Short-term residence permit

Short-term residence permits are granted to:

• Close family members, including a marital spouse, parent, child, or sibling, who intend to make an extended visit to Iceland.

• Artists, scientists, or athletes whose stay in Iceland does not require the issuance of another type of residence permit.

Other requirements you must meet:

• You do not intend to settle in Iceland.

• The purpose of the stay is not covered by any residence permit category.

• You have not been issued a short-term permit in the past 12 months.

• You are not younger than 18 years old, unless your application is submitted in connection with an application by a parent or legal guardian.

Along with the application form you must submit:

It is important that you familiarize yourself in detail with the supporting documents needed with a short-term permit application to ensure that you submit all the necessary documents and that the documents meet the Directorate's requirements.

It is best to download the form and fill it in on a computer.

Before submitting a short-term residence permit application, it is necessary to pay the processing fee.

• The processing fee is 12.200 ISK.

• Unpaid applications will be returned to the applicant.

• The processing fee is not refunded if the applicant cancels the application.

Short-term residence permit applications must be submitted in their original form on paper.

The application, payment receipt and other supporting documents must either be sent by mail to the Directorate of Immigration or delivered to the drop box in the Directorate’s reception.

Directorate of Immigration (see map)
Dalvegur 18
201 Kópavogur
Iceland

After your application has been received and registered at the Directorate of Immigration, you will receive a confirmation email.

It is important to be patient while waiting for a response. Information regarding the application cannot be received by phone, e-mail or online chat while the application is waiting to be processed.

Once the application has been processed, the Directorate of Immigration will contact you with information on the next steps you need to take.

If you meet all the requirements for a short-term residence permit, the permit is granted and you receive a notification that the application has been approved.

You can read more about the next steps on the information site: Residence permit granted.

If the application is rejected, you have 15 days to appeal the decision to the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board.

Grounds for refusal

An application for a short-term residence permit shall be refused in the following circumstances:

• If the purpose of the applicant's stay in Iceland is such that they should instead apply for a residence permit and/or work permit on another legal basis.

• If there are grounds relating to public security, or if the government's foreign policy or immigration policy weighs against granting the permit.

• If it is considered likely that the applicant will not leave the country when the residence permit expires.

• If the application otherwise does not meet the eligibility requirements for a short-term residence permit.

• If the applicant provides false information regarding their criminal record.

may not be in Iceland when applying for the permit nor while it is being processed. Such an application will be refused unless there are compelling reasons of fairness that argue against it.

See if you need a visa to travel to Iceland.

may be in Iceland when submitting an application and while it is being processed, provided that their stay is legal.

Legal stay means that a person exempt from a visa requirement has not stayed in the Schengen area for more than 90 days within the past 180 days. A stay becomes illegal once the period permitted under visa exemption has expired. If an applicant's stay becomes illegal, the application will be rejected unless there are compelling reasons of fairness that argue against it.

See if you need a visa to travel to Iceland.