When an individual moves their legal domicile to Iceland, they generally have to wait 6 months before they become health insured in Iceland.
When an individual is not covered by health insurance, they must pay the full price for health care. Private insurance can be purchased from insurance companies.
An application for health insurance shall be submitted one day after Registers Iceland has registered a new legal domicile.
If an individual comes from the Nordic countries
To speed up processing, we suggest submitting a copy (front and back) of a valid European Health Insurance Card with the application.
If an individual comes from an EEA country, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the United Kingdom or Switzerland
Individuals who were insured in the social security systems of those countries can get health insurance sooner. It is not enough to have had private insurance.
Spouses and children
The registered spouse and children (under 18 years of age) of an individual who is a citizen of the EEA and who is covered by health insurance in Iceland may be entitled to health insurance without a 6-month waiting period.
Students
Students who move their legal domicile back to Iceland within 6 months of the end of their studies can submit a confirmation of their studies as well as apply for health insurance. They will be insured from the date when legal domicile is registered. When more than 6 months have passed since the end of your studies, you must apply for health insurance and go on a 6-month waiting period.
If an individual moves back to Iceland from Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Finland and it has been less than 12 months since they moved there. The individual automatically becomes covered by health insurance when legal domicile is registered in Iceland.
An individual will automatically be covered by health insurance 6 months after the legal domicile was registered in Iceland if:
You move to Iceland from a country outside the EEA.
An individual did not have health insurance in the previous country of residence or only had private insurance.
An individual is a citizen of a country outside the EEA.
Health insurance is permitted to make exemptions before an individual becomes health insured if:
Necessary services for sudden illness.
Icelandic communicable disease control authorities require an individual to undergo an examination and/or investigation due to suspicion or confirmation that an individual is infected with a serious infectious disease that needs to be treated immediately.
This is a kidney patient who requires regular treatment in a kidney machine.
This is a patient who needs oxygen.
A person who has lived in Iceland for more than 20 years and has close relatives in Iceland and has a life-threatening illness.
A child under the age of 20 with a life-threatening illness who moves to Iceland with a parent who has lived in Iceland for more than 20 years.
Health insurance can grant exemptions from the waiting period for essential healthcare services to those who need to flee their home country due to war or natural disasters.
If an individual believes that any of these apply to him/her, he/she must submit an application for health insurance along with a medical certificate justifying the exemption.
Please note that it can take time to get previous rights confirmed, but once confirmed, an individual will be insured from the date they are registered in the National Registry.
The applicant is not covered by health insurance while waiting for the decision of the application.
If the applicant needs medical care during that time, he/she can:
Use the European Health Insurance Card from the previous country of residence, if he/she has one. He also pays the same for medical services as the health insured.
Pay full cost and apply for payment participation from Iceland Health once the health insurance has been approved. An application for reimbursement must also be submitted, along with invoices and a payment confirmation through Data Submission for Individuals - Medical Expenses in Iceland
Individuals who move to Iceland must apply for health insurance.
An application must be filled out for registration in the insurance register and submitted to Iceland Health if the move is within an EEA country.
In general, individuals will be covered by health insurance 6 months after they have registered their residence in Iceland according to Registers Iceland.
Individuals who move from EEA countries, the United Kingdom or Switzerland can bring their insurance rights with them if they were insured in the country they come from.
The application must state that the individual has been insured.
Health insurers contact the insurance institution in the country of origin.
When a response is received from that institution regarding the individual's insurance rights, a decision is made as to whether the individual will be insured with Iceland Health.
Citizens of an EEA country, the United Kingdom or Switzerland who are temporarily posted to Iceland by an employer or who are self-employed can continue to be insured in the social security system of the country from which they come.
The individuals must apply for an S1 and A1 certificate in the country they come from and submit it to Iceland Health.
An A1 certificate confirms that the individual is covered by the social security system of the issuing country.
An S1 certificate confirms that the individual is covered by health insurance in the issuing country.
The S1 certificate is also a request for the individual to be covered by health insurance in Iceland at the expense of the issuing country.
Once the S1 certificate has been registered, the individual has the same rights as other health insured persons in Iceland.
Health insurance can request an S1 certificate from the previous country of residence for individuals. You must contact the international affairs of Iceland Health and submit a request for this to be done.
If an individual is not registered, they can use the European Health Insurance Card if they have one.
Different rules apply to work and residence permits depending on whether you come from countries within or outside the EEA. The Directorate of Immigration is responsible for issuing work and residence permits.
By signing the application, the applicant confirms that the information recorded there is correct. The processing of personal data in connection with the handling of the case is subject to the provisions of Article 50 of Act No. 112/2008 on Iceland Health, the provisions of Act No. 90/2018 on Data Protection and the Processing of Personal Data and Act No. 97/1997 on Patients' Rights, when applicable. All information related to the application is treated as confidential.
When processing personal data, appropriate technical and organisational measures are taken to ensure the security of the data.
Further information on the processing of personal data by Iceland Health and data protection can be found in the privacy policy of Iceland Health.
Collection of information:
When processing an application for health insurance, Iceland Health will collect information, if deemed necessary, from the following institutions:
Directorate of Labour:
Information on unemployment benefits
Information on unemployment benefits abroad (U2 certificate)
Information on departure from another country to Iceland: Right to unemployment benefits (U1 certificate)
The tax:
Information on tax payments (months/years)
Name of employer
Social Insurance Administration:
Information on disability assessment (status)
Information on payments for old-age pensions
Information on disability payments (status)
Registers Iceland:
Information on name, ID number and address
Information about children and spouses
Last Country of Residence Information
Information about when the person was registered in the country
Another:
In rare cases, it may be necessary to obtain information from the health insurance institution in the previous country of residence on insurance periods from the previous country of insurance (EEA state).
The collection of the information is based on Article 34(3) of Act No. 112/2008 on Iceland Health and Article 3 of Act No. 70/2018 on Registers Iceland.
Dissemination of information
Iceland Health will share information on the outcome of a case, i.e. information on whether the applicant is health insured or not, to providers of health services provided by Tryggingastofnun and other institutions.
More about the application process
If it proves impossible to decide on entitlements, entitlement to benefits, the amount and payment of benefits and a review thereof due to a lack of necessary information attributable to the applicant, Iceland Health Administration is authorised to postpone the decision and payment of benefits until this is remedied. The Directorate shall immediately notify the person concerned in the event of a postponement and challenge him or her to provide the necessary information.
Iceland Health Privacy Terms.
If you cannot find the information you need, you can send an inquiry to Iceland Health
Service provider
Iceland Health