> Hmmm... that sounds suspiciously like fisheries-related slavery/indentured servitude. See also: Dutch Harbor. Well, no. There's two parts to this. 1. Svalb

> Hmmm... that sounds suspiciously like fisheries-related slavery/indentured servitude. See also: Dutch Harbor. Well, no. There's two parts to this. 1. Svalbard is rather nice. While years there doesn't count towards Norwegian citizenship, the wages are rather high and Norwegian-like. Building up a good personal economy is certainly appealing to a lot of people. 2. There's boatloads of Norwegians married to Thai women. However, to get to Svalbard in the first place, you need to show that you can sustain yourself without being a burden on the local society. There's no health care to speak of there (except a regular doctor). There's no social security there. You need to be able to fend for yourself and build your own thing, or have a work contract.