be given at every step of the
process by Útlendingastofnan and AHÚS,
almost like it was deliberate. I felt I was
misled about my options and I felt like I was
being condescended to. A lot of foreigners
seem to feel the same way.”
Name: Gabriel
Motherland:
Brazil & United States of America
Permit Type: Citizen
“I came with a US passport, not a
Brazillian passport – there are different
types of non-EEA people ‘unofficially.’
Back then the restrictions weren’t nearly
as tough as they are now. It seemed like as
the EU expanded so did the rules.
I worked for deCODE for two years
then applied for school. I kept renewing
my student visa without realizing that it
wasn’t counting toward any permanent
residency so after five years I tried to get
permanent residency but was told I wasn’t
eligible. I was also rejected by the Minsitry
of Justice since I had had a speeding ticket
so I appealed directly to Alþingi – they
evaluate cases individually and since I am
well educated and look good on paper
I was approved. I never had permanent
residency, but I have citizenship. It’s
tougher now than when I arrived though.
The laws are made to punish people who
don’t deserve to be punished.”