By Svalbard Global Seed Vault/Peter Vermeij [Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons
Visa policy of Svalbard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uniquely, Svalbard is an entirely visa-free zone. Everybody may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship. The Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. Non-treaty nationals may live and work indefinitely visa-free as well. Per Sefland, then Governor of Svalbard said "It has been a chosen policy so far that we haven't made any difference between the treaty citizens and those from outside the treaty".[1] "Regulations concerning rejection and expulsion from Svalbard" is in force on non-discriminatory basis. Grounds of exclusion include lack of means of support and violation of law or regulation.[2][3]
Hans-Henrik Hartmann, then "head of the legal unit at the Norwegian government's immigration department", said: "If an asylum seeker is refused residence in Norway he can settle in Svalbard so long as he can get there and is able to pay for himself."[4] "In the past, immigrants who have been refused a visa for mainland Norway have moved to Longyearbyen, lived there for seven years and been awarded Norwegian citizenship."[5] Sending refugees to Svalbard has been suggested.[6] Open-border policy of Svalbard has been referred as a reason to consider Svalbard as a refugee settlement.[7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Visa_policy_of_Svalbard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License
References for 1, 4, 5 : http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2006/07/200841012024779644.html
It is possible Svalbard can be used for a refugee settlement or international hub. (The contents of all 3 links below were made/contributed by me)
refugeeisland.org
facebook.com/refugeeisland
icepeople.net/2016/06/10/riches-and-refugees-people-ask-about-buying-pyramiden-weekly-heres-one-guys-reason-and-what-hes-eyeing-now/