Apply for a work permit

Conditions

• The sports association is within the Icelandic Olympic and Sports Association.

• The person to be hired has an employment contract with a sports club to play or train a certain sport with the club.

• The sports club pays for the return of the individual after the period of service is completed in certain cases.

Duration

A work permit for athletes granted for the first time is granted for no more than one year, but never longer than the period of employment under the employment contract. Generally, players' work permits are granted for the current season. Work permits for athletes can be extended for up to two years. With an application for an extension of a temporary work permit for athletes, the same documents must be submitted as with a new application.

When processing an application, the institution can check how the settlement of salaries and tax payments as well as insurance premiums have been carried out legally for other licensees who have worked for the company.

Required data

Original application

Application for a temporary work permit for athletes

The application should contain sufficient information about both parties. Includes the address of the person to be hired for work, both in Iceland and in the home country. The e-mail address of both applicants must be specified.

Employment contract

The employment contract is made between the individual and the sports club. It is not necessary to use a standard form of employment contract from the website of the Directorate of Labor but it is necessary to take care that the material requirements for a contract are the same. What needs to be stated is among other things:

• Information about the planned work of the person concerned with the sports club.

• Information on the proposed employment period. In the case of athletes, the employment period is generally the coming season or season of competition.

• Information on the pension funds payable for foreign work.

• Individual pay and other benefits that the person enjoys.

• Pay conditions must be stated before tax. See below for further information on pay conditions.

• Confirmation that the employer pays for the repatriation of an individual after the end of the period of employment in case of a termination of employment that is not the fault of the employee or if a foreigner becomes unable to work for a longer period due to illness or accident. The country to which the repatriation is extended must be specified.

Wage benefits

The employment contract shall specify the salary of the player, in Icelandic kronas, but alongside it it may be specified an estimated corresponding amount in another currency.

The amount of wages must be stated before tax, as the Directorate of Labour accompanies it after wages and salary-related charges have been paid in accordance with the submitted employment contract.

Monthly wages on the employment contract shall be at least except for the minimum standard of living

Payments of benefits and daily allowances are permitted but benefits or benefits may not be calculated as salary in order to meet the provisions on minimum living.

Information on the minimum maintenance can be obtained on the website of the Directorate of Immigration and this amount is updated annually.

Payment of wages in the form of contract payments is strictly prohibited as it constitutes a violation of the provisions of the Act on Foreign Nationals’ Right to Work. If the company is found guilty of such a violation, it may affect current and future applications for a work permit.

Signs

Both the individual who is to be hired and the representative of the sports club must sign the application and the employment contract.

Responsibilities of applicants

It is the applicants responsibility to submit the necessary documents with an application for a temporary work permit. If necessary documents are missing, the application may be delayed or rejected. The Directorate of Labour requests additional documents if they are considered necessary.

Submit an application

The application is submitted to:

Directorate of Immigration

Dalvegur 18

201 Kópavogur

Outside the capital area

The application is submitted to the relevant office of the District Commissioner.

Revalidation of the work permit

With an application for an extension of the work permit for athletes, all the same conditions must be fulfilled as when the permit was granted for the first time. Reference is made to the above conditions.

Furthermore, the sports club must have paid the tax as well as the insurance premium for the work of the foreigner and other licensees who work for the club.

A foreigner is generally allowed to work while an application for an extension of a permit with the same sports club is being processed. However, it is a condition that an application for an extension be submitted to the Directorate of Immigration at least four weeks before the previous permit expires.

Foreigner borrows money from another sports club

A work permit is bound to the employer for whom it is issued and the permit does not transfer between employers.

If a player goes to work for a new employer, both a new work permit for the player and salary payments must be submitted to the new employer.

When can a player start working

A foreigner may not start working for a sports club until a work permit has been granted.