Karl Fannar Saevarsson Email & Phone Number

Reykjavík, Capital Region, Iceland

Senior specialist on visa affairs for the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration.

Iceland

Project manager within the permit department (leyfasvið) were I managed a team of five staff members. Apart from managing the processing of residence permits, I also work on more technical matters such as implementing and streamlining work procedures, gather statistics and overall communication with external partners. For the visa aspect of my work I have to work closely with Iceland´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as embassies, both Icelandic and foreign, that issue visas on Iceland´s behalf. Moreover I have attended meetings (Visa Working Party) in Brussels based on the Schengen cooperation.

Iceland

2018 to present: Specialist in permit department Since early 2018 I have enjoyed quite variegated work at the department that handles residence permits. There, I have reviewed applications for residency based on various terms, such as work, studies and family reunification and examined their eligibility. More current affairs include issuing visa requests and work on applications for citizenship. Furthermore, I have worked on other projects such as streamlining work procedures and implemented EU (EEA) regulations into the work of the Directorate. 2017-2018: Specialist, International protection As a part of the directorate´s service team I conducted open service interviews in order to handle daily inquires from individuals seeking international protection. The service interviews are both conducted at the directorate´s office and in some of the housing provided by the Directorate while applications are being processed. The team disposes individuals between our housing, handles all medical requirements needed for those seeking international protection and ensures their overall well-being.

Maastricht Area, Netherlands

Research intern/Research Assistant in the Conflict, Security and Resilience programme.Research intern/assistant at ECDPM in the programme of Security and Resilience. During my time at ECDPM I worked on a political economy analysis on regional organizations (RO) in Africa with focus on the RO´s interventions regarding peace and security operations. ECDPM has monitored the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) the past few years and my work was mainly focused on this monitoring. This work concentrated on feeding into the APSA assessment study published by GIZ. In addition, I was of aid in current evaluation on the African Peace Facility by providing desk research assistance.Moreover, I worked on a paper that considers mediation and diplomatic dialogue within the institutional framework of the APSA and where they stand in regards to gender (due to be published later this year). Furthermore, the study aims to shed light on the level of women mediators, what is being mediated with a more gender perspective and women inclusiveness. This work required substantial research on gender, and women led mediation efforts.

Iceland

Master student in Global Connections at the University of Iceland.In early 2015 I was in West Africa, more specifically in Mauritania and Western Sahara to conduct fieldwork for my thesis. The thesis focuses on the interaction between industrialized fisheries (with emphasis on the Icelandic fishermen working in these countries) and the artisanal fishermen that take place outside the coast of West-Africa. This research was conducted under the supervision of Professor Kristín Loftsdóttir and the project was funded by RANNÍS and is a part of a larger project called Icelandic Identity in Crisis.

Reykjavík

A teacher assistant in a methodology course for BA students. My tasks at the University were twofold; to communicate with students such as answering their inquiries etc, I was also responsible for reviewing and grading the students assignments. This was a challenging but at the same time very instructive work.

Iceland

During my time at Arctic Adventures I dealt with overall communication with customers, briefing them on our tours and making itineraries up on request. This requires you to be very efficient when it comes to looking up information and data.

Reykjavík

Summer job at Reykjavík city head office in the department of research and quality within the department of welfare. During my time I analyzed data regarding dropout among users (term used for those who seek benefits from Reykjavík city) of three different therapies offered to long term users with serious drug addiction. In addition I assisted two other summer employees carrying out a phone questionnaire for users who no longer seek welfare benefits, to follow up on their wellbeing. I also wrote a literature review for new instructions on file management within Reykjavík city administration.

Reykjavík

During my time with IHRC I planned a symposium on gender based violence as a part of 16 days of activism against gender based violence campaign. The aim of the symposium was to shed light on some of the work done by masters and PhD students on the matter. I also wrote an article on the matter and a column about female genital cutting in relation with the 16 days campaign, with the aim to put the issue in relation with culture and to refute general misconceptions regarding FGC. I also worked on a study material for students aged 15 to 18 years old about human rights, as well as making a presentation for these kids on the matter.

Kampala, Uganda

The tasks during my internship were quite vast, a part from overall administrative work, I planned events like conferences and seminars, Reading through reports and making drafts as well as attending meeting and taking minutes.I also conducted a follow-up research on a fish market ICEIDA renovated in early 2013. Focus was given on the women who sell fish at the market, how they operate between the domestic and public sphere and how that affects their state of household.

Diploma, Political Science And Government

A graduate level diploma (30 ECTS) within the faculty of Political Science with focus on public policy and public administration.

Master’S Degree, International/Global Studies

Master student in Global Connections at the University of Iceland. During March and April 2015 I was in West-Africa, more specifically.

Bachelor'S Degree, Anthropology

Activities and Societies: Member of the student union board for one year.