Integrating into the Faroese society
A study of the cultural challenges for foreigners and how these challenges can be prevented
Kirstin Joensen
Master’s Thesis│MA in International Business Communication Academic Supervisor │ James Menzies
Characters: 154007 (68 pages) 2015/08/12
Copenhagen Business School 2015
Resumé
Denne afhandling undersøger de kulturelle udfordringer hos udlændinge, når de prøver at integrere i det færøske samfund, og hvordan disse kulturelle udfordringer kan forhindres.
14 udlændinge, der bor på Færøerne, er blevet interviewet for at finde frem til de kulturelle udfordringer, og hvordan de kan forhindres. Det teoretiske grundlag for denne afhandling fokuserer på kultur, kulturelle forskelle og interkulturel kommunikation.
I afhandlingen er der fundet fem kulturelle udfordringer. Den første er udfordringen i at immigrere til Færøerne, som inkluderer, at den formelle immigrations proces tager for lang tid til at blive godtaget, og at det er svært at få svar på spørgsmål vedr. immigrationspapirer. Den næste er udfordringen i at tilpasse sig en ny kultur, som består af udfordringer vedr. det at opleve kulturelle forskelle og kultur chok. Den tredje er udfordringen af sproget som en barriere, og den fjerde er udfordringen i at finde et arbejde. Den femte og sidste er udfordringen i at socialisere med færinger. De tre sidste udgør en Catch 22 (en ond cirkel), som gør det svært at integrere i det færøske samfund, da det er svært at finde et arbejde og socialisere med færinger, hvis man ikke kan det færøske sprog. Desuden er der svært at lære det færøske sprog, hvis man ikke har et arbejde eller socialiserer med færinger.
Afhandlingen indikerer, at disse kulturelle udfordringer kan forhindres, hvis både det færøske samfund og udlændinge, der bor på Færøerne gør en indsats. Dette betyder, at det færøske samfund bliver nødt til at komme med en integrationsplan, der optimerer hjælpemidler og ressourcer tilgængelige for udlændinge, som f.eks. flere timer til at lære det færøske sprog.
Desuden skal udlændinge forberede sig inden de immigrerer til Færøerne ved at læse om den færøske kultur samt være opsat på at gøre sit til at integrere i det færøske samfund ved at lære det færøske sprog og socialisere med færinger.
Alt i alt, giver denne afhandling svar på hvilke kulturelle udfordringer udlændinge har, når de immigrerer til Færøerne. Desuden gives der forslag til, hvordan disse kulturelle udfordringer kan forhindres.
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Content
Chapter 1: Introduction ... 3
1.1 Research aim and research statement ... 3
1.2 Scope and chapter overview ... 4
Chapter 2: Reflections on methodology and theory ... 5
2.1 The qualitative research method ... 5
2.2 What is ethnography? ... 6
2.2.1 The ethnographic interview... 6
2.2.2 The research design ... 8
2.3 The interviewees ... 9
2.4 Theory ... 13
2.4.1 What is culture? ... 13
2.4.2 Cultural Differences ... 13
2.4.3 Intercultural communication ... 17
2.5 Validity ... 18
Chapter 3: Analysis ... 19
3.1 Facts about the Faroe Islands ... 19
3.2 The Faroese culture ... 20
3.2.1 The Faroese cultural history and the culture today ... 20
3.2.2 The Faroese people ... 21
3.3 Immigrating to the Faroe Islands ... 23
3.3.1 The Alien Act ... 23
3.3.2 Family reunification ... 24
3.4 Immigration in the Faroe Islands today ... 25
3.5 Integration in the Faroe Islands ... 26
3.6 Findings on the challenges when integrating into the Faroese Society ... 28
3.6.1 Becoming Faroese ... 28
3.7 The cultural challenges when integrating into the Faroese Society ... 31
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3.7.1 The challenge of immigrating to the Faroe Islands ... 32
3.7.2 The challenge of adjusting to a new culture ... 36
3.7.3 The challenge of the Catch 22 ... 37
3.7.4 The challenge of language as a barrier ... 39
3.7.5 The challenge of finding a job ... 44
3.7.6 The challenge of socializing with Faroese people ... 47
3.8 How can these cultural challenges be prevented? ... 50
3.8.1 The cultural challenges ... 50
3.8.2 What the interviewees propose ... 51
3.8.3 What the foreigners can do to prevent the cultural challenges ... 54
Chapter 4: Discussion ... 58
4.1 The importance of letting the foreigners speak ... 58
4.2 Discussion interesting aspects in the findings ... 59
4.2.1 National cultural identity vs. individual cultural identity ... 60
4.2.2 Hofstede’s dimensions – a failure of analysis? ... 62
4.3 Discussion on how to prevent the cultural challenges ... 63
4.4 How this study contributes to further research ... 66
Chapter 5: Conclusion ... 68
References ... 72
Appendices... 75
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Integration of foreigners is a subject that is slowly emerging in the Faroe Islands. The reason for this is that more and more immigrants reside in the Faroes (Figure 1) and the need for exposing the subject on integration is seen as an important issue in the Faroese society.
In 2011 the Faroese Ministry of the Interior presented a report, which contained examples on how and why integration plans should be put in force for the foreigners residing in the Faroe Islands (Innlendismálaráðið, 2011). However, this project was not granted the necessary funds, and the integration plans were therefore set aside.
This results in the fact that the Faroese society still awaits an integration plan to be implemented, which also means that foreigners in the Faroe Islands are still waiting for further help in order to integrate into the Faroese society. As of now foreigners are granted a 20 hours language course to learn the Faroese language (Útlendingastovan, 2015). However, as this study will present, that alone is not enough for the foreigners to be integrated into the Faroese society.
But what do the foreigners need to integrate into the Faroese society? What are the challenges that they have to meet?
1.1 Research aim and research statement
This study investigates the process of integrating foreigners into the Faroese society, which is investigated with the help from the interviews with the fourteen foreigners. Furthermore, this study also investigates the more or less unexplored subject on the culture of the Faroese society in order to give an insight into the cultural differences that the foreigners have to understand and adapt to.
Furthermore, this study focuses on letting the interviewed foreigners speak their mind, and it focuses on the findings that the interviewees have underlined in the interviews. This gives a good insight into the foreigners’ thoughts, experiences and most importantly challenges while undergoing the process of integrating into the Faroese society.
4 The research statement in this paper is:
What are the cultural challenges for foreigners when integrating into the Faroese society and how can these cultural challenges be prevented?
This research statement’s aim is to point out all the cultural challenges presented by the interviewed foreigners with quotes and experiences explained by the interviewees. Furthermore, the aim is to present solutions on how to prevent these cultural challenges presented by the interviewees and also by using cultural theories.
All in all, the research aim and the research statement’s focus is to present a view on the integration process in the Faroe Islands, which is presented by the interviewed foreigners with a cultural focus on the challenges and how to overcome them.
Next, the scope of the paper will be presented as well as an overview of the chapters to give you an idea of what to expect.
1.2 Scope and chapter overview
This study builds upon interviews with fourteen interviewed foreigners living in the Faroe Islands (Appendix 2.1) and an interview with a Professor in Faroese Ethnology and Cultural History called Jóan Pauli Joensen (Appendix 2.2). Furthermore, this paper attempts to investigate perspectives introduced by the interviewees. This also means that the aim is to voice shape the aspects that are presented by the foreigners living in the Faroe Islands.
First of all, I want to introduce the methodology, which gives an introduction to the ethnological aspect of this paper, and furthermore introduces the method used to collect the findings. In addition to this, I want to dive briefly into the theoretical aspects on cultures that are used as a tool to analyze the findings. Furthermore, I want to take a look at the history and cultural history of the Faroe Islands to give an idea of how it is to live in the Faroese society. In addition to this, I want to analyze the findings regarding the cultural challenges and on how to prevent these cultural challenges. Moreover, I want to discuss essential points presented in the study to critically examine and contemplate all aspects. In addition to this, I want to propose how this study contributes to improving any possible further research.
5 Lastly, I want to conclude and reflect on the findings and conclusions that have been made throughout the paper.
Chapter 2: Reflections on methodology and theory
This paper takes the methodological approach of social science since the overall research aim is to figure out what the cultural challenges are for foreigners when integrating into the Faroese society. This leads to a social research and therefore sets the methodological approach in a social context (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, p. 14).
Furthermore, the methodological approach taken in this paper is the ethnographic research approach. But what is ethnography, and how is this research approach used to conduct the needed data?
This is what I will present next to give an insight into the methodological approach taken. I will give a brief explanation on what ethnography is and state the importance of the qualitative research method and the ethnographic interview. Furthermore, I will explain the research design, which involves the interview guide and the importance of it. Moreover, I am going to take a look at the theories used throughout the paper and mention some important elements, which this study relies on.
2.1 The qualitative research method
The research method for this paper has been to conduct data through qualitative research. This qualitative research has been done through interviews or more precisely ethnographic interviews.
But what is qualitative research?
According to Kvale et al. the qualitative interview tries to understand the world from the interviewee’s perspective and also tries to explore the meaning connected to the experience of the interviewee. In other words, the purpose is to see the world of the interviewee and see the world through the interviewee (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009, p. 18).
The difference between the qualitative research and the quantitative research method (e.g.
questionnaires), is that qualitative research provides detailed answers that give deeper insight
6 into the interviewee’s perspective. Furthermore, certain types of questions asked during a qualitative interview allow the interviewee to open and elaborate his or her answers (Lungholt &
Metelmann, 2013, pp. 42-43).
However, there are certain disadvantages concerning the qualitative research method, which includes the fact that there are usually fewer respondents, and this therefore makes it more difficult to generalize. However, if the qualitative research method, in this case the ethnographic interview, is pursued the right way, the qualitative research method can be very successful in collecting the needed data (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, pp. 42-45).
Now that we know what the qualitative research method is, I want to elaborate on what ethnography is, and explain how the ethnographic interview is to be undertaken.
2.2 What is ethnography?
Ethnography is simply put the method of studying human races and cultures (Blommaert, 2006, p. 2). However, ethnography is also described by Blommaert as more than a method and therefore also ‘a perspective on language and communication.’ (Blommaert, 2006, p. 2). This states that ethnography is both a method and a perspective.
Furthermore, ethnography is an inductive method, since it begins with the data and works towards a hypothesis (i.e. you follow the data) (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, p. 50). In addition to this ethnography focuses on complexity, which means that its purpose is to describe what is messy and complex. This is done by paying attention to the small details that are observed through the ethnographic fieldwork. Ethnographic fieldwork includes everything that is observed out in the field and also includes the ethnographic interviews (Blommaert, 2006, p. 3).
2.2.1 The ethnographic interview
The ethnographic interview is ‘a particular kind of speech event’ (Spradley, 1979, p. 55) since it is a communicative situation where an ethnographer interviews an interviewee to collect ethnographic data.
Spradley also underlines that it is important to think of the ethnographic interview as a friendly conversation, which starts out with a friendly ‘get-to-know-you’ talk and later evolves to asking ethnographic questions.
7 According to Spradley there are some aspects that need to be taken under consideration for the ethnographic interview to be successful. These aspects include the choice of questions for the interview, the role of the ethnographer and the setting of the interview.
The questions for the ethnographic interview are very important for the interview to be successful, and for the necessary data to be collected. An interview guide, which consists of all the questions, is therefore recommended for the ethnographer to have prepared prior to an ethnographic interview. Furthermore, Spradley introduces the three most important questions when conducting an ethnographic interview, and they are: the explicit purpose, the ethnographic explanations and the ethnographic questions.
The explicit purpose states that it is important for the ethnographer to tell the interviewee the explicit purpose of the interview, i.e. let the interviewee know what the ethnographer wants to know. This gives the interviewee an idea of where the conversation is going, and how it is pursued.
The ethnographic explanations state that it is important that the ethnographer provides explanations throughout the whole interviewing process, and also before and after the interview has been made. The reason for this is to give the interviewee the necessary knowledge which provides trust and assurance. There are several forms of explanations set forward by Spradley, which includes project explanations, recording explanations, native language explanations, interview explanations and question explanations (Spradley, 1979, pp. 59-60).
The ethnographic questions include three main types of questions that should be asked by the ethnographer. The first type of questions is the descriptive questions. These questions give the interviewee a chance to describe a situation (e.g. ‘could you describe your culture?’). The next type of questions is the structural questions. These questions are asked to find out how the knowledge of the interviewee is organized (e.g. ‘what was it like for you to integrate into the Faroese society?’). The last type of questions is the contrast questions. The purpose with these questions is to discover meaning by looking for contrasts (e.g. ‘what is the difference between the Faroese culture and your own culture?’) (Spradley, 1979, p. 60).
8 These three types of ethnographic questions are a crucial component when undergoing an ethnographic interview with an interviewee.
It is also important to consider the role of the ethnographer prior to conducting the ethnographic interview. First of all, it is important that the ethnographer expresses interest in what the interviewee is saying. Furthermore, it is also important that the ethnographer expresses cultural ignorance. This gives the interviewee the opportunity to explain and describe his or her own knowledge on the subject without any inputs from the ethnographer (Spradley, 1979, p. 61).
In addition to this, the role of the ethnographer is to pursue a friendly conversation, which also leads to retrieving the necessary data. This friendly conversation is pursued, when the setting is carefully considered. This means that it is important to arrange the interview in surroundings that makes the interviewee comfortable. An example is to do the interview in the home of the interviewee or in familiar surroundings (Spradley, 1979, p. 61). Another aspect that leads to a friendly conversation is for the ethnographer to speak the interviewee’s native language or a language that the interviewee feels comfortable speaking. This will make the interview more relaxed and gives the interviewee the opportunity to say what he or she wants to say without any linguistic obstacles (Spradley, 1979, p. 55).
To conclude, all of these important aspects presented above are important for the ethnographic interview to be successful – both for the interviewee and the ethnographer.
2.2.2 The research design
The research design for this paper has been to use the qualitative research method by undergoing ethnographic interviews with interviewees. The interviewees were contacted through Facebook and also through people who knew foreigners. My goal was to reach as many interviewees as possible, but since the interviews were very time consuming, I was able to undergo fourteen interviews. Each interview took about 45 minutes to 1 hour, and the interviews took place either at the interviewee’s home or at my home to create a homely setting for the friendly conversation (Spradley, 1979, pp. 55-57).
9 Before conducting the interviews I made an interview guide. According to Lungholt et al. the interview guide helps the ethnographer to prepare successfully for the interview. It helps the ethnographer structure the questions in a way that will make the interview go as planned (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, pp. 56-57).
For the interview guide (Appendices 1.1 and 1.2) I decided to divide the questions in themes starting with ‘Background questions’ and moving on to ‘Living in the Faroe Islands’ and ending with ‘Future aspects’. Furthermore, I started the interview by asking closed questions such as
‘where are you from?’ and ‘How old are you?’ to state some facts about the interviewee.
However, I focused on using open and interrogative questions (what, why, when etc.) to give the interviewees the opportunity to reflect and go into details when answering questions (Lungholt
& Metelmann, 2013, p. 57). In addition to this, the choice of language for the interviews was to keep a simple and easy communicative language to keep any misunderstandings from happening (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, p. 58).
2.3 The interviewees
When I contacted and met the interviewees, I assured them that the interviews would remain anonymous and were conducted for the sole purpose of academic research for my master’s thesis. This gave the interviewees a sense of relief to say whatever they wanted to say, when they were asked questions.
The interviewees are:
Interviewee 1:
- Female in her early 30’s from Slovakia. She moved to the Faroe Islands 8 years ago and now lives in Tórshavn with her Faroese boyfriend and their two children. She has an academic degree in Fashion and Design from Slovakia, but currently works as a kitchen manager at a restaurant.
10 Interviewee 2:
- 36 years old male from Slovakia. He moved to the Faroe Islands 15 years ago. He currently lives in Tórshavn with his wife and newborn baby. He has two other children from a previous marriage. He has an academic degree from Slovakia as a land surveyor, and he also works as a land surveyor in a Faroese company today.
Interviewee 3:
- Female in her early 30’s from Slovakia. She moved to the Faroe Islands three years ago after meeting her husband. She has an academic degree in finances and accounting and has a job as an accountant in a Faroese shipping company.
Interviewee 4:
- 51 years old female from India. She moved to the Faroe Islands 24 years ago and lives in the capital with her Indian husband and their two children. She holds a master’s degree and PhD in English and teaches at the Faroese College.
Interviewee 5:
- 26 years old female from the United States. She moved to the Faroe Islands one year ago. She lives with her Faroese husband and is expecting their first child. She has an academic degree in Television and Media, but currently works in the kitchen at hotel.
Interviewee 6:
- 56 years old male from England. He moved to the Faroe Islands 6½ years ago. He lives with his Faroese wife and her children in Tórshavn. He has an academic and professional background in Shipping and Logistics. He has worked as a night watch at a hotel since he came to the Faroes.
11 Interviewee 7:
- 51 years old female from the United States. She moved to the Faroe Islands 19 years ago. She lives in Saltangará with her Faroese husband and their children. She does not have an academic background, but has worked at fishing factory for many years. She also works as an English teacher at an evening school teaching foreigners English as a lingua franca.
Interviewee 8:
- 29 years old female from Poland. She moved to the Faro Islands six years ago. She lives in Klaksvík with her husband, who is from Russia. She has an academic degree in Scandinavian Studies. She currently runs a B&B with her husband and teaches Russian 3 hours a week in an evening school.
Interviewee 9:
- 37 years old female from Togo, Africa. She moved to the Faroe Islands five years ago and lives with her Faroese husband in Tórshavn. She does not have an academic background, but has worked as a cleaning lady and at a day care for some time. She is on a sick leave at the moment.
Interviewee 10:
- 45 years old female from Romania. She moved to the Faroe Islands 13 years ago and lives with her Faroese husband in Tórshavn. She has an academic background in mechanical engineering. She currently works as a trainee at a Faroese shipping company.
Interviewee 11:
- 28 years old male from Russia. He moved to the Faroe Islands 10 years ago with his family. He now lives by himself in Tórshavn. He does not have an academic background, but works as a translator/mediator at a Faroese shipping company.
12 Interviewee 12:
- 43 years old female from England. She moved to the Faroe Islands three years ago and lives in Tórshavn with her Faroese husband and their daughter. She has a professional background as a manager in a center similar to the Danish Job Center. She currently works as a cleaning lady at her husband’s company and is a stay-at-home mom for the rest of the time.
Interviewee 13:
- 38 years old female from Thailand. She moved to the Faroe Islands 10 years ago and lives in Tórshavn with her Faroese husband and their three children. She has an academic background in hotel management from her home country, but currently works in the kitchen at a Faroese hotel.
Interviewee 14:
- 44 years old female from the United States. She moved to the Faroe Islands 8 years ago and lives in Vestmanna with her Faroese husband and their two children. She has attended the Faroese College Fróðskaparsetrið where she has studied to become a nurse and now works as a nurse at the hospital in Tórshavn.
Ten of the fourteen interviews were recorded, while the remaining 4 were hand-written during the interview since the interviewees did not want to be recorded.
Moving on to the next section we will take a look at the theoretical aspect in this study.
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2.4 Theory
The findings that have been retrieved through the ethnographic interviews have been analyzed and interpreted with the help of various readings.
In addition to this, the theoretical foundation for this study has been drawn from the fields of culture, cultural differences and intercultural communication.
These three fields of foundation have proven to be the most important according to the retrieved findings.
Let us start by taking a look at the theory of culture, which is an important aspect in this study.
2.4.1 What is culture?
Culture is a widely known phenomenon and has been defined by many theorists. In the book Managing Cross-Cultural Communication written by Barry Maude it says that,
‘Culture is like a kaleidoscope. You look through the eye-piece and if you’re a socio-linguist you see that culture indistinguishable from language and that no two languages can mirror the same reality. If you’re a social psychologist you perceive culture as a lens determining what people see in a situation and how they respond to it. From the anthropologist, culture is an engine driving a society’s beliefs and traditions forward from generation to generation’ (Maude, 2011, p. 4).
This passage states that the definition of culture depends on the person defining it, which also means that there are various definitions of culture. However, there are some definitions of culture that are better known than others. Among these is Edgar H. Schein’s, who defines culture as ‘a set of basic assumptions – shared solutions to universal problems (Maude, 2011, p. 4).
Furthermore, Geert Hofstede explains culture as ‘A collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one culture from another’ (Maude, 2011, p. 4).
2.4.2 Cultural Differences
Since this paper strives to investigate the cultural challenges for foreigners when integrating into the Faroese society, it is significant to investigate cultural differences, and what they can lead to.
According to the book Managing Cross-Cultural Communication - Principles and Practice written by Barry Maude it is ‘the basic cultural differences’ that cause cultural challenges (Maude, 2011,
14 p. 300). These cultural differences are clearly portrayed when a foreigner from one distinct culture enters the Faroe Islands, which has another distinct culture.
One way to explain cultural differences is presented by Geert Hofstede.
2.4.2.1 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Hofstede put forward 5 dimensions of culture after doing an extensive research on intercultural differences in the multinational corporation IBM. These dimensions were put forward as a framework to assess and differentiate national cultures (French, 2007, pp. 38-40).
These dimensions include:
Power distance – the degree of inequality that exists and is accepted among people with power and with no power.
High power distance countries are for example France, India, and Russia which all value hierarchy and avoid conflicts with their superiors. Low power distance countries are for example Israel and the Scandinavian countries, where people feel more equal and the communication at work has a higher degree of informality.
Uncertainty avoidance – to which extent rules are being followed or not.
Strong uncertainty avoidance countries are for example Greece, Portugal, and Japan, and in these countries there is a need for formal rules, and there is a dislike of uncertainty and ambiguity. Countries with low scores on uncertainty avoidance are for example Britain and China, which are known for being innovative and do not follow the rules by the book.
Individualism/collectivism – individualism indicates how a person focuses on his or her own interests, while collectivism is focused on group-oriented people and their interest in the collective.
Individualist countries are for example those in North America, Europe and Australia where the individual and independence is more in focus than the collective or the social group. The collectivist countries are located in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, and they are characterized by a tight social network where family relations are very close.
15 Masculinity/femininity – this is the degree to which a culture focuses on the masculine values (performance etc) or the feminine values (soft issues).
The ‘masculine’ countries are for example Japan and Italy where the focus is on competitiveness, and they strongly distinguish between male and female roles. The ‘Feminine’ countries, such as Scandinavian countries, focus on the quality of life, concern for people, and sexual equality.
Long-term/short-term orientation – long-term oriented countries define success over a long time horizon while short-term oriented countries want to achieve quick results.
The long-term orientation countries are for example China and other Asian countries who think of the future and perseverance, while the short-time orientation countries are for example Scandinavian countries and the US that live in the present and believe that things can change (French, 2007, pp. 38-40).
By keeping these five dimensions in mind, it is possible to understand and point out the differences between various cultures.
2.4.2.2 High-context and Low-context cultures
Another way to understand and explain cultural difference is presented by Edward T. Hall, who is an American anthropologist and cross-cultural ethnographer.
This theory put forward by Hall refers to a culture’s tendency to use high-context messages over low-context messages in routine communication or vice versa (Schneider & Barsoux, 2003, p. 44).
In low-context cultures communications are expected to be clear and direct or explicit. It is expected that people get to the point instead of ‘beating around the bush’. In low-context cultures it is also expected that everyone should be able to understand a message and have equal access to information. Furthermore, it is common for people in low-context cultures to state what is on their mind as soon and clearly as possible (Schneider & Barsoux, 2003, pp. 44- 45). Examples of low-context cultures are the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia (Maude, 2011, p. 13).
Furthermore, in high-context cultures communication is implicit and is highly dependent upon the person and the situation. Information is shared amongst people, and some people have
16 more privileged access to the information than others. In addition to this, people in a high- context culture think before they speak and are hesitant when it comes to giving explicit details, since they want to be sure of what is to be said before saying it (Schneider & Barsoux, 2003, pp.
44-45). Examples of high-context cultures are Latin American countries, Southern Europe and Asia (Maude, 2011, p. 13).
This theory presented by Hall gives another way to understand cultural differences.
2.4.2.3 Trompenaars’ view on time
Another theory that looks at cultural differences is presented by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner in the book Riding the Waves of Culture – Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business.
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner propose that we see time in two ways. The first one is the sequential time orientation and the second one is the synchronic time orientation. The sequential time orientation represents cultures that undertake one activity at a time, and where punctuality is important. Examples of such cultures are for example the United States and countries in Northern Europe. The synchronic time orientation represents cultures that juggle multiple projects and activities at the same time and they do not think too highly of punctuality. Examples of synchronic cultures are Latin American cultures and Southern European cultures (Trompenaars
& Hampden-Turner, 1997, pp. 123-125).
These aspects on time presented by Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner give a good example of cultural differences.
2.4.2.4 Shifting focus from national cultural identity to individual cultural identity Daphne A. Jameson focuses on individual cultural identity in the article Reconceptualizing Cultural Identity and Its Role in Intercultural Business Communication. Here she shifts the focus from understanding others to instead focusing on oneself, and how you react in certain cultural situations.
17 The components of cultural identity are:
- Vocation: What you do for a living.
- Class: Which class you are from (economic class, social class etc.).
- Geography: What your nationality is.
- Philosophy: Religious identity, political identity or other philosophies.
- Language: Your first language, dialect.
- Biological traits with cultural aspects: Your race ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, health and age. (Jameson, 2007)
This theory is interesting to take a look at, since it raises a discussion between national cultural identity and individual cultural identity, which suits well to look into in this study.
2.4.3 Intercultural communication
The last theoretical foundation for this paper is intercultural communication. These theories derive from various textbooks and academic articles. One important book that has been very helpful in investigating intercultural communication such as stating the importance of learning the local language, finding information on cultural adjustment and furthermore, learning about culture and communication overall is Managing Cross-Cultural Communication – Principles &
Practice written by Barry Maude. In addition to this, various articles are presented in the study such as Edgar E. Schein’s Organizational Culture and the article concerning The Importance of Language written by Austin E. Fife.
All in all, these various theories on culture, cultural differences and cultural challenges are presented in this study and are used to investigate and provide an answer for the research aim and research statement.
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2.5 Validity
Validity is a matter of the extent to which the researcher’s observations and interpretations reflect the social phenomena being studied and its research question (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, pp. 109-110).
Validity may therefore be seen in terms of the quality of the study, in the encouraging to a continuous critical reflection and a critical assessment of the findings (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, p. 111). Furthermore, the validity of the research is based on the researcher’s integrity, knowledge and experience (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009, p. 194).
In this study a total of almost fifteen hours of conversation was recorded and written down, while further twenty pages have been written to sum up the interviews with the fourteen foreigners (Appendix 2.1) and Professor Jóan Pauli Joensen (Appendix 2.2). The validity comes primarily from the interviews themselves, where I was able to uncover the necessary findings on the cultural challenges and how to prevent them, as well as information on the Faroese culture (Joensen, 1987).
Another source of validation comes from cooperating with my academic supervisor, who is a representative of the research field which the study ascribes to. By using ethnography as a point of departure in this research, the tendency to jump to any first hand conclusions has been constrained, and instead focus has been on analyzing and discussing the findings (Spradley, 1979).
All in all, the validity in this study is based on the fourteen interviews with foreigners who live in the Faroe Islands, and as well as, the interview with Professor Jóan Pauli Joensen where all the findings were retrieved.
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Chapter 3: Analysis
This study investigates the cultural challenges for foreigners when integrating into the Faroese society and strives to give the foreigners a chance to state their point of view on this matter.
Furthermore, this paper makes an attempt to offer solutions to how these challenges can be prevented to ease the integration process for the foreigners residing in the Faroe Islands.
As previously mentioned the data is retrieved by conducting interviews with fourteen foreigners that come from various cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, the data will be analyzed with the help of a variety of cultural theories.
Before analyzing the findings that have been collected through interviews, I want to give a short overview of the Faroe Islands and of the Faroese culture. Additionally, I want to elaborate on the formal integration process when entering the Faroe Islands, and I also want to take a look at how many foreigners live in the Faroe Islands today and present the view on integration in the Faroese society today.
3.1 Facts about the Faroe Islands
The Faroes Islands consist of 18 Islands and are situated in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway and the Northwest of Scotland. The Faroe Islands are a part of the Danish Kingdom, but is self-governing with its own parliament and national flag. The population in the Faroe Islands is around 49,000 people, and around 20,000 people live in the municipality of Tórshavn, which is the capital (Faroe Islands). Furthermore, the spoken language in the Faroe Islands is the native language called Faroese (Visit Faroe Islands). However, the Danish language is also a big part of the Faroese society, since it is a mandatory subject from primary school and onwards.
Moreover, the Danish language is visible in all aspects of the Faroese society since Danish products are imported and sold, which includes foods and Danish clothes brands. Moreover, Danish television channels are also available in the Faroes, which exposes the Faroese people to Danish on a daily basis (Faroe Islands).
In addition to this, Faroese people know various Nordic languages (i.e. Norwegian and Swedish) very well, and English is also a well known language, especially amongst the young people and is taught in primary school as well (Faroe Islands).
20 Besides this, the Faroe Islands have a longstanding history of being isolated from the outside world for many centuries, which also leads to an interesting cultural history, which will be explained next.
3.2 The Faroese culture
It is important to first take a look at the Faroese culture to be able to find the cultural challenges for foreigners when moving to and integrating with people living on the Faroe Islands. First I want to examine the Faroese cultural history and the Faroese culture today. After that, I want to look at the personal culture of the Faroese people, which includes values and ways of being and behaving in order to give an idea of what the Faroese people are like.
3.2.1 The Faroese cultural history and the culture today
The Faroese cultural heritage originates from the exploring Vikings and the Irish monks who resided on the islands 900 A.D. For centuries the islands were isolated, and therefore the country bred self-supplying people that had a lot of respect for nature. Nature has always been the foundation for the Faroese people and fishing has been the main income for living for many centuries. However, many contacts and collaborations have been made over the last 100 years now that the Faroes are connected with the rest of the world and are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Fishing has also been a major export during the last century, and is also still a big part of the everyday life and food in the Faroes. In addition to this, pilot whales and wild birds are also a great part of the Faroese cuisine alongside the Faroese sheep (Visit Faroe Islands).
The Faroe Islands also have a rich artistic culture, which includes storytelling, music and the national Faroese dance. In the old days it was very common to hear stories told from mouth to mouth, since this was the only way stories could be spread. Another big part of the Faroese culture, which also derives from the cultural history, is the traditional Faroese chain dance, which is danced while singing folklore ballads (Joensen, 1987, pp. 188-191). This dance is still a big part of the Faroese culture, and is present at Faroese weddings and traditional gatherings. In addition to the Faroese chain dance, it is common to wear the national Faroese clothing, while dancing and singing the folklore ballads (Joensen, 1987, pp. 171-172). The interesting fact is that these traditions that are more than 100 years old are still a very big part of the Faroese culture today, which also shows the patriotic side of the people in the Faroe Islands.
21 Religion has also been a big part of the Faroese cultural history for many years, and the majority (about. 85%) of the Faroese population is a part of the Faroese Evangelical Lutheran Church (Faroe Islands). Religion has for many centuries been the foundation of the Faroese people, since it is taught in school and is a large part of the society as a whole (Joensen, 1987, pp. 181-182).
There is a church in almost every village and city on the islands, which also symbolizes the importance of religion in the Faroese society (Faroe Islands). Today, however, the religion is not found to be as important as it used to be, but it does however have its impact on various matters, and especially when it comes to politics, such as when the subjects of homosexuality and abortion are discussed (Miðflokkurin, 2015). All in all, religion has for many centuries been a large part of defining the Faroese culture, but its importance is restricted when it comes to the younger generations and their view on the matter.
Now that you have an idea of the Faroese cultural history, let us take a look at the personal culture of the Faroese people.
3.2.2 The Faroese people
Jóan Pauli Joensen, who is a professor of Ethnology and Cultural history at the Faroese University called Fróðskaparsetrið (Fróðskaparsetrið, 2015), explained some interesting aspects of the personal culture of the Faroese people.
First of all, Professor Joensen states that the Faroe Islands is a society that shows traits of having a cultural history deriving from being isolated from the world for many centuries. He further explains that this is seen in the way Faroese people behave. An example is that Faroese people are very family oriented and think highly of family bonds and values. In addition to this, Faroese people value friendships, and it is common to find friendships that have lasted a whole lifetime.
According to Professor Joensen, this is because a personal trait of the Faroese people is that they are very loyal and stick to their own people, and once you are a part of a close friendship or family you are 100% in. This leads to a very tight-knit society, which according to Professor Joensen is due to the fact that when the Faroese society was isolated from the world, the people only had each other, and therefore this lead to a society with tight relationship bonds, and it has therefore been a part of the culture ever since (Appendix 2.2 p. 23).
22 Heritage is also seen as an important matter in the Faroe Islands. It is common that, when speaking with an elder Faroese, a young Faroese is asked who his or her father or mother is. This is due to the fact that the people know each other and are interested in knowing what kind of people you come from. However, this particular cultural trait is not as common today with the younger generation. This has slowly tended to become less important for them, but the Faroese people still have an interest in knowing where a certain person is from and so on (Appendix 2.2 p. 23).
Professor Joensen also states in addition to being family-and-friendship oriented the Faroese people are laid back and easy going. According to Jóan Pauli, this is due to the nature of the Faroe Islands, which includes the fresh air, green mountains and beautiful wildlife surrounding the islands, which in itself is soothing (Appendix 2.2 p. 24).
Furthermore, it is very common that young people go abroad to travel and study, which also indicates that the longing to go abroad weighs heavily in the younger generation. According to Professor Joensen, this is also due to the cultural history of the Faroe Islands of being isolated from the outside world (Appendix 2.2 pp. 24-25).
However, today Faroese people have several options for leaving the country and exploring the world as compared to many years ago, and this is definitely something that is very popular amongst especially young people. However, the problem in this case is that some of the people leaving the country to explore the world and study never come back, and this leads to a decline in the Faroese population, which is a subject that has been widely discussed in Faroese politics and the media (Reistrup & á Rógvi, 2012, pp. 73-74).
Another personal trait in the culture of the Faroese people is patriotism. Since the Faroe Islands have a very strong national culture, which includes the wildlife of birds, sheep, the green mountains and the whale hunting and not to forget the Faroese chain dance and the national dress, the Faroese people are also very patriotic. According to Professor Joensen the patriotism is portrayed in the way the Faroese people want to preserve the whale hunting, think highly of the national holiday at the end of July called Ólavsøka, and more importantly it is also seen in how important the family values are to the Faroese people (Appendix 2.2 p. 23).
23 All in all, these aspects portray the Faroese people and give an idea of the values and what is important for the Faroese people.
3.3 Immigrating to the Faroe Islands
The Danish legislation on immigration is set in force in the Faroe Islands. It is, however, altered for the Faroese society and excludes some paragraphs that are not valid for the Faroese society to enforce.
First, I will present some important matters in the Alien Act, which includes a description on how the applications are processed, and how foreigners are to obtain a residency and work permit.
Furthermore, I want to comment on immigration in the Faroe Islands today, and I also want to reflect on how integration of foreigners is seen in the Faroe Islands and describe the importance that it has today in the Faroese society.
3.3.1 The Alien Act
Since the Faroe Islands is an independent country within the Kingdom of Denmark, it also means that the Danish Immigration Service receives all applications for residency and work permits.
However, these applications are processed with consultancy from the Faroese immigration office called Útlendingastovan, while the Faroe Islands do have an impact on the matter, the Danish Immigration Service has the last say in whether or not the applications are accepted or not (New to Denmark).
There are different regulations that apply to foreign nationals who want to obtain residency or work permits in the Faroe Islands. These regulations are set out by the Alien Act (Legislation, 2001, pp. 1-29), which states that:
If you are a Nordic citizen, you are free to live, study and work in the Faroe Islands. These countries include Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Since the Faroes is not a member of the European Union (EU), the EU rules do not apply. However, there is a scheme which applies for EU citizens who want to reside or work in the Faroes. This scheme sets out that the unemployment rate in the Faroe Islands has to be less than 3.5% for EU citizens to achieve residency and/or work permit. However, when the unemployment rate is less than 6% in the
24 construction industry, residence and work permit is granted to foreigners seeking employment as a skilled worker (New to Denmark).
In addition to this, foreigners who originate from a country which is a part of the Schengen agreement1 are free to travel to the Faroe Islands without any further limitations. This applies even though the Faroe Islands is not a part of the Schengen Agreement. The Faroe Islands use the same conventions as the Schengen Agreement does without officially being a part of the agreement, e.g. to let residents of Schengen countries travel freely to the Faroe Islands.
Therefore, foreigners who originate from visa free countries can travel to and live in the Faroe Islands for up to three months. Foreigners from visa bound countries have to have a visa to enter and live in the Faroe Islands (Legislation, 2001, pp. 1-5).
3.3.2 Family reunification
Family reunification can be granted to spouses and partners, children under the age of 18, parents over the age of 60 and other relatives or similar of a Faroese resident. The granted residency permit is temporary, and if the foreigner meets the above mentioned family reunification terms, the permit can be extended. However, if the foreigner has lived in the Faroe Islands for more than three years, he or she will be able to apply for a permanent residence permit, if he or she still meets the mentioned conditions. Furthermore, when a foreigner holds a residence permit on the grounds of family reunification, he or she is allowed to work in the Faroe Islands (Legislation, 2001).
All in all, the Faroese immigration is processed by Denmark, which handles all the papers, but the Faroe Islands do have some insight in the matter, since Útlendingastovan is in close contact with the Danish Immigration Service and offers help if needed.
1 The Schengen agreement is an agreement made between 26 countries to allow free movement of their citizens within the area of these countries as if they are one country (New to Denmark).
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3.4 Immigration in the Faroe Islands today
Immigration in the Faroe Islands has evolved vastly over the past years. Each year more foreigners settle down in the Faroe Islands and according to The Statistical Bureau in the Faroe Islands there are 5,517 foreigners living in the Faroes (Appendix 3.5). This means that around 9%
of the Faroese population is foreigners2. These 5,517 foreigners are from 115 different countries. This means that the foreigners living in the Faroe Islands are from all over the world (e.g. Australia, Chile, Argentina, China, Cambodia, Southern Africa and many more).
To give an idea of how immigration has evolved over the past years, it is interesting to take a look at the statistics from the previous 30 years.
Figure 1 - Immigration flow
2These statistics are based on which country the foreigners are from. The number of foreigners was updated in April 2015. The statistics are retrieved from the Statistical Bureau in the Faroe Islands (http://www.hagstova.fo/fo/hagtalsgrunnur/ibugvar-og-val/folkatal).
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
1985 1995 2005 2015
Foreigners
Year
Immigration flow
26 For example in 1985 there are documented 3,457 foreigners to live in the Faroe Islands (Appendix 3.1). In 1995 the number decreased to 2,900 foreigners living in the Faroes (Appendix 3.2), which is most likely due to the financial crisis that occurred in 1992 and left many people moving abroad – both Faroese people and foreigners (Hansen, 2007). Furthermore, in 2005 the number of foreigners living in the Faroe Islands increased to 4,583 (Appendix3.3), which shows a vast change in the immigration flow. The number of foreigners immigrating to the Faroe Islands is still increasing, and this is clearly seen in the immigration statistics from 2014 where 5,309 foreigners lived in the Faroe Islands (Appendix 3.4), while 5,517 foreigners live in the Faroes today (Appendix 3.5).
All in all, these statistics show an increase in the immigration flow in the Faroe Islands, and since the immigration is increasing there are several factors that need to be taken under consideration.
One important factor is the integration process for foreigners when immigrating to the Faroe Islands. But what is integration and why is it so important?
This is what I will analyze next.
3.5 Integration in the Faroe Islands
Integration is an important matter when foreigners reside in the Faroe Islands.
But what is integration?
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary integration is ‘the act or process of combining two or more things so that they work together’ (Hornby, 2005, p. 807). In other words the integration of foreigners is ‘a complete cross-cultural adjustment’, which means that the foreigners fully participate in the new society, while they still have their own cultural background as a standing point (Maude, 2011, p. 186).
However, the integration of foreigners in the Faroe Islands is a new phenomenon that has recently become an important topic in the Faroese society. The Faroe Islands do not yet have any specific integration guidelines on how foreigners are to be integrated into the Faroese society
27 (Innlendismálaráðið, 2011), and this matter causes various cultural challenges for the foreigners living in the Faroese society (Appendix 2.1).
The Faroese Ministry of the Interior put forward an integration report in 2011 with suggestions on integration guidelines for foreigners when entering the Faroe Islands (Innlendismálaráðið, 2011). However, this report did not get the financial support needed, so the subject on integration still lingers in the Faroese society as something unknown. In addition to this, there is no Faroese term for the word integration (Innlendismálaráðið, 2011, p. 1), which also underlines that the aspect of integration is still foreign to the Faroese society.
Moreover, since the immigration flow has increased over the past years, the aspect of integration seems to become more and more important. However, many questions arise on how the process of integrating foreigners into the Faroese society is to be put into effect.
However, before offering any answers to such speculation, I find it important to reach out to the foreigners to get their view on the matter and let them explain the challenges they experience when trying to integrate into the Faroese society. Lastly, it is appropriate to come up with solutions on how these challenges can be prevented.
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3.6 Findings on the challenges when integrating into the Faroese Society
The data retrieved from the fourteen interviews with various foreigners from different cultural backgrounds offered results on several challenges when integrating into the Faroese society.
The overall challenges that stood out in each interview were the cultural challenges, and it is therefore interesting to take a look at these specific challenges.
These cultural challenges all derive from the personal challenge that the interviewees had and some still have in the process of becoming Faroese and becoming a part of the Faroese society.
These cultural challenges were underlined as so significant in each interview that the need for analyzing and interpreting these cultural challenges is particularly important.
However, before analyzing these cultural challenges, let us first take a look at what causes these cultural challenges.
3.6.1 Becoming Faroese
When integrating into the Faroe Islands there are many cultural challenges that the foreigner has to overcome before feeling like a part of the Faroese society and eventually becoming Faroese.
But what is that causes these cultural challenges and why do they appear?
First of all, it is important to understand that every culture is unique. Edgar H. Schein, who is a well-known cultural theorist, proposes that culture can be divided into layers. He proposes the outer layer to be the artifacts, which is everything you can see, hear or feel about the culture. An example of this is how people in a given culture dress, talk to each other, their food culture and so on. The second and middle layer explained by Schein is the values of the culture. These values include norms, ideologies and philosophies of the culture. The inner and last layer is the basic assumptions of the culture. These basic assumptions are the unconscious assumptions that determine thought processes, perceptions, feelings and the behavior of people in the culture (Schein, 1990, pp. 1-5).
All of these layers constitute a culture, according to Schein, and they are very important to keep in mind when interacting with different cultures, since they portray the uniqueness in each culture.
29 So what is it that causes cultural challenges for foreigners when integrating to the Faroe Islands?
According to Maude it is ‘the basic cultural differences’ that cause cultural challenges (Maude, 2011, p. 300). These cultural differences are clearly portrayed when a foreigner from one distinct culture enters the Faroe Islands, which have another distinct culture.
One good way to take a look at cultural differences is to use Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. As previously mentioned, Hofstede did an extensive research on intercultural differences in the multinational corporation IBM, where he used 5 dimensions as a framework to assess and differentiate national cultures (French, 2007, pp. 38-40).
By using this framework set forward by Hofstede, it is possible to point out cultural differences amongst the various cultures.
Since the Faroese culture has not been analyzed by Hofstede, it is interesting to give an example on how the culture could be analyzed. This is done with the help from the interview with Professor Jóan Pauli Joensen including literature on the Faroese culture. However, this is only a suggestion with the help from professional data to how the Faroese culture could be presented if analyzed by Hofstede.
So let us take a look at the Faroese culture analyzed by according to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
3.6.1.1 The Faroese culture according to Hofstede’s dimensions
In the dimension Power/Distance the Faroe Islands are most likely to score fairly low, since it is not common for the Faroese society to be built on hierarchy. This is portrayed in how the Faroese society strives for everyone to have the same opportunities and work together as seen in the history of the Faroe Islands (Joensen, 1987, pp. 11-12). In addition to this, the Faroe Islands are very likely to score high on the collectivist dimension. This is portrayed in how family bonds and friendships are of big importance to the Faroese people and also due to the fact that the Faroese society is very small, and therefore people tend to rely on each other as a group (Appendix 2.2 pp. 23-25). Furthermore, in the Masculinity/Femininity dimension the Faroe Islands are proposed to score high on the Feminine dimension. This can be stated due to the fact that the Faroese society tends to focus more on the soft values such as taking care of each other
30 and showing solidarity (Joensen, 1987, pp. 208-210). In addition to this, the feminine dimension is also seen in how the Faroese society focuses on balancing work and family life and giving employees the opportunity to have flexible work hours.
The next dimension of Uncertainty/Avoidance is proposed to have a low score since the Faroese people does not tend to plan too much, and therefore change of plans are not seen as a big deal.
To give an example, this is portrayed in the history of the Faroe Islands. Since the Faroe Islands for many years were dependent on the weather conditions, it was very difficult to make any plans when going hunting for food or fishing. Therefore, the Faroese people have relied on taking each day one at a time and arranging plans as the circumstances have allowed for the plans to be fulfilled (Joensen, 1987, pp. 69-75). Another example is portrayed in the whaling culture of the Faroe Islands. Whenever a flock of pilot whales emerges ashore, the Faroese people are ready to go hunting, and this is no matter what they are doing before or what kind of plans they have.
People set everything aside and hurry to the shore to hunt the pilot whales. This gives a good insight in the culture of the Faroese people when it comes to the relaxed outlook on the unknown and everything that is uncertain (Appendix 2.2 p. 24).
In the last dimension called Long-term Orientation the Faroe Islands are most likely to score low, according to the retrieved data. This means that the Faroe Islands is a normative culture, which focuses on traditions and emphasizes quick results compared to results over a long period of time. This is also portrayed in the tradition for the Faroese people to dance chain dances at special occasions and also wear the national costume, which emphasizes the importance of the historical culture for the Faroese people (Joensen, 1987, pp. 162-165).
This example of the Faroese culture analyzed according to Hofstede’s dimension gives an insight in how the culture in the Faroese society is, and it is also presented as a tool to further analyze the cultural challenges presented by the interviewees.
So let us take a look at the cultural challenges for the foreigners when integrating into the Faroese society.
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3.7 The cultural challenges when integrating into the Faroese Society
As previously mentioned, Geert Hofstede defines culture as ‘A collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one culture from another’ (Maude, 2011, p. 4). Keeping in mind that culture is something that distinguishes people from each other, it is likely that a cultural challenge can appear when a foreigner from one distinct culture moves to another different culture such as the Faroe Islands.
The cultural challenges presented by the interviewees are:
- The challenge of immigrating to the Faroe Islands - The challenge of adjusting to a new culture - The challenge of language as a cultural barrier - The challenge of getting a job
- The challenge of socializing with Faroese people
The first cultural challenge that I want to analyze according to my findings with the use of theories is the challenge of immigrating to the Faroe Islands. Here I want to go into the process of immigrating to the Faroe Islands, and how it has been for the foreigners according to the interviews. Next I will analyze the challenge of adjusting to a new culture. Here I want to analyze how the foreigners have experienced the cultural adjustment. In addition to this, I want to analyze the Catch 22, which consists of the next three presented cultural challenges, and how they are connected.
Furthermore, I will analyze the cultural challenge of language as barrier and look into the importance of language, and what the language barrier can lead to. In addition to this, I will analyze the challenge of getting a job and investigate the hardships that the foreigner can experience in the process of finding a job. Finally yet importantly, I will analyze the challenge of socializing with Faroese people and look into what causes this challenge. Lastly, I want to give some examples on how these cultural challenges can be prevented.
So let us take a look at the first cultural challenge.
32 3.7.1 The challenge of immigrating to the Faroe Islands
‘My paperwork took ages to be processed. Finally, after approx. 8 months it came through long after due. It was very frustrating.’ (Appendix 2.1.1).
One challenge mentioned by many of the interviewees is the challenge of immigrating to the Faroe Islands. This challenge is both a cultural and societal challenge that revolves around the fact that the formal immigration process takes too long to be completed, and that it is difficult to be provided with an answer for questions concerning the immigration papers.
Seven out of fourteen interviewees had problems concerning this matter (Appendix 2.1 pp. 5- 21).
Interviewee 10 from Romania experienced that it took 1½ years to achieve her residency permit in the Faroe Islands. She was told that this was due to the fact that the papers were lost and then later found due to miscommunication This lead to the fact that interviewee 10 was not allowed to work in the Faroe Islands for 1½ year, and she also had to travel back home to Romania every three months, since she was not legally allowed to stay in the Faroe Islands for a longer period of time due to the lack of her residency permit (Appendix 2.1 p. 15).
According to the regulations, the paperwork concerning residency should not take more than 3 to 6 months (Politi, 2015).
But what is it that causes this paperwork to be delayed and take so long to be processed?
The cultural and societal challenges concerning the immigration papers taking too long to be processed are various. One theory that is interesting to take a look at in connection with the immigration papers taking too long to be processed is a theory concerning the aspect of time, which is set forward by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner. In the book Riding the Waves of Culture it is explained that ‘Just as different cultures have different assumptions about how people relate to one another, so they approach time differently.’ (Trompenaars & Hampden- Turner, 1997, p. 120). These lines state that the aspect of time is different from culture to culture.
33 According to Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s dimensions there are two ways of defining time in a cultural context. The first is a sequential time orientation, where an activity is undertaken one at a time, and punctuality is valued. Another way of seeing time is the synchronic time orientation where in this case it is possible to juggle many projects at a time, and punctuality is not important (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997, pp. 123-125).
By keeping the interview with Professor Jóan Pauli Joensen in mind, it is possible to mention that the Faroese society has a synchronic time orientation, which means that making plans, being on time and scheduling is not of big importance. This is especially portrayed in the way Faroese people walk into each other’s houses without knocking or planning on beforehand (Appendix 2.2 pp. 23-25). This synchronic view on time can therefore also be a reason for the formal immigration process taking too long. This can be due to the fact that the Faroese society has a synchronic time orientation and therefore juggles many projects and assignments, which in turn leads to various matters such as immigration papers to take a longer time to be processed than they supposedly should.
All in all, it is important to keep the synchronic time orientation of the Faroe Islands in mind as a major factor for the immigration process being a challenge for foreigners when immigrating to the Faroe Islands.
Another challenge that has been pointed out by the interviewees when immigrating to the Faroe Islands is the fact that the foreigners are sent back and forth between the immigration offices, and this causes a difficult experience for the foreigners.
First of all, there is the Danish Immigration Service, where all the paperwork is originally sent to when foreigners apply for a residency permit , and it is also the Danish Immigration Service who decides whether or not the papers or approved (New to Denmark). In addition to this, there is Útlendingastovan (the Faroese Immigration office), which the Danish Immigration Service consults with when conducting the various immigration cases. Following this, the immigration papers are forwarded to Útlendingastovan when they have been approved, and then it is their responsibility to forward the approval to the foreigners (New to Denmark). Lastly, it is the Faroese police, which provide help for foreigners when they have any questions concerning immigration and residency permits (Politi, 2015).
