DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇸 Iceland /Crime & Justice

Unrelated children typically denied residency in Iceland

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • Foreign children typically do not receive residency permits in Iceland if family reunification requirements are not met.
  • If DNA tests reveal no familial ties, a complex process usually results in the child being sent back to their home country.
  • The Directorate of Immigration makes the final decision on residency, with authorities increasing DNA testing for family reunification cases.

Children arriving in Iceland without a legal guardian are unlikely to be granted residency permits if the basis for family reunification fails. This often leads to a complex process where the child is typically sent back to their home country.

Þyrí Halla Steingrímsdóttir, executive director of the Child Protection Agency in Reykjavik, confirmed that such cases have been handled by her agency. "The children are effectively without guardianship in the country. Child Protection must then step in to assess the situation, determining if the children remain with the alleged relatives or go into someone else's care," she explained. This process can be lengthy.

The children are effectively without guardianship in the country. Child Protection must then step in to assess the situation, determining if the children remain with the alleged relatives or go into someone else's care.

— Þyrí Halla SteingrímsdóttirExecutive director of the Child Protection Agency in Reykjavik, explaining the agency's role in cases where DNA tests reveal no familial ties.

While children may sometimes remain with the alleged parent temporarily, the grounds for family reunification are broken, meaning the child no longer has a basis for a residency permit. "Then, either a new permit must be applied for on a different basis, or the child must be sent back home," Steingrímsdóttir added.

Then, either a new permit must be applied for on a different basis, or the child must be sent back home.

— Þyrí Halla SteingrímsdóttirDescribing the outcome for children whose family reunification basis is invalidated by DNA test results.

According to Steingrímsdóttir, finding an alternative basis for residency is rare, as the final decision rests with the Directorate of Immigration. "If we can locate a guardian or responsible party in the home country, it is fundamentally best for the child to return home rather than stay here where they know no one and do not speak the language," she stated.

Nearly 5,900 foreigners received residency permits in Iceland based on family reunification between 2021 and 2025. In recent years, several cases have emerged where DNA tests conducted after a child's arrival revealed they were not related to the alleged parent. The Ministry of Justice announced a new agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for DNA testing and assistance with travel documents for family reunification cases.

If we can locate a guardian or responsible party in the home country, it is fundamentally best for the child to return home rather than stay here where they know no one and do not speak the language.

— Þyrí Halla SteingrímsdóttirStating the preferred outcome for children found not to be related to their alleged parents in Iceland.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog