If you receive subsidiary protection in Iceland, you will receive a residence permit valid for two years.
Subsidiary protection is granted to those who are at risk of being subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, or may be subject to serious injury due to random violence resulting from armed conflict, should they be returned to their home country.
A residence permit based on subsidiary protection comes with the following rights.
A residence permit on grounds of subsidiary protection may only be renewed if the conditions for subsidiary protection are still fulfilled. This means that upon processing an application for renewal, the Directorate of Immigration must make a new assessment of the general situation in your home country and assess whether you still qualify for subsidiary protection.
If the requirements for subsidiary protection are still fulfilled, your permit will be renewed. If the Directorate of Immigration considers that the requirements are no longer fulfilled, you will be invited to an interview where you will receive information about your options for applying for a residence permit on another basis. If you meet the conditions of the permit you apply for, you will be authorized to stay in Iceland. If you do not apply for another residence permit, or do not meet the conditions of the permit you apply for, you will be invited to an interview concerning the possible withdrawal of your protection.
The revocation of your subsidiary protection will affect the rights of your family members to stay in Iceland, if they have a residence permit based on family reunification with you.
You can appeal a decision to revoke your subsidiary protection to the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board.
Right to family reunification
A residence permit on grounds of subsidiary protection does not grant the right to family reunification until after it has been renewed once.
Exemptions from renewal requirement
If there are compelling reasons of fairness, due to urgent care considerations, an exemption may be granted from the requirement that your residence permit must have been renewed before your family member applies for family reunification with you.
Urgent care considerations may apply if you, on whom the right to family reunification is based:
were the caregiver for your spouse before you left your home country, or
you have a child in your home country who is in immediate danger, who is there without a guardian, or who is suffering from a serious illness.
With the application, documents must be submitted to confirm that urgent care considerations are present. If the application is based on the applicant's illness, it is not sufficient to submit a medical certificate; it must also be established that the applicant does not have access to healthcare services in their home country. It is not enough that the service in the home country is of lower quality or costs money.
When assessing whether circumstances are urgent, consideration is given to how long you, on whom the right to family reunification is based, have been separated from the applicant and whether the applicant has had another caregiver in the meantime.
You may be exempted from the requirement that your residence permit has been renewed before your family member applies for family reunification with you, if you have had a residence permit for one year and meet the following conditions:
You, on whom the application for family reunification is based, must have been active on the labour market for at least eight months and be active at the time the application for family reunification is submitted.
Active participation in the labour market means that you have been employed or self-employed. Accumulated periods of employment during the validity period of your residence permit can be considered, if other conditions are met.
To demonstrate activity in the labour market, you may submit a copy of a valid employment contract, copies of payslips, and confirmation of payment of calculated remuneration from the Tax Authority.
You must demonstrate that you have secure means of support. 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:
247.572 ISK for individuals per month.
396.115 ISK for married couples per month.
123.786 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.
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.
You, on whom the application for family reunification is based, must have attended a course in Icelandic for a minimum total of 80 hours. The course provider must be approved by the Directorate of Education and School Services.
You must submit a certificate to confirm your participation in such a course. Information on attendance must be included on the certificate, and your attendance must be at least 85%.
You, on whom the application for family reunification is based, must submit a valid lease agreement for an apartment. The lease must be in your name and specify the property number and apartment number as registered in the official property registry. If the agreement is temporary, it must be valid for at least twelve months.
You must demonstrably have an apartment at your disposal
from the time your family members are granted a residence permit, at a minimum,
accommodating the family members who will be residing there and is not shared with anyone other than your closest family members.
If you, on whom the application for family reunification is based, are the owner of the apartment and can prove that you live there, that is considered sufficient, as long as no one other than you and your close family members live there.
It is not permitted to submit a lease agreement
for an apartment where no rent is paid,
for an apartment not registered as residential property in the property registry of the Housing and Construction Authority, or
for social housing provided by a municipality.
Family ties before or after granting
Different rules apply to family reunification with family members depending on whether family ties existed before you were granted subsidiary protection in Iceland or were created after you were granted subsidiary protection.
A renewed residence permit on grounds of subsidiary protection grants the right to family reunification with:
You can apply for a permanent residence permit after you have held a residence permit on grounds of international protection for four years.
You have to meet various requirements to get a permanent permit, including Icelandic language knowledge.
Another requirement is that you have not resided abroad for more than 90 days in total each year during the period of validity of the residence permit, counting from the date of issuance of the permit.
Law
International protection is granted on the basis of Article 37(2) and Article 40(1) of the Foreign Nationals Act.
A residence permit on grounds of international protection is granted on the basis of Article 73 of the Foreign Nationals Act.
