It is the applicant's responsibility
to submit the necessary supporting documents with the application and
to make sure documents meet the document requirements, see instructions below.
If satisfactory documentation is not submitted with the application, this may lead to delays in processing or rejection of the application.
The Directorate of Immigration may request additional data when special circumstances recommend this.
A payment receipt must be submitted if the application was paid for in a bank. It must be clearly stated whose application is being paid for.
State the applicant's name and date of birth as a reference.
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
must be issued by the applicant's country of residence
may not be older than 12 months
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.
Applicants for a residence permit based on work for specialist employees on the grounds of a service agreement or collaboration agreements do not need to submit a copy of their criminal record with their application.
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.
An application for the appropriate work permit must be submitted with an application for a residence permit based on work
Application for a temporary work permit for work requiring expert knowledge.
Application for a temporary work permit based on shortage of workers.
The application must be
in original format
confirmed by the relevant trade union
signed both by the applicant and the employer.
The Directorate of Immigration forwards the application for a work permit to the Directorate of Labour to be processed. The Directorate of Immigration can only issue a residence permit based on work if the Directorate of Labour first grants a work permit.
An employment contract must be submitted with an application for a residence permit based on work. The contract must
be in original format
be signed by both the applicant and the employer
entail information on the applicant’s wages and terms of employment, which must meet the statutory minimum wage terms, see the secure means of support requirement.
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.
Document requirements
Explanations of requirements for documents to be submitted with an application.
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.
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).
Service provider
Directorate of Immigration