2,000 foreign workers set to qualify for permanent residence

About 2,000 foreign workers who came to the Faroe Islands under the Fast Track scheme will soon qualify for permanent residence permits, KVF reports.

The scheme has been in place long enough for many of its participants to meet the requirements for permanent residence. Magnus Rasmussen, then minister for business affairs, launched Fast Track after businesses had long urged authorities to make it easier to recruit workers from outside the EU.

Fast Track was intended to meet a temporary need for labour for a limited period. But Johnny í Grótinum, chairman of the Economic Council, said it was not certain that workers recruited on a temporary basis would always leave again.

The Economic Council says foreign labour helps improve the country’s long-term economic sustainability.