What is happening at the University of Iceland?
Questions and answers:
1)
Q: What is happening at the University of Iceland?!
A: Activists are trying to bring your attention to a crisis: The University of Iceland (HÍ) decided to revoke hundreds of international applications that were previously approved for 2025-2026, because the students' residence permits were not issued on time from the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL).
Q: Is it really that serious?
A: Applicants who resigned from jobs, sold property, and invested their life savings in the hope of studying in Iceland have now lost everything, through no fault of their own. On top of that, they are facing the reality of quite possibly losing a whole year's worth of studies, just because HÍ, along with ÚTL, have literally NOT done their jobs.
Q: What should have been the normal procedure?
A: All international applicants who have been accepted to HÍ and who have submitted all documents to ÚTL by the June 1st deadline should have received their residency permits in August/September, allowing them to start their studies at HÍ like any other students.
2)
Q: What went wrong, exactly?
A: University of Iceland (HÍ) did not communicate with the Directorate of Immigration (ÚTL) to approve
the timeline for the start of the programs in September. Also, no extra staff were hired to process the papers sooner than May 2025, resulting in not processing applications on time.
Q: How many applicants are affected in total?
A: Currently, we are in contact with over 90 HÍ applicants, but the actual number is somewhere
in the hundreds or even more... Our sources are enrollment statistics that are in public access, as well as word of mouth from the applicants. Only the responsible institutions can answer this question precisely, which they will have to answer soon, inevitably.
Q: Was HÍ even capable of accommodating them?
A: HÍ knew that they had a 30% increase in applications back in February after the application deadline had passed. They've also received more money from the applications, accordingly. So if they wanted to, they would...
3)
Q: There's a rumour that people applied to HÍ thinking education was free in Iceland because of TikTok, is that true?
A: That is not the case. University of Iceland (HÍ) has always attracted a large number of international applicants, and those numbers have steadily increased. What has been lacking is not capacity but foresight: HÍ has never developed a long-term vision for addressing the needs of international students, even as it capitalises on their presence to inflate its standing in dubious rankings. Also, the application and all other related fees are impossible to avoid.
Q: So then what is the reason for this crisis?
A: What we are witnessing is not a sudden and unpredictable crisis but a political choice. Rather than acknowledging chronic underinvestment in education, the subpar quality of academic provision, the neglect of equality and diversity, and the failure to recognise the immense value international students and researchers bring to Icelandic society, HÍ, and political leaders are choosing instead to shift blame to the victims rather than the perpetrators.
4)
Q: Why have HÍ and ÚTL not taken action?
A: We can only speculate; no official statement has been made as to why they let this happen
in the first place. Even though they had all the time, money, and power to do something, they have not acted to speed up the process or adjust the timeline, nor have they communicated with each other on whether this capacity of applications can be handled over the summer.
Meanwhile, the only response the applicants get from ÚTL is "wait longer", and from HÍ "we cannot wait for you", so people are trapped between the two...
"I have invested greatly into this academic pursuit: paying the residence permit application fee twice due to processing issues, securing accommodation, booking flights, arranging insurance, and making other substantial personal and financial commitments. Beyond the financial aspect, I have also dedicated my time, energy, and emotions to preparing for this opportunity at your esteemed institution [HÍ]. To lose everything because of delays outside my control would be a devastating setback."
- Prospective international applicant to HÍ
5)
Q: Are any applicants on campus right now?
A: Yes, some affected applicants managed to come to Iceland on a tourist Visa (90 days) and start attending classes. However, they do not have access to campus Wi-Fi or the online material, although initially they were promised access. They rely on others in their class, because they themselves are not inside the system without a residence permit...
HI continues to ignore these issues, even though they can be solved. If nothing is done, these applicants will have to leave the country or be deported at the end of their tourist Visas in November.
Q: And where are the rest of the applicants?
A: Most were not able to come due to immigration restrictions, or have decided not to come after receiving the letters from HI and UTL about rejection and delays. Some have given up on getting justice, essentially receiving nothing out of applying to study in Iceland other than damage to all aspects of their lives...
Countries the applicants are from include: Pakistan, Nigeria, Ghana, India, Cameroon, and the US. All of them are shocked by what is happening and say they have never encountered anything like it.
6)
Q: Can't they get a refund from HÍ and move on?
A: Let's look at the fees from one of the applicants:
Application to HÍ - 20.000 isk
Registration - 75.000 isk
Health insurance (student, dependents) - 63.000 isk
ÚTL application (student, dependents) - 64.000 isk
Apostille - 10.100 isk
Criminal Records Certificate - 56 Euros
Logistics (DHL) - 129 Euros
Plus other tests like English certification, security deposit for housing and rent, and more, as well as everyday expenses.
HÍ has offered a refund of only 75.000 ISK of the registration fee to a few applicants. That is the only action they have officially taken so far...
"This situation raises questions about fairness, human rights, and the university's commitment to supporting international students. Iceland, which supposedly prides itself on life quality and human rights, should prioritize the well-being of its international students. The emotional toll of this is significant, and I'm not alone in feeling anxious and uncertain about my future."
-Prospective applicant to HÍ
7)
Q: What do the affected applicants want?
A: The international applicants, devastated now in so many ways, want immediate justice. And justice in this case would be for the responsible institutions to comply with their demands:
1. Guarantee of secured admission to the HÍ despite the delays, and residence permit release from ÚTL.
2. Public acknowledgment of the financial, emotional, and academic harm caused to the applicants.
3. Implementation of preventive policies for such things to not happen to future cohorts.
Q: Are those demands possible to execute?
A: Yes, every single demand put forward is within the powers of the institutions. In fact, they could and should do even more to make up for what has happened!
"I've tried contacting [ÚTL] via phone, email, and chat box, but the response is always the same: my case is under review by the legal department, with no estimated timeline for resolution. Meanwhile, my [HÍ] department has given me a deadline of September 11, after which I risk losing my admission."
-Prospective applicant to HÍ
8)
Q: Is this the first time it has happened?
A: International students in Iceland have been ostracised for years because of institutional incompetence, irresponsibility, negligence, indifference, contempt towards them, and delays between ÚTL and HÍ. This is the first time that the scope of this injustice is coming to light, and the first time international applicants and students are organising together to fight this.
"I have been struggling for many months with ÚTL and Student Housing and generally the whole messy, awful process of immigrating. My case is not as drastic as others... I can get by, but still barred from starting my part-time job that wants me to begin immediately."
-Graduate international student at HÍ
"We are vulnerable. We are unseen. We are unheard."
-Graduate international student at HÍ
"It took ÚTL almost a year to get back to me regarding their decision, and by the time they had denied me my renewal of residence permit on the grounds of an ECT shortage, I had graduated with a master’s degree and several ECTs over."
-Graduate international student at HÍ
9)
Q: What can we do about it?
A: As students, do not become an accessory to abuse perpetuated by this academic establishment and the larger system you are in. Here is what can be done:
1. SIGN AND SHARE THE PETITION! (can be found on our website and social media, and signed anonymously.) Demand that the administrators of the University of Iceland and others take responsibility and comply with the demands of international students.
2. Talk to everyone about this: your fellow students, your teachers, your departments, and on.
3. Volunteer to update the applicants on classes they are currently missing...
Many departments are affected, including Education, Computer Sciences, International Affairs, Environmental sciences, Humanities, etc.
4. Engage with the movement. Follow No Borders to stay updated, repost information and come to related events. Reach out if you wish to help.
Show student solidarity in both action and words!
10)
Q: What can be done so it doesn't happen again?
A: To prevent this from happening again, the university must adopt a proactive, long-term strategy for internationalisation.
This requires sustained investment in educational infrastructure, student services, and housing, as well as genuine commitments to equality and diversity, and an end to the hypocrisy of exploiting international students while neglecting their needs.
It will require HÍ and decision-makers to acknowledge the humanity in international students and treat them as equals, with respect, both personally and institutionally.
Q: How can we make that reality?
A: Don’t be afraid of being a killjoy or a spoil-sport. Ask your professors and administrators the tough questions. Demand more, and demand better. Allow yourself to imagine a different university, different ways of being, belonging, and becoming. After all, universities are not meant to crystallise existing hierarchies but to destabilise and dismantle ingrained structures of power.
11)
Connect with your fellow students. Build community, don’t wait for the institution to create one or dictate the conditions of belonging. Talk to each other. Reject racism, xenophobia, queerphobia, elitism, ableism, ageism, and every form of oppression, designed to divide and distract us.
It is up to you to make it known when something is not as it should be, and to push for change together. With democratic backsliding, curtailed civil liberties, and rising repression spreading across Western societies and beyond, we need a new generation ready to rise as active opposition to it.
That rising begins here and now, in your everyday actions, however small or big they are...
“You cannot take what you have not given, and you must give yourself. You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”
-Ursula K. Le Guin
