[iceland] vast increase in social security number applications

From the land where the headline IS the story, comes this top story today [and there is absolutely no irony here]:

Staff of the National Registry of Iceland have recently been inundated with new applications for Icelandic social security numbers, the so-called ‘kennitala’.

The waiting period for a ‘kennitala’, which traditionally has been one day, is currently up to five weeks. This has among other things created difficulties in the registration and monitoring of foreign workers in Iceland. This is reported by RÚV online.

According to a National Registry spokeswoman, the number of applications has increased exponentially over the last few years, or since the Kárahnjúkavirkjun dam project got underway in east Iceland. Some 100 new applications are submitted every day, many of which lack the requisite information and therefore take longer to process.

Also on the rise is the number of individuals who wish to do business in Iceland or who want to open Icelandic bank accounts, and who require a ‘kennitala’ for that purpose.