Residence permit for parents of children younger than 18

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 when the residence permit is necessary to maintain the parent's contact with the child

The residence permit must be necessary in order to maintain the parent's contact with the child.

The child is an Icelandic citizen or a foreign citizen with a residence permit in Iceland, and lives in Iceland.
You have sole custody of the child or share custody with the other parent.
You are in legal stay in Iceland when applying.
- If you are in illegal stay the application will be rejected.
You have held a residence permit in Iceland that can no longer be renewed on the same grounds.
- This may apply if you have held a residence permit as a spouse and the marriage or cohabitation has now been terminated.
You have a right of access to your child (visitation rights) according to a certified agreement and it can be confirmed that you spend time with your child accordingly.
- In the absence of a certified agreement on rights of access, a residence permit will not be granted. The same applies if it is clear that visitation does not take place according to the agreement. In some instances an applicant my find it difficult to obtain a confirmation of visitation taking place according to an agreement, for example, if the interaction with the other parent is not good. In such instances the applicant is advised to contact the Directorate of Immigration to obtain further guidelines regarding this requirement.
- If visitation with a child is provably very limited a residence permit may not be necessary in order to maintain contact with the child, for example, if the visitation only takes place a few times a year. In such an instance contact may be maintained out during visits on grounds of a visa or non-visa requirement.

Special requirements when the residence permit is necessary for an Icelandic child to continue to live in Iceland.

The residence permit applies first and foremost when a child’s parent does not reside in Iceland and maybe never has.

The child must be an Icelandic citizen and live in Iceland.
- The permit is intended to ensure that an Icelandic child does not have to move abroad even though its Icelandic parent is unable to care for the child, either temporarily or permanently. An example of this is when the Icelandic parent is seriously ill or deceased.
- If the child is a foreign citizen the application will be rejected.
You have sole custody of the child or share custody with the other parent.
- The permit does not apply when the applicant's stay in Iceland is not necessary in order for the child to continue to live in Iceland. If a child is in the custody of an Icelandic parent and resides with said parent under normal circumstances, this residence permit cannot be considered.
You intend to reside with your child in Iceland.
- This means that you must have the same legal domicile or place of stay, and must provably live together at the same address.
You are not married or in cohabitation with the child’s other parent.
- In such case a residence permit should be applied for on grounds of marriage or cohabitation.

Residence permit for parents of children younger than 18

Service provider

Directorate of Immigration