Major Increase in the Number of International Students: What We Could Do Better

Translation: Sæunn Valdís

The University of Iceland boasts of a strong international student body. Not only are there quite a few exchange students, but the wide variety of masters and doctoral programs also attract a large number of international students. This fall semester, students and faculty members have experienced inconveniences due to delays in registration and receiving social security numbers.

Faced with this issue, the reporter decided to look into the issue at hand by circulating an email address among social media groups of international communities within the student body. Several individuals made contact and shared their concerns regarding the issue. Unfortunately, each one of them requested anonymity.

Anonymous complaints.

An individual that had recently finished their Master’s program and applied for a continued permit for residency as a graduate looking for employment in their field had already waited three months for results. They struggled with the uncertainty of being unable to travel home during the wait and not getting any response about the progress of their renewal.

Another individual wrote back and agreed to an interview. They struggled with acquiring part time employment with school due to complications with work permits. The required demonstration of means of support means they have to work part time during the school year and as much as possible during breaks to be able to stay. Their main concern was the time it takes to process work permits. Students are allowed to work part time with school and full-time during breaks, but each employment needs a permit. Inorder to gain a work permit, one needs to have an employer, and the employer must hold the job while the permit is processed. That tends to fall through. One summer they had a job and the employer offered them a part time job for the winter, but, due to the time it took to renew the work permit, the job was given to someone else in the meantime. They were worried that these obstacles would drive students to work illegally, which can have dire consequences. They also expressed their view that it’s not in the spirit of equality to limit employment opportunities this way, since not everyone has a way to get support elsewhere.

The third individual who established contact with the reporter was having trouble finding housing due to a long waiting list. This led to trouble with getting a residence permit and social security number. They also mentioned a long wait for the photoshoot. All this prevented them from getting a social security number (kennitala), which in turn hampered their ability to renew access to necessary medication.

Additionally, other individuals expressed concern about struggles they faced, such as long waiting times for renewals, difficulty handing in papers during office hours, uncertainty about applications having been received and other similar concerns.

Ole Martin Sandberg, a teacher at Háskóli Íslands, contacted the reporter when hearing about the article. He wanted to relate a teacher’s perspective on the issue at hand. He expressed concern about students not being registered in Ugla and Canvas because social security numbers hadn’t come through yet. Students could not receive emails with important information at the start of semester. He also needed to find workarounds to get the reading materials and assignments to the students and deal with other complications. Ole also mentioned trouble with quizzes and tests if the students weren’t registered in the system. During week five of the semester, one student was still awaiting their social security number.

Steady increase in applications

Alda Karen Svavarsdóttir

Alda Karen Svavarsdóttir, head of the department of permits at the Directorate of Immigration, took some time to answer questions and introduce the reporter  to the application process. According to Alda, the deadline for applications for a student permit is June 1st for it to be processed by the start of fall semester (and November 1st for spring term). If all documents have been submitted in time, the department should be able to finish the application in time for the start of semester. Applications received within the allocated time frame are then prioritised so that the nationalities that require visas are processed first as they take longer. Those applications which are delivered late might not be processed in time.

Alda mentions a few things that have led to confusion. The photoshoot performed at the Directorate office for a residence card can take place before the permit has been processed, as it hastens the process to book the appointment upon arrival, albeit no more than six months prior to semester starting. A place of residence needs to be established, and correctly registered: a hotel or other short-term place is not enough. Means of support must be proven to be in one’s own bank account, as it is not sufficient to demonstrate a parent’s or next-of-kin’s means of support. A student permit is only granted for a full course load, and it is required to have certainty for enrolment. In some cases, individuals have been offered a conditional place. That is, they need to take a test or a certain class in order to enrol. In such cases the application can’t be processed until the enrolment has been granted. Furthermore, she states that inquiries regarding the process of a submitted application only further slow down matters, as the team working on the applications are the same people that respond to emails. Confirmation should be sent out as soon as the application has been accepted, but after two or three weeks have passed beyond the expected time, one should reach out in case something has gone wrong.

“It is vital to hand in the application on time and make sure everything is accounted for, have solid enrolment, means of support in one’s own name, be patient and wait for a response” says Alda and also mentions that there is a checklist of what is needed on the application.

Alda mentioned the increase in applications for student permits. Between April 1st and September 1st,, the Directorate has received 895 applications, while a year ago, there were 703 applications. “There is a constant increase in all types of permits and it’s getting heavy”. There has also been an increase in students’ families coming as well on grounds of family reunification. Therefore, the institution is under a lot of pressure, and despite the increased workload, the governmental budget does not allow for more staff.

“There is a new IT system in the works,” Alda says. She hopes that work on the new system will have progressed next year. The improvements are in collaboration with island.is and some features are already available. For example, residence renewals are now available online. She encourages students to renew their permits online.

Regarding the lack of official collaboration or contact between the university and the Directorate, she comments: “It would be ideal if we could establish a contact between the international team and Directorate of Immigration.”

The international division

The reporter also checked in with the International Division and Student Registration at the University of Iceland. According to them, there has been an increase in numbers of international students which could to some extent explain the longer processing time with the Directorate of Immigration. They also mentioned that there had been quite a few late submissions of applications for student permits. Additionally, the fall term started a week earlier than the previous years, which might also have explained the delay. They also stressed that the students should book the photoshoot in a timely manner as that is a prerequisite for the completion of registration, but there were some instances of students postponing it.