Residence permit based on special ties to Iceland

Residence permit application

Requirements

All applicants for a residence permit must

prove their identity with a valid passport
give correct information about their purpose of stay in Iceland
meet the following basic requirements

Applicants must demonstrate that they have secure means of support for the period they wish to reside in Iceland. To have secure means of support means that you are able to financially support yourself independently.

The Directorate of Immigration may obtain tax returns and documents from tax authorities in confirmation of this.

Amount

The minimum amount required as secure means of support is:

239.895 ISK for individuals per month.
383.832 ISK for married couples per month.
119.948 ISK additionally for family members 18 years of age or older.

The amount corresponds to the basic amount of financial assistance from the City of Reykjavík, see rules on financial assistance (in Icelandic). The amounts are based on income before taxation.

Duration

A foreigner’s means of support must be secure for as long as the residence permit is valid. This means that if a residence permit is issued for one year, secure means of support for one year must be demonstrated.

Exemptions from the condition of independent means of support

All applicants for a residence permit must prove secure independent means of support, except in the following instances:

For a child under the age of 18, provided for by a parent or legal guardian residing in Iceland, there is no need to demonstrate independent financial support.
For persons 18 years or older,
- who have held a continuous residence permit in Iceland since they were children,
- are studying or working in Iceland,
- live with a parent and
- are neither married nor cohabiting,
the minimum amount of funds required is 50% of the regular amount for an individual (119.948 ISK per month), in addition to the amount of funds that a parent or legal guardian has to demonstrate for themselves and other family members.
- Applicants must demonstrate independent funds if they are working and not studying. An applicant studying may be a dependant of a parent.
A marital spouse does not need to demonstrate independent funds. Due to the maintenance obligation between marital spouses under the Marriage Act, it is enough that one party in a marriage demonstrates sufficient funds for both.
- Note that cohabitation is not equivalent to marriage in this respect. There is no maintenance obligation between cohabiting spouses. A cohabiting spouse must therefore demonstrate independent funds.
For parents aged 67 or older, dependent on their child/children in Iceland, the minimum amount of funds required is 50% of the regular amount for an individual (119.948 ISK per month), in addition to the amount of funds needed to support other adults in the household.
A host family must prove support for their au pair. The additional support is based on 50% of the minimum support for an individual, 119.948 ISK per month, plus the wage costs for the au pair, ISK 60.000 for every four weeks in au pair service.

The following is not considered secure means of support

Payments in the form of social assistance, by the state or municipality (other than housing compensation (húsnæðisbætur)). If an applicant has received such compensation and is unable to demonstrate satisfactory support through other means, a residence permit will be rejected.
Alimony payments and child allowance, since their purpose is to support a child.
Support by a third party, in other instances than stated above.
Assets other than bank-account balances (for example real estate) and dividend from companies, interest or other payments that cannot be reliably expected to be available for payment.
Cash is not considered as satisfactory confirmation of support.

An insurance certificate must be submitted, confirming that the applicant has taken out (purchased) a health insurance

that is valid in Iceland,
for at least six months from the date of the registration of the applicant's legal domicile in Iceland,
with a minimum coverage of ISK 2,000,000.

Six months after registering your legal domicile with Registers Iceland you will be automatically covered by the national health insurance.

When applying for a residence permit no matters may exist that could cause the applicant being denied entry or stay in Iceland.

This means that you may not have

during the past five years, served a prison sentence abroad or been sentenced there to punishment for conduct which under Icelandic law would be subject to imprisonment of longer than three months
been sentenced for a punishable offence in Iceland, or to be subject to security measures for conduct liable to imprisonment, for longer than three months or have been sentenced to imprisonment more than once in the past three years

Special requirements for a permit based on special ties

You must be 18 or older.
You do not fall under other types of residence permits or meet their requirements.
You have special ties to Iceland as defined in the Foreign Nationals Act and Regulation on Foreigners.
- Special ties can include ties that a foreign national has established during his/her stay in Iceland under a residence permit that may not be renewed or that has been revoked due to changed circumstances or other events.
- Special ties to Iceland cannot include those ties established by a foreign national staying in Iceland on a residence permit for students, volunteers, missionaries, au-pairs, victims of human trafficking, on grounds of Working Holiday / Youth Mobility, a temporary residence permit or long-term visa.
- Special ties under these provisions do not mean family connections of the
  foreign national as such ties fall under family reunification provisions.
- If a foreign national’s residence permit or permanent residence permit has been revoked because the foreign national has at the time of application knowingly provided incorrect information or concealed something that could be of significant importance regarding granting of the permit, e.g. in the case of a fraudulent act, or if there is a reason to suspect this, the ties that the foreign national may have established with Iceland during that period do not qualify as special ties.

Residence permit application

Service provider

Directorate of Immigration