Rapid increase in foreign workers

The fast-track employee system has made it significantly easier to for workers from outside the EU to come and work in the Faroes.

According to the latest figures, 408 non-European workers have been registered through this system since it was introduced in November.

It should be noted here that this figure may contain some duplicate entries because a new work permit is issued whenever a person changes jobs.

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While the number of foreign workers has been on a steady increase in recent years, the fast-track system has significantly accelerated this growth.

From 1 August 2021 to 1 August 2022, the percentage of foreign workers from outside of Europe increased from 2.4 to 3.4.

And, if we compare with the countries around us, this growth is likely to continue, reckons economist Johnny í Grótinum.

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“Twenty years ago, Iceland had the same ratio of non-Faroese workers to the total workforce as the Faroes have today, i.e. about 6 percent.

Today, one in five employees in Iceland has a non-Icelandic background,” he says.

He adds that in Iceland and the Faroes alike, foreign workers are particularly well-represented in the fishery and tourism industries.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.