Disability assessment until 31 August 2025

To undergo a disability assessment, you need to meet certain residency requirements.

In Brief

Generally, the three-year rule applies, which states that the applicant must have had a registered legal residence in Iceland continuously for three years. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule, which are:

• The Age Rule. This applies to individuals younger than 20 years old. According to this rule, individuals who do not meet the three-year rule but are younger than 20 years old and had a registered legal residence in Iceland at the age of 18 can have their disability assessed. In these cases, the disability assessment must be valid from the age of 18, so one must apply retroactively from the day the person turned 18.

• The 20-Year Rule. According to this rule, the residency requirement is fulfilled after only 12 months of continuous residence in Iceland if the applicant has had a registered legal residence in Iceland for at least 20 years after the age of 16.

• The 5+5 Rule. According to this rule, the residency requirement is fulfilled after only 12 months of continuous residence in Iceland if the applicant has had a registered legal residence in Iceland for at least five years after the age of 16, and the period of residence abroad was not longer than five years.

The Aggregation Rule. It is permissible to combine periods of residence in Iceland and other EEA countries, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Canada to meet the minimum residence requirement (applies only if the applicant is a citizen of these countries, stateless, or a refugee).

• If the aggregation rule is used, the applicant does not receive full calculation according to Icelandic law, but rather a proportional calculation based on European law or bilateral agreements.

• The applicant must have been resident in Iceland for a minimum of one year from the age of 16 to be considered as meeting the residence requirement using the aggregation rule.

  • The Labor Market Condition. For applicants who have been resident in Iceland for less than three years from the age of 16 to be able to use the EEA aggregation rule, they must demonstrate continuous participation in the labor market in the respective EEA country. In the case of the United States, in addition to residence, the condition of having worked for at least one year in Iceland must be met.