Currently, an average of six-to-eight refugees arrive in Iceland each day, but Gylfi (pictured above) believes that number will increase again in the autumn.
He says more than 300 refugees have secured jobs through Vinnumálastofnun (the Directorate of Labour), and some others have secured employment by themselves.
It is more tricky finding housing, as the ÚTL (Directorate of Immigration) short-term accommodation facilities are full and authorities are increasingly looking outside the capital region.
“What has maybe been plaguing us is of course this shortage of rental housing. As a result, people are maybe staying longer at these short-term facilities than we were hoping,” Gylfi told RÚV.
“The reason people are staying longer is both that there is a shortage of rental housing in the entire country, but also that rental prices are very high in Iceland and therefore people find it harder to get out of our short-term facilities than we were hoping.”
The number of refugees coming to Iceland has never been higher. Gylfi estimates the most in one year so far has been 1,100-1,200 people, but this year that number could approach 3,000.
"We see that with this continuation, the flow of refugees to Iceland this year will possibly approach three thousand and we need to focus our response so that we can receive such a large number," Gylfi concludes.
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