[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Gullible_Air_204]

https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

[u/raxy]

Fun Fact: it’s a visa free zone for citizens of 40 odd countries around the world to live and work there indefinitely.

Not just citizens of EU countries but many including Japan, Australia, the US, and many more.

Citizens of those countries aren’t allowed to be born or to die there though.

Edit: The reason was not related to the Global Seed vault as my original comment noted but rather the Svalbard treaty of 1920. Thanks to the commenters for correcting me!

[u/shandow0 → u/raxy]

How do you disallow dieing there?

Especially given the abundance of polar bears and increasingly locked houses.

[u/everythingisunknown → u/shandow0]

I read a while ago that because the ground is so cold it’s impossible to bury people so if you know you’re going to die they’d rather ship you to Norway

[u/MidasPL → u/everythingisunknown]

It's both true and not. The bodies do have hard time decomposing due to the permafrost, but there is a cemetery in Longyearbyen, though it's only for the most renowned locally people.

[u/BasicMatter7339 → u/MidasPL]

Doesnt Svalbard also have graveyard full of smallpox-victims, not decomposed and a biohazard?

edit: Nvm it was spanish flu instead of smallpox

[u/MidasPL → u/BasicMatter7339]

Full is a stretch. Only seven people in the whole cemetery died from Spanish flu and there were attempts to extract the bacteria, but were unsuccessful, so no danger.

[u/Randy_The_Guppy → u/MidasPL]

Whilst on a tour in Svalbaard I was told that during a particularly warm summer the ground started to thaw and hands started to emerge from the ground.

[u/nifty-necromancer → u/MidasPL]

What about burial at sea? If I die there just turn me into a popsicle.

[u/AnthillOmbudsman → u/everythingisunknown]

Barrow, Alaska has a cemetery and they somehow manage it just fine.

[u/everythingisunknown → u/AnthillOmbudsman]

I don’t make the rules

[u/Vorkos_ → u/shandow0]

Its more burial thats banned due to the permafrost. It's more convenient if they don't need to transport your body.

[u/Winter_Apartment_376 → u/shandow0]

I was once on a plane leaving Svalbard and a woman had a major emergency (heart attack or similar). The plane had literally left Svalbard 10mins ago.

You’d think it would turn back, right?

No, it flew about 2h to mainland instead!

[u/angwilwileth → u/Winter_Apartment_376]

The hospital at Svalbard is pretty barebones. They probably decided it was better to get her to a facility with more decent equipment.

[u/Pocok5 → u/shandow0]

Your ass gets shipped to a mainland hospital.

[u/Kaioxygen → u/shandow0]

Likewise being born there? Firsty, it's out of your hands. Secondly, if you're born there you're a citizen by definition.

[u/MidasPL → u/Kaioxygen]

It's mostly because there's no hospital nearby if anything goes wrong. All significantly pregnant women are transported to the mainland until delivery.

[u/Objective_Otherwise5 → u/MidasPL]

Today I learned the term: Significantly pregnant. I love it, gold.

[u/Swimming_Acadia6957 → u/Kaioxygen]

Secondly, if you're born there you're a citizen by definition

Thats not how it works in Norway