Has anyone ever tried to migrate to Svalbard?

Question

This is something that I'm curious about. Its not something I plan to attempt myself but still.... I ponder.

I've been reading about Svalbard lately. Apparently, according to the law that governs Svalbard, though it is officially part of Norway, people from any of the signatories of the Svalbard treaty are free to move there.

A few friends of mine went on holiday there several years ago to see the northern lights, so I know it is at least a somewhat accessible place despite its northern location.

So I'm wondering...has there ever been an incident of a person deciding they want to migrate there and just showing up and starting to look for a job?

In particular it seems to me that it could be something tempting for someone from one of the poor treaty signatories- a not very bright person who doesn't realise what the climate is like most likely.

Answer 1

So your question is - has anyone migrated there? Yes, yes they have.

In the first half of 2014, 167 people moved to Svalbard.

A total of 167 persons moved to Svalbard during the first half-year; 61 of which were foreigners, and 158 moved away; 39 of which were foreigners. Overall, migration resulted in 22 more foreigners and 13 fewer Norwegians.

And these aren't just near-locals like Norweigans or Swedish:

As of 1 July 2014, people from 44 countries were living in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund. The majority of the foreigners; 289 persons, had a background from European countries, with 95 Swedes making up the largest group. A total of 139 persons were from Asia; 107 of them Thais. Seventeen persons had come from as far afield as South America, six were from North America and five were from Australia.