Becoming an Icelandic citizen is not easy, as the story of Audrius Sakalauskas reminds us. Andrius, who was born in Lithuania has lived in Iceland since he was only five years old. Despite having lived in Iceland for 17 years Audrius was denied citizenship on the grounds that he has broken the law repeatedly. Audrius received several speeding tickets when he was 17-19 years old.
Audrius, who is a certified electrician, applied for citizenship last year, but received the rejection notice a few days ago.
Speeding is a violation of the law
The local TV station Stöð 2 interviewed Audrius who said that he was not a career criminal: That's how they put it, that I am a repeat offender, but that's because I committed a few traffic violations three years ago. I was 17-19 years old, young and stupid, I had just received my driving license. I think I'm not the only person who has done something like this at that age.
A spokesman for The Directorate of Immigration told Stöð 2 that the nature of the offenses committed makes no difference: The repeated violation of the law will have a negative impact on a citizenship application. No distinction is made between the criminal code and the traffic code:
The nature of the offense makes no difference. It is simply a question whether the applicant has been fined or sentenced in court, in Iceland or abroad. In cases where offenses have not been repeated there is also a requirement that sufficient time has passed since the offense and that fines do not exceed a certain amount.
Audrius told Stöð 2 that he has has a life in Iceland, I have been with my wife for seven years. We just got engaged. I don't want to leave, I like living in Iceland. He worries that if he does not receive Icelandic citizenship he will be ordered to return to Lithuania to serve in the military. Lithuania has universal conscription. All males aged 18-55 years old must complete a 9 month military service.
Not the first
Audrius is not the first foreign national to be denied Icelandic citizenship due to speeding tickets. In June 2017 an Indian man, who is married to an Icelandic woman and had lived in Iceland for 11 years, was denied citizenship on the grounds that he had received several speeding tickets while living in Iceland.
The man, Bala Kamallakharan, is a law abiding citizen, a pillar of the community, and an entrepreneur who founded Startup Iceland, an annual conference which brings Icelandic startups and foreign investors together. Despite having deep roots and a family, wife and two children, in Iceland, the speeding tickets were considered serious enough to warrant the rejection of his citizenship application.
Bala appealed the decision on the grounds that his wife had been driving the car on all but one of the occasions when the tickets were issued. The tickets only appeared in his name because the car is registered to him. The Directorate of Immigration revised its decision, and granted Bala citizenship a month after his story found its way into the news.
Becoming an Icelandic citizen is not easy, as the story of Audrius Sakalauskas reminds us. Andrius, who was born in Lithuania has lived in Iceland since he was only five years old. Despite having lived in Iceland for 17 years Audrius was denied citizenship on the grounds that he has broken the law repeatedly. Audrius received several speeding tickets when he was 17-19 years old.
Audrius, who is a certified electrician, applied for citizenship last year, but received the rejection notice a few days ago.
Speeding is a violation of the law
The local TV station Stöð 2 interviewed Audrius who said that he was not a career criminal: That's how they put it, that I am a repeat offender, but that's because I committed a few traffic violations three years ago. I was 17-19 years old, young and stupid, I had just received my driving license. I think I'm not the only person who has done something like this at that age.
A spokesman for The Directorate of Immigration told Stöð 2 that the nature of the offenses committed makes no difference: The repeated violation of the law will have a negative impact on a citizenship application. No distinction is made between the criminal code and the traffic code:
The nature of the offense makes no difference. It is simply a question whether the applicant has been fined or sentenced in court, in Iceland or abroad. In cases where offenses have not been repeated there is also a requirement that sufficient time has passed since the offense and that fines do not exceed a certain amount.
Audrius told Stöð 2 that he has has a life in Iceland, I have been with my wife for seven years. We just got engaged. I don't want to leave, I like living in Iceland. He worries that if he does not receive Icelandic citizenship he will be ordered to return to Lithuania to serve in the military. Lithuania has universal conscription. All males aged 18-55 years old must complete a 9 month military service.
Not the first
Audrius is not the first foreign national to be denied Icelandic citizenship due to speeding tickets. In June 2017 an Indian man, who is married to an Icelandic woman and had lived in Iceland for 11 years, was denied citizenship on the grounds that he had received several speeding tickets while living in Iceland.
The man, Bala Kamallakharan, is a law abiding citizen, a pillar of the community, and an entrepreneur who founded Startup Iceland, an annual conference which brings Icelandic startups and foreign investors together. Despite having deep roots and a family, wife and two children, in Iceland, the speeding tickets were considered serious enough to warrant the rejection of his citizenship application.
Bala appealed the decision on the grounds that his wife had been driving the car on all but one of the occasions when the tickets were issued. The tickets only appeared in his name because the car is registered to him. The Directorate of Immigration revised its decision, and granted Bala citizenship a month after his story found its way into the news.
