Apply for a work permit

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.

Submit an application

The application is submitted to Directorate of Immigration

• Information on processing fee.

• Information on application and supporting documents.

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.

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.