MPs in Iceland have voted 38 to 15 to remove benefits from asylum seekers whose applications have not been upheld, after the country saw a sharp rise in refugee arrivals in recent years.
All MPs in the three-party coalition government voted in favour of the bill, as well as members of the People’s Party and a deputy MP of the Centre Party – while MPs in the Social Democratic Party, Pirate Party, and Reform Party voted against the bill, the Icelandic Review reports.
Iceland “has recently witnessed a dramatic spike in refugee arrivals, with over 2,500 asylum applicants lodged last year in a country of 370,000,” the European Conservative says.
The ‘Alien Bill’’ proposed by the Icelandic Minister for Justice Jón Gunnarsson received the support of all three ruling government parties despite vocal opposition from the Pirate Party and Social Democrats, who raised concerns that refugees would be left homeless.
Under the terms of the bill, asylum seekers will not be able to claim health and social security benefits 30 days after their application is refused. A prominent Green MP left his party over their support for the bill as part of a coalition deal with the governing centre-right Independence Party.
Icelandic officials had warned of large-scale asylum abuse, enhanced by the country’s membership in the European Schengen Zone which allows refugees to fly to Iceland without having to pass through border checks.
Local media has reported a strain on housing and employment triggered by the influx of Ukrainian refugees in 2022.
Deportation of those who unsuccessfully claimed asylum has proved contentious, and a 2022 decision to deport a contingent of 200 largely Somalian refugees led to protests in the country.
Pro-migration NGOs such as Amnesty International and the Red Cross have opposed the new bill, but politicians say the country cannot cope with the additional strain on housing and services.
Minister of Justice Jón Gunnarsson said that the new law was in response to an “out of control” asylum system.