Iceland family reunification for children and parents

A parent aged 67 or over can join an adult child (18 or older) who lives in Iceland as an Icelandic citizen, a permanent resident, or on a permit for expert work, sport, a labour shortage, a service contract, international protection, humanitarian reasons or special ties. Student permits are not on this list. The child in Iceland must consent and must not have relevant convictions in the past five years. The household must show the parent’s support at 50% of the individual rate, ISK 129,976 a month.

The child must be under 18 on the day the application is lodged, though the permit may be granted after the 18th birthday. The child must be in the custody of, and supported by, the parent in Iceland and will live with that parent. If both parents share custody, the other parent must consent. A guardian who is not a biological parent can sponsor only after completing an adoption that complies with Icelandic law, with prior consent from the District Commissioner.

The parent in Iceland must be an Icelandic citizen, a permanent resident, or hold a permit for expert work, sport, a labour shortage, a service contract, study, international protection, humanitarian reasons or special ties. A child born in Iceland to parents on other permits can receive a permit valid as long as the parent’s.

Use form D-102 for a child and the parents’ form for a parent aged 67+, pay the fee by bank transfer, and post the original paper file to the Directorate of Immigration in Kópavogur. Visa-required parents may not be in Iceland while their application is pending. Visa-free children may wait in Iceland during a legal stay, except where the sponsoring parent is a student or on a service contract. Applications for the family of students are processed separately from the student’s own permit and take longer.

The Directorate asks the embassy responsible for your country of residence to issue an entry visa (D visa). Within 90 days of the grant, attend a photo appointment at the Directorate in Kópavogur or a District Commissioner’s office, file a notification of residence and, where required, have a medical examination within two weeks of arrival. The card can be collected five days after you are told it has been ordered, and Registers Iceland issues your ID number (kennitala).

Schooling is compulsory in Iceland from 6 to 16, and parents must enrol the child in the municipality where they live. A child with a residence permit may work without a work permit until 18. The permit is renewed for up to two years at a time and, after 18, continues if the young person studies or works, lives with the parent and is not married or cohabiting. Children born in Iceland do not become Icelandic citizens automatically.

Refusals can be appealed to the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board within 15 days of receiving the decision. An appeal suspends the decision automatically only for permanent residence refusals and for renewals filed on time; otherwise suspension must be requested. Applicants in Iceland who are refused are normally given about 30 days to leave.