Organization : Directorate of Immigration
Type of Facility : Apply For Residence Permit
Country: Iceland
Website : http://www.utl.is/index.php/en/residence-permits
Apply For Residence Permit :
Residence permits are issued based on the Act on Foreigners no. 96/2002, as amended, and the Regulation on Foreigners no. 53/2003, with further/later amendments.
Related : UTL Directorate of Immigration Iceland Application For Visa : www.statusin.org/8910.html
A foreigner from a country outside of the European Economic Area and/or EFTA, who plans to stay in Iceland for more than three months, must have a valid residence permit.
Citizens from the EEA and EFTA states do not need a special residence permit to stay in Iceland, but must register with Registers Iceland. Information regarding the permanent stay of EEA and/or EFTA citizens can be found here. Please note that family members of an EEA and/or EFTA citizen who is a third country national need to apply for a residence permit at the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration.
The conditions that need to be met before a residence permit is issued can be split into two categories. Basic requirements, according to article 11 of the Act on Foreigners and detailed requirements relating to each category of residence permits, according to articles 12 – 12 f of the Act on Foreigners. Please be aware of the special conditions required for acquiring a permanent residence permit.
Applicants are encouraged to find out what requirements need to be met for the specific residence permit they are applying for, what documents need to be submitted and how these should be presented. It accelerates the process of an application if all documents submitted with the application are as required by the Directorate. Applications that are submitted with all documents in order receive priority.
Types of residence permits:
** Family reunification
** Spouse /cohabiting partner
** Child
** Relative
** Work
** Study/Education
** Au pair
** Special ties
** Humanitarian considerations
** Permanent residence permit
** Registration of EEA and/or EFTA citizens
Application process:
** The applicant submits an application
** The applicant checks if he/she fulfils the requirements of a residence permit. General information about residence permits can be found here.
** Applications for a residence permit and checklists can be found on the Directorate‘s website or at the Directorate‘s office during office hours.
** The applicant must check if he/she is permitted to be in the country while his/her application is being processed. Different regulations apply to each type of residence permit. See rights associated with different types of permits here.
** The applicant must fill out the application and obtain the accompanying documents according to the checklist associated with his/her application. Some documents may be required from abroad (in most cases certificates) and from Iceland. Icelandic documents are mostly procured from Registers Iceland, District Commissioners, Directorate of Customs, schools, local municipal offices, and the Directorate of Internal Revenue.
** Certain documents require an apostille certification or a double authentication by the home country’s ministry for foreign affairs and the embassy of the relevant state in Iceland, or the nearest embassy. See further information here.
** Please note that a translation is required of all certificates which are not in English or one of the languages of the Nordic countries. The translation should be an original and must be by a certified/sworn translator. See further information here.
** The applicant must pay the handling fee and submit his/her application at the Directorate of Immigration in Skógarhlíð, or post the application to the Directorate, including the receipt for payment of the handling fee. See further information about payment of handling fee here and information about the opening hours and the address of the Directorate of Immigration here.
Processing of an application:
When payment of the handling fee for an application has been confirmed, the application procedure begins. The processing time of an application can be up to 90 days from the time all requirements have been fulfilled and all documents deemed satisfactory.
Applications that meet all requirements and include satisfactory documents are given priority, but all applications are processed as quickly as possible.
Applicants are encouraged to be aware of all requirements of the residence permit they apply for, which documents are needed to support the application and how best to present the documents required to accelerate the procedure.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to submit satisfactory documents that fulfil all requirements. If, while the application is being processed, documents are found to be unsatisfactory or missing, a letter is sent to the applicant with explanations and requests for what is missing or lacking and a deadline is set for the submission of those documents. When documents are lacking or unsatisfactory the processing of the application is halted due to this. If the applicant does not submit the requested documents and respect the deadline given, the application is refused due to missing documents and unfulfilled requirements.
Request for accelerated processing:
** Applicants are permitted to ask for accelerated processing of their applications. This must be done in writing with reasoned justification and submitted in its original to the Directorate.
** Please note that requests for accelerated processing are only approved within very strict circumstances. The reason for the request of accelerated processing must be due to dire external circumstances which imply the necessity of processing a certain application ahead of any other application.
** Precondition of accelerated processing is that all relevant documents be submitted with the application.
** Reasons for accelerated processing are for example, the serious illness of the applicant; the serious illness of an immediate family member or perhaps a natural disaster. The fact that an application was submitted too late for renewal, a planned trip abroad, whether for a holiday or for business, are not considered reasons for accelerated processing.
** The denial of accelerated processing of an application cannot be appealed to the Ministry of the Interior as it is not a conclusive decision as defined by article 26 of the Administrative Procedures Act.
First residence permit:
** If the applicant fulfils all conditions of a residence permit, the permit is granted/issued. Residence permits are issued for one year at a time.
** After the applicant has been granted a residence permit for the first time an announcement stating the granting of a residence permit is sent to the applicant. If the applicant requires a visa to enter the country, a D-visa is issued and sent to the issuing Embassy stated in the applicants’ application. The announcement declaring the granting of a residence permit also states that:
** The applicant has to be photographed in order to be issued a residence permit card. The photo can be taken at the Directorate of Immigration office and at all District Commissioners offices.
** The applicant needs to undergo a medical exam within two weeks from entering Iceland. The medical exam must be in accordance to the Act on Health Security and Communicable Diseases. Applicants from certain countries are exempt from having to ungergo a medical exam. For information see list from the Directorate of Health.
** When the applicant has been photographed and the medical exam certificate has been submitted to the Directorate, the residence permit is issued and the residence permit card ordered. The manufacturing of the residence permit card takes on average around 10 days and is sent by post to the address in Iceland stated by the applicant in his/her application.
** If the applicant has not been photographed and/or had a medical exam within two months of his/her arrival in Iceland, the residence permit will not be issued and the applicant’s stay in Iceland will be deemed illegal. Illegal stay in Iceland can result in expulsion and a prohibition of re-entry according to Article 20 of the Act on Foreigners no. 96/2002.
Renewal of a residence permit:
** The applicant must be in Iceland when submitting an application for renewal of a residence permit. The applicant must show up in person at the Directorate of Immigration or at a District Commissioner’s office to submit his/her application and be photographed.
** The processing time of a renewal is no more than 90 days, when all documents have been submitted and deemed satisfactory. If all documents are submitted with the application, the processing time is generally much shorter.
** The Directorate of Immigration orders a residence permit card, when the application has been fully processed, which is then sent to the applicants legal address.