Directorate of Immigration
First residence permit approved
Your application for a first residence permit in Iceland has been accepted.
If you need a visa to travel to Iceland, the Directorate of Immigration will send a request for an entry visa to the relevant embassy.
Before a residence permit can be issued you must:
Attend a photo appointment for the residence permit card, either at the Directorate of Immigration, where you need to make an appointment, or at district commissioners outside the capital area.
Remember to bring a passport to confirm your identiy.
Submit a notification of residence, providing information about where in Iceland you will be living.
Undergo a medical examination within two weeks of arrival in Iceland.
Applicants from within the EEA, Switzerland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Israel are exempt from the medical examination requirement.
You must fulfil these conditions for the residence permit to be issued within 90 days of being notified that your application for a residence permit has been approved.
The residence permit card is not ordered until you have fulfilled the conditions for the issuance of a residence permit: had your photograph taken, submitted a notification of residence, and have undergone a medical examination, if necessary.
You will then receive an email with information about when and where you can collect your residence permit card.
If you had your photo taken at the Directorate of Immigration you can collect the card in Hagkaup in Skeifan. If your photo was taken at a District Commissioner's office, you need to collect your card from the office where the photo was taken.
Foreign nationals must undergo a medical examination for infectious diseases after their residence permit applications have been accepted and they have arrived in Iceland if they come from:
Central and South America, including Mexico,
Europe outside the European Economic Area (EEA),
Asia or
Africa.
The medical examination is a condition for being issued a residence permit and residence permit card.Applicants from within the EEA area, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, or Israel, are exempt from this medical examination requirement.
It is not enough to submit a foreign medical certificate instead of undergoing a medical examination in Iceland for the issuance of a residence permit.
According to Heilsugæsla höfuðborgarsvæðisins (The Primary Health Care in the Capital Area), it might however be possible to use the results of recent examinations from abroad, if they comply with the Chief Epidemiologist's procedures for the medical examination of people moving to Iceland. Each case must be considered individually.
If you wish to give this a try, you are advised to contact Domus Medica and submit a foreign medical certificate that is not older than three months.
You may request the return of original documents and copies of documents that you have submitted to the Directorate of Immigration. You may also request copies of documents related to your case for a fee.