Residence permit based on special ties to Iceland

A payment receipt must be submitted, if a residence permit application is paid for by bank transfer.

The payment receipt should contain information about:

• payers name

• payers date of birth / ID number (kennitala)

• recipient of payment

• explanation: applicant's name and date of birth

• amount paid and

• date of payment.

The passport photo should be 35x45 mm.

The passport must be valid at least 90 days beyond the validity of the permit applied for.

Copies must be submitted of

• personal information page

• signature page

Please note that the machine readable zone must be clearly visible in the copy.

Criminial record certificate

• does not need to be legally authenticated,

• must be issued by the applicant's country of residence,

• may not be older than 12 months when submitted, and

• must be issued by the highest authority competent to issue such certificates in the respective country

If a criminal record certificate contains information about the applicant having been sentenced, the applicant must also submit information about when the serving of the sentence was completed.

If the certificate is in another language than English or a Nordic language a translation must also be submitted, see requirements to document translations below.

If necessary, the Directorate of Immigration may request a legally authenticated original of a criminal record or that criminal records from more countries than the country of residence be submitted.

Different rules by different countries

Different rules may apply in different countries regarding the issuance of criminal record certificates. The certificate must state that the information in the certificate stems from national databases, not only databases in certain areas (for example, in certain regions or states of a country).

Following are examples of competent issuers of criminal record certificates:

• USA – FBI criminal record certificate

  There are two ways to get an FBI criminal record check. One is to mail a request to the FBI and receive a criminal record check certificate back by mail. The other is to submit an application electronically with the FBI or through the FBI approved channellers. This method is faster.
  The FBI website lists the approved channellers. Please note that criminal record checks from some channellers cannot be opened outside the United States, the services of those channellers can therefore not be used when submitting a criminal record check to the Directorate of Immigration.

  In both cases, the applicant needs to be fingerprinted and submit fingerprints with the application. If you are in Iceland, the Reykjavik City Police can take fingerprints.

• Canada – RCMP Certified Criminal Record Check based on fingerprints

• Philippines – NBI criminal record certificate

• Thailand – Royal Thai Police

• Brazil – Ministério da Justica – Policia Federal

• Mexico – SEGURIDAD - (Secretaría De Seguridad Y Protección Ciudadana)

• United Kingdom – ACRO Criminal Record (ACRO Criminal Records Office - Police Certificates)

Please note that it may take some time to obtain a criminal record certificate.

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.

On the website of the Financial Supervisory Authority you can find a list of Icelandic insurance companies (under Vátryggingafélög - Insurance Companies) and a register of foreign insurance companies.

Validity
The health insurance shall be valid for six months from the date of the registration of the applicant's legal domicile in Iceland. The registration is usually made from the day the applicant‘s photo for a residence permit card is taken, either at the Directorate of Immigration or a district commissioner‘s office, given that the applicant has stayed in Iceland from that date onward. 

If it becomes necessary to change the period of validity of an Icelandic insurance, i.e. because the applicant has not arrived in Iceland yet and the application processing has taken longer than expected, the applicant must contact his/her insurance company.

Six months after being registered with a legal domicile in Iceland the applicant will automatically be covered by the national health insurance. 

Children younger than 18
Children and adolescents under the age of 18 are covered by the health insurance of their parents or custodians who have had legal domicile in Iceland for at least six months. The same applies to adoptive children, stepchildren and foster children.

Individuals who are not covered by health insurance pay higher charges for medical services.

See further information on the website of the Social Insurance Administration and on the website of the Icelandic Health Insurance.

Documents demonstrating secure means of financial support

• must be submitted in original format

• confirmed by the employer or the institution issuing the documents

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

Employment contract or self-employment income
If an applicant is employed in Iceland he/she may demonstrate secure means of support by submitting an employment contract in original format. If the applicant is being provided for by another individual the employment contract of that person can be submitted. Note that the authorization for a foreign national providing for another person on grounds of independent activities in Iceland is limited. According to Act no. 97/2002 on Foreign Nationals’ Right to Work, only a foreigner who is exempt from the work-permit requirement may engage in independent activities in Iceland, as well as the spouse of an Icelandic citizen.

Payslips for the last three months and income-tax payment overview  
An applicant demonstrates his/her wage income by submitting an overview of tax payments or issued invoices, stamped by the tax authorities, as well as his/her pay slips for the last three months. Payslips, printed out from an online bank account are satisfactory; otherwise a confirmation by the employer is required. If the applicant is provided for by another individual that person must submit payslips for the last three months, satisfying the same requirements as listed herein and a tax-payment overview of the providing individual.

Secure and regular payments
Such payments can be payments by the Social Insurance Administration regarding disability, unemployment payments, lease income and grants which an applicant receives, for example, regarding research work. This is not a complete list of the payments this paragraph refers to.

Sufficient own money
Bank statement showing the balance in the applicant's bank account, in Iceland or abroad. The amount must be

• in an internationally recognized currency

• that can be exchanged into a currency registered with the Central Bank of Iceland and

• withdrawable during the time of stay in Iceland.

The statement must be in original format and certified by the bank itself. A printout of an account statement from an online bank is not sufficient confirmation.

If the applicant is exempt from needing to have independent means of support, a confirmed bank statement of the person he or she is dependent on may be may submitted.

Study grant or study loans
If an applicant has received a grant to study or a study loan, such payments are considered as satisfactory support if they reach the minimum required amount for support. A study loan or grant must be in a currency that is internationally recognized and can be exchanged to a currency that is registered with the Central Bank of Iceland. A confirmation must be submitted on the payment of such a loan by the relevant lending institution and confirmation of a grant must be from the grantor as applicable.

The applicant must submit a written report describing the following:

• Family ties and friendships in home country e.g. regarding parents, close family and how much the applicant communicates with them.

• Employment history/connection in home country.

• Family ties and friendships in Iceland.

• Employment in Iceland.

• Cultural ties to Iceland, e.g. if the applicant has studied Icelandic or participated in Icelandic civil programs.

• If the applicant has special needs the Directorate requests information regarding the needs and the care necessary to meet those needs. If a family member needs special care, the Directorate requests information regarding what kind of care the family member needs, what kind of challenges the family member is facing and why the applicant needs to care for the family member.

  • The Directorate requests confirmation from a doctor, social services or other official institutions concerning the applicant's or family member's illness or disability and the special needs that result from said illness and/or handicap.

The applicant must submit documents to confirm the claims made in the report where applicable. For example with documents that confirm family ties or claims regarding circumstances in applicant's home country.

If you want someone other than you to receive information about the processing of the application from the Directorate of Immigration, you must submit a power of attorney to that effect.

An original means a document in its original form, not a duplicate or a copy.

Original foreign documents submitted with an application are required to be legally authenticated. Original Icelandic documents do not need to be authenticated.

There are two recognised ways to legally authenticate documents: apostille certification and chain authentication. Which way is chosen depends on the country issuing the document.

Apostille certification

Apostille certification is done in the country that issues a document.

To receive apostille certification, an applicant must bring the original of a document to the competent authority for such certification in the respective country.

Information on the member states of the Apostille agreement (Hague Convention)

Chain authentication

Chain authentication (also called double verification) is used in countries where apostille certification is not possible.

This means that a documents needs two stamps in order to be considered legally authenticated, one from the country of issue of the document and the other from the Icelandic Embassy to the issuing country.

To receive such an authentication, the original document must first be brought to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued the document. The Ministry confirms the document with a stamp and forwards it to the Embassy of Iceland to the issuing country - the applicant himself/herself can also arrange for the document to be sent to the Embassy. The Embassy then confirms that the previous stamp is correct with a second stamp.

Information on Iceland's diplomatic missions

A certified copy is a copy of an original document that has been certified by an authority authorised to certify documents.

A certified copy can be obtained from a public authority, a document's issuing body or another official body, in a document's issuing country.

It is important that the original document has been legally authenticated before a certified copy is made.

If a foreign document is issued in a language other than English or a Nordic language, its translation must also be submitted.

• A translation must be submitted in the original or in a certified copy.

• A translation must be made by a certified translator.

• A translation may be submitted in Icelandic, English or a Nordic language.

• If a translation has been produced by a translator which has not been legally certified in Iceland, the original of the translation must be legally authenticated.

Legally certified translators in Iceland
Icelandic court interpreters and translators

In some instances an applicant must submit a certified declaration. Such a declaration must be submitted in original format and be dated and signed by the party issuing the declaration. Furthermore, the declaration must be certified by a competent public authority (i.e. by a notarius publicus).