Digital application for Icelandic citizenship

Applicants must have been issued a permanent residence permit or be exempt from the obligation to hold a residence permit under the Foreign Nationals Act.

Exempt from the obligation to hold a residence permit according to current legislation are Nordic citizens and citizens of EEA/EFTA states.

Individuals who acquired the right to reside without a residence permit based on older legislation retain this right.

Applicants must prove their identity in a satisfactory manner by submitting a copy of their passport. Copies of certain identity cards may replace copies of passports.

Applicants must have passed an Icelandic language test in accordance with requirements set out in the regulation on Icelandic examinations for applicants for Icelandic citizenship.

The Directorate of Education prepares and reviews the tests, while Mímir conducts the tests.

Reglugerð um próf í íslensku fyrir umsækjendur um íslenskan ríkisborgararétt
Directorate of Education
Mímir

Exemptions from the Icelandic language test

The Directorate of Immigration may grant an exemption from the language test requirement if it is considered unfair to make this a condition. This may apply for example for:

• Applicants 65 years of age or older that have been domiciled in Iceland for seven years preceding the submission of the application.

• Applicants that can confirm with a medical certificate that they are not able to undergo a langugae test for serious physical or mental reasons.

• Applicants that attend primary school in Iceland or are younger than the primary school age.

• Applicants that can confirm with an appropriate certificate from an Icelandic school that their language competence equals the legal requirements set out in Article 4 of the regulation.

Applicants will not be granted Icelandic citizenship if any of the following applies to them:

• Unsuccessful attachment has been made in the applicant's property in the past three years.

• The applicant's estate has been accepted for liquidation.

• The applicant is in arrears with the payments of taxes.

The Directorate of Immigration is authorized to obtain information from CretidInfo in conformation of this, see further in the Data Protection Terms.

Applicants must demonstrate that they:

• Have sufficient funds, income or other financial means, to support themselves in Iceland.

• Have not received financial assistance from a municipality in the past three years.

• Have supported themselves legally in Iceland for the past three years.

Amount of funds

The minimum amount of funds required per month is:

• 239.895 ISK for individuals.

• 383.832 ISK for married couples.

The amount corresponds to the basic amount of financial assistance from the City of Reykjavík, see further rules on financial assistance (in Icelandic).

Exemptions from financial self-sufficiency

• Children under the age of 18, dependent on a parent or guardian residing in Iceland, are exempt from the requirement.

• Students aged 18 to 20, who live with a parent or guardian, must only demonstrate 50% of the reference amount for individuals: 119.948 ISK per month.

• A marital spouse. Due to the maintenance obligation between married couples, it is sufficient that one spouse demonstrates sufficient funds for both.

  • Note that the exemption does not apply to cohabiting spouses.

• Relatives (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) 67 years or older, dependent on their child/children in Iceland, do not need to show independent funds.

How to demonstrate sufficient funds

Applicants can use any of the means listed below to demonstrate sufficient funds and different means can also be combined, for example income and/or bank balance.

Employment contract or self-employment income

Applicants can submit original employment contracts or demonstrate earned income by submitting a pay-as-you-earn tax statement (withholding tax) or issued invoices, stamped by the tax authorities.

If an applicant is financially dependent on another individual, the equivalent documents of that individual can be submitted.

Payslips

Applicants can submit last three months' payslips. Printouts from an online bank are satisfactory, otherwise employer confirmation is required. The pay-as-you-earn tax must have been paid on the wages and the Directorate of Immigration examines the tax register in confirmation.

If an applicant is financially dependent on another individual, the payslips of that individual can be submitted.

Guaranteed regular payments

Applicants can submit confirmation of regular payments for instance payments from the Social Insurance Administration in respect of invalidity, unemployment benefits, rental income and grants received by the applicant, e.g. for research.

Disposable funds

Applicants can submit bank statements showing their account balance, in Iceland or abroad. The amount must be in an internationally acknowledged currency that can be changed into a currency registerd witht the Central Bank of Iceland and be withdrawn to use for support.

The statement must be confirmed by the bank itself and in its original. A printout from an online bank is not sufficient confirmation.

If an applicant is financially dependent on another individual a bank statement of that individual cam be submitted.

Student grant or loan

Applicants can submit a confirmation of a grant for studies or a student loan from the relevant credit institution or grant provider.

Student loans or scholarships must be in an internationally acknowledged currency that can be changed into a currency registerd witht the Central Bank of Iceland and be withdrawn to use for support.

What means cannot be used to demonstrate sufficient funds

• Payments in the form of social assistance by the state or a municipality.

• Maintenance by a third party, other than in the exemptions mentioned above.

• Assets other than bank balances, for example real estate.

• Dividends on enterprises, interest or other payments for which a release is not guaranteed.

The Directorate of Immigration may not grant Icelandic citizenship until after a certain waiting period, if an applicant has been subjected to fines or imprisonment, in Iceland or abroad, or has unfinished cases in the criminal justice system where he/she is suspected or accused of criminal conduct according to Icelandic law.

Foreign criminal records

Applicants must submit criminal records from all the states in which they have been resident since the age of 15, which is the age of legal competence in Iceland.

Different rules may apply to the issue of criminal record certificates by state. If there is any doubt as to the form of a criminal record, please contact the Directorate of Immigration.

An applicant who has been resident in the United States or Canada must submit a criminal record with fingerprint recording.

Please note that in some cases the criminal records of citizens of states outside the European Economic Area are already present with the Directorate of Immigration. The applicant must have this confirmed before applying by contacting the Directorate.

Icelandic criminal record and police statement

The Directorate of Immigration requests a criminal record and a statement from the Icelandic police. The statement is more detailed than the criminal record, stating all the fines and penalties that an individual has received. The statement is used to assess whether the applicant meets the conditions with respect to waiting periods, unfinished cases in the criminal justice system, the total amount of fines and whether a fine has been paid in full or enforced in another manner.

Waiting period

The Directorate of Immigration may grant citizenship after a certain period of time (waiting period), if a fine has been paid in full or the penalty has been enforced in another manner and other information on the applicant does not contradict this. The length of the waiting period shall vary according to the amount of the fine or the length of the prison sentence.

Waiting period for fines

• If an applicant has been imposed one fine lower than ISK 80,000, there is no waiting period.

• If the fine was ISK 80,000 to 200,000, one year must have passed since the offence was committed.

• If the fine was ISK 200,001 to 300,000, two years must have passed since the offence was committed.

• If the fine was ISK 300,001 to 1,000,000, three years must have passed since the offence was committed.

• If the fine was higher than ISK 1,000,000, five years must have passed since the offence was committed.

Waiting period for prison sentences

• Prison sentence of up to 60 days, waiting period of 6 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Prison sentence of up to 6 months, waiting period of 8 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Prison sentence of up to 1 year, waiting period of 9 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Prison sentence of up to 2 years, waiting period of 10 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Prison sentence of up to 5 years, waiting period of 12 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Prison sentence of up to 10 years, waiting period of 14 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Prison sentence of more than 10 years, waiting period of 25 years after the sentence was served or granting of parole.

• Suspended sentence, waiting period of 3 years from the end of probation.

• Decision on penalty suspended, waiting period of 2 years from the end of probation.

• Decision on indictment suspended, waiting period of 1 year after the end of probation.

• If an applicant has been sentenced to protective security, the waiting period 14 years from the time protective security ended.

When penalty is considered to have been served with custody, the waiting period is calculated as effective from the point of being released.

When part of a sentence is suspended, the waiting period begins at the end of the serving of the sentence and is based on the length of the non-suspended part of the sentence. This means that the length of the waiting period is based on the part of the sentence that is not suspended. If two months of a three-month sentence is suspended, this means that the waiting period is based on a prison sentence of up to 60 days, even though the person in question has actually received a heavier sentence.

Repeated offence

If an applicant has only been imposed witht a fine and the total amount of the fine is less than ISK 200,001, Icelandic citizenship may be granted if other information on the applicant does not contradict this, provided that at least one year has passed since the last offence was committed.

If an applicant has committed more than one offence and the sentence is not only fines or the total amount of fines exceeds ISK 200,001, the waiting period is calculated effectively from the time of the last offence or a sentence having been served, including a waiting period applicable to each offence committed before that, or its remainder if part of the waiting period has already passed.

If an applicant has an unfinished case under the criminal justice system, an application for Icelandic citizenship will be rejected. If an applicant requests that an application be reopened when the proceedings in the criminal justice system have been completed, a new application must be submitted and paid for.