Parents who are not employed or have less than 25% employment may be entitled to a maternity allowance.
Parental rights are 6 months for each parent. Total rights of two parents are 12 months. 6 weeks are transferable.
Both parents can start receiving child support from the 1st day of the month in which a child is born or later.
In the case of a primary adoption or permanent foster care, both parents may start receiving the grant from the 1st day of the month when the child enters the home.
If there is a trial period before the adoption or permanent foster care can be arranged, or if the child must be brought to Iceland from another country, the grant payment may be started at that time, provided the relevant authorities have confirmed the measure.
The right to child support is suspended 24 months after the child enters the home.
Conditions
It is necessary to have legal domicile in Iceland.
Exemptions from the requirement of legal domicile
If the parent resided in another EEA country during the 12 months preceding the birth of the child.
Requirements:
To have had legal domicile in Iceland when a child is born, is adopted or is permanently fostered.
Not more than a month has passed since the period of insurance ended in that country.
In these cases, the parent must provide a S-041 certificate with his application confirming the residence and period of insurance in another EEA country.
Parents who have received a residence permit in Iceland* for the first time may be entitled to a grant.
This may be the case even if the parent has not had a legal domicile in Iceland for the last twelve months before the birth of the child, initial adoption or permanent foster care.
Requirements:
It has not been more than 12 months since the granting of a residence permit.
* on grounds of international protection or on humanitarian grounds.
Amount
A monthly grant of ISK 97.085 is granted to a parent who is not in the labour market or in less than 25% of the work.
You can also see the amount of parental allowance you can receive.
Maternity allowance is a fixed amount.
A cash payment is made on the grant.
This amount is applicable to child support for children born in 2024.
Apply for
Applications should be made at least 3 weeks before the expected date of birth of a child, primary adoption or taking a child into permanent foster care.
It usually takes 2-4 weeks to process an application. If supporting documents are missing, the processing time may be longer.
Application status
If the applicant does not receive an email, the application is still being processed. If information is missing, the parent will be sent an email about it.
Processing completed
1. Letter of rights: The parent receives a letter by email when the processing of the application is complete. The letter contains the results of the calculation of entitlement to a birth grant. 2. Payment plan: Once a child is born, the applicant receives a payment schedule by email. It shows the amounts that will be paid each month.
You can change a period of maternity and paternity leave and register a new period after the leave begins.
Same online application
If a period is to be changed or a new one is registered, the parent uses the same application as was sent to apply originally. The application is on My Pages at Ísland.is. A new application should not be created.
Using your personal tax credit
Wage earners can use their personal tax credit to lower the income tax withdrawn from their salaries. This tax credit can be used during maternity and paternity leave.
You can start receiving a grant on the first day of the month in which a child is born.
The payment period of the maternity allowance may be divided into more than one period, but each period must not be shorter than 2 weeks.
If the parent has been employed for the last two months before the birth of the child, the grant may be taken in reduced rates in agreement with the employer.
Loss of income reimbursed
Parents may be allowed to receive compensation for the loss of income that payment of maternity allowance does not compensate for, and the employer may compensate for the difference between payment of maternity allowance and average total wages for the last 2 months before the month of birth of the child or the month when the child entered the home during primary adoption or permanent foster care.
Payments from the employer that are intended for a period other than the one for which the parent receives paid maternity allowance are not deducted from the allowance.
