RÚV reports that more refugees have entered Iceland this year, with a total of 1,887 refugees already.
Of the 1,887 refugees, 1,215 are from Ukraine, and GylfiÞórÞorsteinsson, Operations Manager for the arrival of refugees from Ukraine, believes that the number of Ukrainian refugees will increase in the fall. Currently, 6-8 refugees arrive daily.
More than 3,000 refugees may come to the country this year. The highest number of refugees in the past was between 1,100 and 1,200.
“If this continues, the influx of refugees into Iceland this year will probably approach 3,000, and we need to adjust our response to accommodate such a large number,” says Gylfi. ..
Jobs have been successfully provided to refugees, with more than 300 employed through the Labor Department. However, finding a home is difficult and the Immigration Bureau’s short-term facilities are full.
“People probably stay on these short-term solutions longer than we wanted,” says Gylfi. “The reason people stay longer is both the lack of rental housing across the country and the relatively high rental prices in Iceland, so it is more likely that people will leave our short stay. It ’s more difficult than I expected. ”
