Apply for maternity and paternity grant - students
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Right to maternity allowance
Other payments
The applicant cannot receive maternity and child support payments at the same time:
Unemployment benefits.
Rehabilitation pension.
Accident-day allowance from the Social Insurance Administration.
Healthcare allowance from the Social Insurance Administration.
Parental allowance for chronically or severely disabled children.
Payments for holiday or retirement.
Payments from other countries for the same births and for the same period. These payments are deducted.
Increased rights to maternity benefit
The 3 month joint parental right to maternity benefit is added for each child born alive after 22 weeks of pregnancy. The same applies for each child over one who is adopted or permanently fostered at the same time.
If a pregnant parent develops a serious illness in connection with the birth, which can be attributed to the birth itself, and the person concerned has therefore been unable to take care of her child during the time the maternity allowance was paid in the opinion of a specialist doctor, the maternity allowance may be extended for up to 2 months.
Data to be received: Medical certificate due to the mother's illness.
The joint right of parents to parental allowance may be extended for up to 7 months in the event of a serious illness of the child or severe disability requiring closer care of the parent.
Documents to be submitted: Certificate for serious illness or disability of the child.
Increased rights of one parent
A pregnant parent who has undergone assisted reproduction or a single parent who has adopted a child or has had a permanent foetus can gain the right to 12 months.
Data to be received: Confirmation that the parent has undergone assisted reproduction, adopted or placed a child in a permanent foster care.
A parent who has given birth to a child may acquire a right for up to 12 months in cases where the parent is not able to fulfil the obligation to father his child.
Data to be received: The conclusion of a paternity case from the district commissioner or courts.
If one parent dies before the child reaches 24 months of age, the rights that the child did not have are transferred to the surviving parent and become the rights that the surviving parent has acquired.
If a parent is unable to take care of his child due to illness or the consequences of an accident during the first 24 months after his birth, he/she may transfer his/her right to maternity allowance, which he/she has not exercised, to the other parent.
The condition of the parent shall be confirmed by the medical certificate of the specialist doctor who is responsible for the parent and if the condition of the parent is such that it is unable to give its consent for the transfer of rights.
Documents to be received: A certificate from a specialist physician and confirmation that the parent concerned wishes to transfer his/her rights.
A parent of a child whose other parent does not have the right to parental leave or maternity allowance in Iceland or the right to parental leave or maternity allowance in another country may acquire the right for up to 12 months.
If the other parent is in another state, the time is delayed.
Documents to be received: confirmation of the right/inability from the state from which the parent might have the right and a birth certificate confirming that the person is the parent of the child.
If a parent is unable to take care of a child because of a prison sentence during the first 24 months after birth, they may transfer the right to a grant which has not been exercised, to the other parent.
In the case of primary adoption or permanent foster care, the date referred to is 24 months after the child entered the home.
If a parent is subject to a restraining order against his child, the other parent and/or expulsion from a home and is therefore unable to take care of his child during the first 24 months after his birth, the rights of the parent who has not already exercised them are transferred to the other parent.
Documents to be received: Confirmation by the police or courts that the parent is subject to restraining order/expulsion for the period of time the parent has to take the parental allowance.
If it is foreseen that the custodial parent will not take care of his child during the first 24 months after birth or during the time when the child enters the home during initial adoption or permanent foster care, where the parent has not contact with the child on the basis of a decision of the legal authority or court, the right of the custodial parent that he has not already exercised may be transferred to the other parent.
The same applies if the parent's contact with the custody-free parent is severely limited, such as under supervision based on a decision of a regulated administrative or judicial authority.
Documents to be received: confirmation by the District Commissioner that the parent has full and univided custody and confirmation that the parent without custody has no contact based on the conclusion of the District Commissioner or courts/confirmation of significantly limited contact from the District Commissioner or courts.
In the case of primary adoption or permanent foster care, the term is 24 months after the child entered the home.
Parents without custody
A parent without custody can exercise his/her right to a parental allowance.
Permission for circumvention
A parent without custody must obtain the consent of the parent who has custody of the child, regarding contact with the child during the period of payment of maternity allowance.
Visitation can be confirmed contact when applying for a childbirth grant online.
Recognition of paternity
If parents are not married or registered as cohabitants, the child must be fathered, that is, a paternity recognition must be made and a birth certificate must be issued by Registers Iceland.
A paternity recogntion can be obtained from Registers Iceland, the District Commissioner or a judge in a court case to paternify a child.
About custody and the right to parental leave
Joint custody
If the parents of a child are married or registered as cohabiting partners at the time of the birth of the child, the parents have joint custody.
If the child-bearing parent is not married or registered as a partner at the time of the birth of the child, the child-bearing parent will be solely responsible for the child's custody.
Re-allocation of rights
Parents may be entitled to parental allowance after the child is reimbursed.
Other conditions for a birth grant must be fulfilled. This means that the right to a birth grant must not have expired because of the age of the child or because of the fact that it has been too long since the child entered the home during primary adoption or permanent foster care.
Cancellation of rights
The right to a maternity allowance shall expire from the date the parent leaves the child due to adoption, parenting or foster care. In these cases, the parents of the child are jointly entitled to the payment of a maternity allowance for 2 months after the birth of the child.
The right to parental allowance is also suspended upon the death of a child. Parents may have the right to grief allowance.
Apply for maternity and paternity grant - students
