There is willingness within Alþingi’s General Affairs Committee to grant Icelandic citizenship to an Albanian boy, suffering from cystic fibrosis, and his family, RÚV reports. An application from the family is expected today.
The family’s attorney has said the family should have been granted protection for humanitarian reasons. The Directorate of Immigration’s decision to deny the family protection has caused a great deal of controversy, given the child’s condition.
Minister for the Interior Ólöf Nordal has claimed she lacks the legal right to overturn the directorate’s decision, while the directorate states that legally, it has no option but to reject the application.
Every year, Alþingi grants people citizenship due to special circumstances, and the General Committee is about to get a list of suggestions ready.
The General Committee will still have to review documents from the Directorate of Immigration and process the application like any other. By taking this route, however, the family could be granted the right to stay in the country without setting a precedent for other asylum seekers.
As reported, the family was deported from Iceland to Albania on December 10.
