Iceland counted 8,405 people with protection-related permits

Some 8,405 people living in Iceland held residence permits based on international protection, family ties, humanitarian considerations or collective protection for mass displacement on October 1, Morgunblaðið reported. The figure comes from data from the Directorate of Immigration and was provided by Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir in response to a question from Júlíus Viggós Ólafsson, a substitute MP for the Independence Party.

About 5,052 permit holders were from Ukraine and approximately 3,353 came from other countries.

Ólafsson told Morgunblaðið that, excluding Ukrainians, he found it notable how many people came from MENAPT countries, a grouping that includes the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey.

He said the Ukrainian group had received permits under a special provision activated after Russia’s invasion. Of the more than 3,000 other permit holders, he said, many were from MENAPT countries. He described the group as people from a different cultural background and said their presence brought challenges and problems.

Ólafsson said the number of people was likely to pose a challenge in the coming years. He called for consideration of whether they would remain in Iceland permanently or whether they could be helped to return to their home countries, or at least to places the Icelandic government considers safe. He said the overall trend was not sustainable in the long term.