MP says Iceland must enforce au pair oversight

Iceland should strengthen oversight of au pair placements rather than end residence permits for non-EEA nationals, MP Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir told mbl.is.

A draft bill by Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir would limit residence permits for au pair placements to citizens of the European Economic Area. Einarsdóttir, from the Independence Party, said there was no reason to abandon the system because oversight had not been properly prioritised.

The minister has said au pair placements can leave people in a vulnerable position. She has also cited cases in which young women from the Philippines were made to work far beyond the hours set out in their agreements. In a Facebook post, she said increased oversight had not delivered the intended results and would not address the power imbalance built into the permit system.

Einarsdóttir questioned why Iceland could not carry out oversight as other countries do. She said the imbalance affected young people in vulnerable positions regardless of where they came from.

In a 2023 response to a parliamentary question from Einarsdóttir, then Justice Minister Jón Gunnarsson said police checks had sometimes been delayed because of the prioritisation of other work. Under Iceland’s Foreign Nationals Act, police are required, at the request of the Directorate of Immigration, to visit an au pair’s home and assess their circumstances.

Einarsdóttir said the most common agreements involved women from the Philippines, who she said had lived and worked in Iceland with a good reputation and contributed to Icelandic society. She said the response should be to improve oversight, not remove the residence permits.