Apply for a work permit

You must submit an application for an extension of the temporary work permit before it expires. When applying for an extension of a work permit, the same application forms are used as when applying for the initial permit.

An application for an extension must meet all the requirements of the temporary work permit and the employer must have paid withholding tax and social security contributions for the work of the individual.

Applications are submitted to the Directorate of Immigration.

If a person with a temporary work permit wishes to change his/her place of employment, the person concerned must submit an application for a work permit to the Directorate of Immigration from the new employer. That permit must be granted before the person concerned can start working.

It can have serious consequences to start work before a work permit is granted. The requested work permit can be refused and such an act can result in fines or imprisonment for up to two years for both the employer and the person involved.

This applies regardless of whether the person concerned is expected to work in Iceland for a short or long period of time.

Employers are responsible for employees having the necessary permits before they start working.

• Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish citizens.

• Citizens of countries that are part of EFTA, EEA and the agreement between Iceland, Denmark and the Faroe Islands.

Citizens of these states are exempt from a work permit:

• Austria

• Belgium

• Bulgaria

• Denmark

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• The Faroe Islands

• Greece

• Netherlands

• Ireland

• Italy

• Croatia

• Cyprus

• Latvia

• Liechtenstein

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Malta

• Norway

• Poland

• Portugal

• Romania

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• Spain

• Switzerland

• Sweden

• Czech Republic

• Hungary

• Germany

However, family members must obtain a residence permit issued by the Directorate of Immigration to stay legally in Iceland.

• With a permanent residence permit

• Foreign spouses and cohabiting partners of Icelandic citizens and their children up to the age of eighteen

• Have been granted a residence permit on grounds of international protection

• Are in the private services of foreign ambassadors

• Have been granted a residence permit on the basis of youth mobility agreement

• Individuals who were Icelandic citizens from birth but have lost their Icelandic citizenship

• Residence permits based on humanitarian grounds

• Residence permit based on special ties to the country

• Foreign spouses and cohabiting partners of foreign nationals who have been granted temporary work permits for work requiring professional expertise and their children up to the age of eighteen.

In certain cases, foreigners’ employment may be exempted by law if the period of employment does not exceed 90 days per year. If, however, the period of employment exceeds 90 days, an application must be made and a work permit issued.

Further information on this exemption is provided in Article 23 of the Regulation.

If a notification has not been sent to the Directorate of Labour, an individual is not considered exempt from a work permit as the provisions of Article 23 of the Act are not considered to be complied with. This can lead to the person being stopped and deported at the border.

As there are exemption clauses, it is necessary to notify the arrival of the employer before he/she arrives in Iceland. With the notification of arrival, information must be submitted about the travel agency and/or the tour guide who will conduct the guided tour in Iceland.

Here you can send in notification

Instructions on how to fill out the electronic notification form

Note that notification must be sent for each period of use of the exemption.

Tour guides and group leaders from non-EEA countries

Guides

Please note that guides are not exempt from Article 23 of the Act and guides with a nationality outside the European Economic Area must apply for a temporary work permit in Iceland for their work in Iceland. The same applies to other employees in the tourism industry who are not exempt from the requirement for a work permit and do work that is generally considered to be within the Icelandic collective agreements and the Icelandic labour market. Further information on the rights and obligations of foreign tourism operators with operations in Iceland can be found here.

Group leaders

Group managers from countries outside the European Economic Area who accompany groups of tourists to and from Iceland are subject to the exemption clause of the Act for short-term work and may be employed in Iceland for up to 90 days for business purposes.

The group leader's role is mainly to accompany the group to and from the country and is represented by such as a tour guide and other national service providers.

In general, all jobs and industries in Iceland are covered by collective agreements. See more on the ASÍ website.

Volunteer work in economic activities, production and sale of goods or services on the market for profit, often in competition with companies in the same economic activity, does not comply with either collective agreements or the law.

Employers are therefore not permitted to have volunteers perform work that is generally paid for in the Icelandic labour market. In Iceland, volunteer work is only permitted if it is a non-governmental organisation that operates in charitable, cultural or humanitarian activities that are not run for profit and are exempt from tax liability according to Article 4 of the Income Tax Act.

Employment contracts that stipulate less favorable terms than those according to collective agreements are considered invalid. For further information and assistance, contact the relevant trade union.

In addition to the above, volunteers with citizenship outside the European Economic Area, EFTA countries and the Faroe Islands must apply for a residence permit from the Directorate of Immigration, regardless of the length of stay in Iceland. This is in accordance with Article 67 of the Aliens Act.

Further information on residence permits for volunteers can be found on the Directorate of Immigration website here.