Comments on: Fewer foreigners in Iceland as labour market contracts

By: Alexander E.

Alexander E. — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:58:47 +0000

own company to develop AI for scientific equipment

Are you talking about Artificial Intelligence, Alberto? Then could she develop something for political “equipment” as well? 8-)

By: Alberto

Alberto — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 04:13:54 +0000

Being an Italian living in Iceland I can only thank my hosting country and I hope to become officially a citizen in the next future. Here I was given a chance to buy a home. In Italy, Rome, I couldn’t, unless I accepted to live in a dangerous suburb. Here I could setup my own small company and give work (and thus give back a bit of the “love” I received) to some amazing Icelanders, and a Polish girl (a very skilled programmer) that are now planning to open their own company to develop AI for scientific equipment. Cleanliness, respect, working health system are a great richness of this country, also of its youths (especially compared to what I could see 4 years ago in Italy). Yes, the situation is terrible for some people because of the crisis, and a lot of Poles immigrants I knew had to leave simply because they could not pay their bills here and send the money back at home. Yet, I still think that Icelanders are always extraordinarily helpful when they know you are in difficulty – if you, as an immigrant, try to work toward a better integration into the society, first by learning the beautiful language, you will become part of the society.

By: Peter - London

Peter - London — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:05:21 +0000

“You need a UK address.
But consider that the UK is a bureaucratic nightmare. Plan ahead.
The office in the area you chose to live is often not conveniently located.
To contact by telephone is a nightmare. You have to make an appointment at the office. You are are made to wait a ridiculously long time for that. That is if you get the lazy gobs to answer the phone.
The minimum waiting time for a Nat.Insurance nr. after application is a month.”

Yes you need a NI number, an address to live in the UK and you have to attend an interview at an office. Having had a few friends do this, none of the found it a ‘bureaucratic nightmare’. You can work while you wait for your NI number and even get paid with an emergency NI number if it does come through fast enough.

In fact you can work for a long time without a NI number and usually your employer will apply for it without any action of any sort by yourself.

So, basically your comments are irrelevant.

By: Niels

Niels — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:29:54 +0000

@Knowless, you said:
That does not stop the griping in the UK, does it?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/22/bnp-far-right-hazel-blears

The employment rights of workers (male, female and foreign born) in Iceland are of Scandanavian standard.
Much of Trade Union rights are part of law
If any employee is treated otherwise, it is illegal.

++++
I do not get the point you are trying to make with the link to this Guardian article.
Are you trying to say that the people in the UK are racists because the BNP is on the rise?
In the last elections (2005) this party received 0,7 % of the votes, some 192.000 in total. Even Iceland has more voters!
In fact, if only 0,7 % of the british population votes a racist party it merely showes that they are a very tolerant and mature people.
Perhaps the BNP will get 0,8 % in the next elections, well…credit to the britons: they are a healthy people if only 0,8% of the population consists of idiots…

About the rights of foreign workers, I have read terrible stories of polish workers in Iceland from Gus for instance.
If times of severe economic and social crisis rules of decency are the first to be ignored, and persons with the weakest position (foreign workers) will suffer first.
Think about Gus whatever you want. I think he is a sincere person and does not make up things like this.

By: Knowless

Knowless — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:21:50 +0000

hsj said:

“I am going to UK as a tourist on January 2009. How can i apply for an IT job there as a foreighner? Is it possible if i apply for a job and when confirmed i will back to my country and take my spouse and baby with me there. My plan to work there and educate my wife and child there. How to do ?”

Are you Icelandic?
If so
you have full employment rights in the UK, the first thing you need to do is apply for a National Insurance number. You need a UK address.
But consider that the UK is a bureaucratic nightmare. Plan ahead.
The office in the area you chose to live is often not conveniently located.
To contact by telephone is a nightmare. You have to make an appointment at the office. You are are made to wait a ridiculously long time for that. That is if you get the lazy gobs to answer the phone.
The minimum waiting time for a Nat.Insurance nr. after application is a month.
Compare that to Iceland where you get a ID nr as fast as a machine can punch out a lotto number.

As you are an IT expert you can find out much info online before you go :)

By: Knowless

Knowless — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:12:10 +0000

Peter – London said:
“If that happened in the UK the employer would get sued for racial discrimination. You have obviously being living in Iceland too long, such blatant discrimination is illegal elsewhere.”

That does not stop the griping in the UK, does it?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/22/bnp-far-right-hazel-blears

By: hsj

hsj — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:59:31 +0000

I am going to UK as a tourist on January 2009. How can i apply for an IT job there as a foreighner? Is it possible if i apply for a job and when confirmed i will back to my country and take my spouse and baby with me there. My plan to work there and educate my wife and child there. How to do ?

By: Bromley86

Bromley86 — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:19:09 +0000

Another good point for Iceland not joining the EU. If they did then, eventually, they’d have to open their job markets fully to EU nationals.

Given that they’ll not be able to join the Euro for the forseeable future and that they’re unlikely to get a sufficiently sizable fishing opt-out, I don’t see the benefit.

Political union with Norway would be the way to go. Think of all the money they’d save when they trim back their government!

By: Peter - London

Peter - London — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:19:09 +0000

“& became unemployed you would gripe about how unfair it was that you could not get a job when there was a foreigner taking it from you,”

If that happened in the UK the employer would get sued for racial discrimination. You have obviously being living in Iceland too long, such blatant discrimination is illegal elsewhere.

By: lico

lico — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:59:17 +0000

I have been here in Iceland for twenty years & the Icelandic people are kind & friendly, If you need a helping hand in times of crisis they will be the first to step up to the plate, As this is only a small country then its only right that company’s employ foreigners last and put Icelandics first, Even after all this time of living in this country when the economic crisis hit I went though a time when I thought I could loose my job if the unemployment went to high & if it had happened to me I would of excepted it as its always been an understanding from the first years I came to work here, I am sure if you were in your own country’s & became unemployed you would gripe about how unfair it was that you could not get a job when there was a foreigner taking it from you, Be lucky you are in Iceland as working rights are abided by 90% of the country & if you were to be come unemployed you would be entitled to benefits & the help is there for you if you look for it.