Björg Thorarensen
Fundur kjörræðismanna Íslands erlendis.
Reykjavík 2. september 2001
NEW LEGISLATION ON ALIENS
I will give you a brief account of the changes planned in our country as regards legislation on aliens. Last autumn the Minister of Justice submitted a bill on a new Act on Aliens to Parliament, but this was not enacted, and will be submitted to Parliament for a second time this autumn. The bill is quite comprehensive and more detailed than the present Act on Supervision on Aliens of 1965. This present legislation is in many respects outdated and lacking in provisions on important matters. The new bill is of wide scope, and includes provisions on the legal status of foreign national on arrival in Iceland, when staying in Iceland, and when leaving Iceland.
In the preparation of the bill, account has been taken of trends in human rights and administrative law. The bill is also influenced to a large extent by Iceland’s participation in international co-operation particularly within Europe, such as Schengen or the EEA agreement. It also reflects Iceland’s obligations to various international human rights instruments and the International Convention on Refugees. The bill takes into account a recent provision of the Constitution which provides that the right of aliens to enter Iceland and stay in Iceland, and the reasons for which they may be expelled, shall be laid down by law. This constitutional provision obligates the legislator to enact laws on these matters and thus to prevent arbitrary decisions by the executive authorities in this respect.
My time will obviously not allow a detailed description of all aspects of this bill. Instead I will describe the most important new provisions that could be of significance for Icelandic consuls in other countries, and give an overview of its main contents. The first chapter to be mentioned is the one on arrival and departure, containing provisions that generally take into account co-ordinated control of the external borders of the Schengen area, and abolition of personal control of individuals crossing the area’s internal borders. The other chief chapters concern stay and residence; refusal of entry and expulsion; legal procedure in cases concerning aliens; special rules concerning foreigners to whom the EEA Agreement applies, and finally there are detailed provisions on protection against persecution and on refugees, which serves an important function, as legal provisions on those matters have been lacking completely in law.
I would like to discuss in a very few words the rules concerning residence permit in Iceland as specified in the bill. Accordingly, a foreigner who has a residence permit in Iceland can only stay here for the period indicated in his visa, unless a special permit is granted (Art. 8) . Foreigners who do not need a visa may however stay here without a particular permit for three months following arrival. Foreigners who intend to stay in Iceland longer and foreigners who intend to accept employment with others or work as self-employed persons, must have a residence permit. This does not, however, apply to Nordic nationals, as they are exempt from the permit requirement in accordance with an agreement between the Nordic countries since1954. EEA-nationals can stay longer, or up to six months without a residence permit.
It is also important to stress that a residence permit granted for the first time shall have been issued to a person prior to arrival in Iceland (Art 10). This principle is the same as the one in effect until now. The bill however provides that exceptions may be granted from this by particular reasons of fairness (Art. 12). This might be applicable, for instance, in cases of close family ties to a foreigner residing here. Provisions on these matters are lacking in the Act now in effect.
The bill provides for the conditions to be fulfilled for a permit to stay. These are mainly that the foreigner in question has secure sustenance, sickness insurance and housing. In addition, no reasons may exist that may lead to refusal of entry into Iceland or a denial of stay by reasons of other provisions contained in the bill.(Art. 13)
The bill contains an important provision, the purpose of which is to facilitate unification of families (Art. 15). It provides for a right of a foreign national to a residence permit if he or she is among the close relatives of an Icelandic national, a Nordic national, or any foreign national lawfully staying or permitted to stay or reside in Iceland. This provision may be traced to the fact that the right of people to privacy and family life is secured by the Constitution and obligations in international Human Rights Conventions.
It is worthy of note that, subject to certain requirements ,the bill provides for residence permits for indefinite time (Art 17). A foreign national who has stayed here for three years with a residence permit is entitled to a permit for indefinite time, provided nothing has occurred that may result in his expulsion from Iceland. The provision also stipulates that this right is contingent upon the applicant having attended a course in Icelandic for foreigners. The purpose of such a requirement give the applicant an insight into the national language in order to facilitate his adaptation to Icelandic society. Although it is a reasonable requirement that applicants for residence permits have attended such a course, no particular requirements are made as regards results or success. It is of course quite illogical to expect a foreigner to possess excellent working knowledge or fluency in the language. The requirement is only made in an attempt to secure the status of the Icelandic language, by making certain that any person desiring to live in Iceland permanently has received some tuition in Icelandic.
Dear Consuls,
I have now presented a brief account of the bill on the Aliens. There is no doubt that the bill, if enacted, will improve considerably the legal status of foreigners in Iceland, and introduce more clear rules to apply in this field.
I will be pleased to answer any questions on matters relating to this bill.
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