International protection for spouse of a refugee

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Residence permit and protection application for a refugee's spouse

Conditions

A spouse who is a refugee in Iceland must fulfill these requirements

The spouse in Iceland must either have a residence permit as a refugee on grounds of international protection or subsidiary protection.
- If a spouse in Iceland has a residence permit on grounds of subsidiary protection, his/her permit must have been renewed once before family reunification with the person concerned can be applied for. An exception may apply:
  - If compelling reasons of fairness so recommend, because of urgent care considerations.
  - If the spouse in Iceland has held a residence permit for one year, has been actively participating in the labour market for eight months, meets the requirements of secure means of support, meets the requirements of Icelandic knowledge and has available housing for the family members who intend to come here.

Requirements that applicant and marital spouse in Iceland must fulfil

The couple married before the spouse who is a refugee in Iceland applied for international protection in Iceland.
Both parties were 18 years or older when they married.
Both parties attended the wedding.

Requirements that applicant and cohabiting spouse in Iceland must fulfill

Both parties were 18 years or older when cohabitation started.
Cohabitation had lasted for one year or more before the parties became separated.

Grounds for permit refusal

The Directorate of Immigration may reject an application for a residence permit for a spouse if there is serious grounds for believing that the sole purpose of the union is to obtain a residence permit. This is referred to as marriage/cohabitation of convenience.

In the existence of serious grounds to assume that a marriage/cohabitation is a union of convenience, the applicant must prove in a clear manner that such suspicion is unfounded. A marriage/cohabitation of convenience does not grant the right to a residence permit and is punishable according to Article 70 of the Act on Foreigners. In order to examine whether a marriage/cohabitation is possibly a union of convenience, the Directorate of Immigration may call in the applicant and his/her spouse for interviews at the offices of the Directorate of Immigration, according to Article 10, paragraph 4, of the Regulation on Foreigners 540/2017. A rejection of a residence permit on grounds of marriage/cohabitation of convenience is based on assessment made by the Directorate of Immigration.

One of the reasons for refusing a residence permit to an applicant in a marriage/cohabitation of convenience is to protect persons vulnerable to pressure or any kind of abuse.

If marriage is in breach of Icelandic law and the rule of public order, this will result in rejection of a residence permit. This applies, for example, to a marriage ceremony if one or both parties was a minor at the time of getting married, or if only one or neither party attended the marriage ceremony (referred to as proxy marriage). The same applies to a marriage ceremony where the person conducting the ceremony is not authorized to do so in the country of the ceremony and also in case of polygamy or polyandry.

A violation of the rule of public order or the principal rules of law, in an international civil-law context, refers to an activity in one country, however, the same activity being considered as such violation of the rules of law in another country, where the activity is to be exercised, that rejecting it is considered appropriate.

The provision is inter alia intended to prevent forced marriages.

Residence permit and protection application for a refugee's spouse

Service provider

Directorate of Immigration