Government approves broad overhaul of Iceland’s residence permit rules

Iceland’s government has approved a bill to overhaul the residence permit section of the country’s immigration laws, Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir told mbl.is after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The rules have remained largely unchanged since 2016. The bill would extend the time people must live in Iceland before qualifying for permanent residence, tighten family reunification rules and prevent people who owe public charges from applying for permanent residence.

Gunnlaugsdóttir said the changes aim to replace rules specific to Iceland with a more durable framework. She said the government would also make greater demands of society, including increased support for Icelandic-language learning, while tightening regulations to bring the immigration system under control.

The minister described the bill as a comprehensive review, saying the existing framework had not kept pace with the substantial population growth since 2017. She said applications for international protection in Iceland were declining, with people from Ukraine currently making up the largest group of applicants.

Gunnlaugsdóttir said she plans to submit a further bill to review citizenship rules. Her hope, she said, is that the government will revise the entire immigration framework during its term.