Apply for a work permit
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Expert knowledge
Conditions
The assistance of The Directorate of Labour has been requested to find an employee in Iceland and within the EEA, the EFTA- states or in the Faroe Islands.
That the person to be hired has made an employment agreement with the employer to perform a specific job that requires expertise according to law or practice in Iceland.
The individual's expertise is essential to the company in question.
The foreign national’s special skills consist of university-level education, industrial, artistic or technical training, which is recognized in Iceland. The Directorate of Labour shall request verification of the foreign national’s education in the form of the appropriate certificates in accordance with Icelandic rules, if considered necessary.
The Directorate of Labour may request that the competent bodies, in the opinion of the Directorate, certify that the nature of the work requires the person performing it to have a certain level of expertise.
Duration
Temporary work permits based on special skills are generally granted for one year but such permits may be granted for up to four years at a time.
Required data
Original application
Application for a temporary work permit due to a job that requires specialist knowledge
Opinion of the relevant trade union
A union's opinion must be obtained on the application before it is submitted (field IV on the application) unless the union is Efling. In such cases, the Directorate of Labour will obtain the opinion.
Checklist for application
Employment contract
The employment contract is made between the individual and the employer. It must include:
Information about the planned job of the individual with the employer and his/her title.
Information about the employer.
Information on the pension funds to be paid for the work of the person concerned.
Salary must be in accordance with the relevant collective agreement and comparable to that of other specialists working in the industry.
The application must be accompanied by detailed information on the planned job of a foreigner with the employer and how the foreigner meets the requirements of the job. These information can also be provided in the contract annex or the application supporting document.
Signatures
Both the employer and employee must sign the application and the employment contract.
Other supporting documents may be:
A certified copy of the individual's diploma in Icelandic or English.
Confirmation of professional experience. If the person's professional knowledge is based on long-term professional experience, the application must be accompanied by a confirmation of the person's former employer's work, which includes detailed information about his/her work and periods of employment. A CV is not equivalent to such confirmation.
A copy of a valid license. In the case of a licensed professional title or a licensed trade, a confirmation from the competent Icelandic authorities must be provided that the individual has the right to perform the work for which he is being hired.
Apply for licence to practise as a healthcare professional on the website of the Directorate of Health.
License for a regulated profession on the website of the Ministry of Culture Innovation and Higher Education.
Expert or manager moving between establishments
Expert
If an employer sends an expert temporarily to work at its establishment in Iceland, the Directorate of Labour may depart from the conditions. The individual must then be an employee of the employer with permanent employment as an expert at his/her establishment abroad.
Manager
In the case of an employee of an employer who is permanently employed as a manager at an employer's establishment abroad, the Directorate of Labour may depart from the conditions. The Directorate of Labour requests the employer's justification regarding the need for the foreign national to come to work at his/her establishment in Iceland if the Directorate considers this necessary.
Jobs requiring specialized knowledge that are temporarily lacking in Iceland
The Directorate of Labour may grant a temporary work permit for a job that requires specialized knowledge of which there is a temporary shortage in Iceland and has been published in the regulation. The Directorate of Labour requests confirmation of the specialized knowledge of the person concerned in accordance with Icelandic regulations if the Directorate considers this necessary.
Applicants responsibilities
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.
Starting work as soon as possible
A foreigner may not start working before a work permit and residence permit has been granted. An employer may however request that the employee be able to start working before a residence permit has been granted.
A work permit for a job requiring professional knowledge must be granted. The employer must also guarantee the costs of the return of the employee in case of a rejection of the application for a residence permit.
Extension of the work permit
Temporary work permits for expert knowledge are generally extended for one year but such permits may be extended for up to four years at a time.
A foreigner is generally allowed to work while an application for an extension of a permit is being processed by the same employer. However, it is a condition that an application for an extension be submitted to the Directorate of Immigration before the expiry of the previous permit.
With an application for an extension, you generally only need to submit the necessary documents listed above.
The Directorate of Labour may however request further information for the application, including that the employer provide information on how the individual's expertise has been used in the work he was hired to do. Furthermore, the employer must have paid the withholding tax at source and social security tax regarding the foreign national’s employment in accordance with the legislation.
New employer
If a foreigner who has been issued a work permit and wants to change his/her job, he/she must apply for a work permit from the new employer. Documents must be submitted as if it were a new application, except for educational documents.
The Directorate of Labour will assess whether the expert knowledge meets the requirements for a work permit based on special skills in relation to the new job, regardless of the previous assessment of the individual's expert knowledge by the Directorate. The conclusion of such an assessment may be that the nature of the new job is so different from the previous job the foreigner held that he is not considered an expert in that field in the opinion of the Directorate of Labour and therefore the issue of the work permit is rejected.
Right to stay in Iceland after loss of employment
A foreigner who loses their job can apply for 12 month residence permit to seek another job based on their expertise.
Laws and regulations
Article 8 of Act No. 97 of 2002 on foreign nationals right to work.
Service provider
Directorate of Labour