Iceland student visa (residence permit for students)

The permit covers full-time study at an Icelandic university (30 ECTS per semester, with exceptions only at the school’s request), doctoral students of a foreign university working with an Icelandic one, secondary-school exchange students coming through AFS or Rotary, internships that form part of a foreign degree and come with a temporary work permit, and recognised technical or workplace training at secondary level. Applicants must be 18 or over, except exchange students.

Paid doctoral students can instead apply for a permit based on a collaboration agreement, but that permit never leads to permanent residence.

You must prove independent means of at least ISK 259,951 for each month of the permit, so a 12-month permit requires about ISK 3.12 million. The amount follows the City of Reykjavík’s basic financial assistance level. Acceptable proof is a bank-certified original statement in a currency the Central Bank of Iceland lists; cash, property and third-party support (other than a spouse in Iceland) do not count.

Buy private health insurance valid in Iceland for at least three months from domicile registration with ISK 2,000,000 cover; after three months you join national health insurance. You may be refused if, in the past five years, you served a prison sentence abroad for conduct punishable in Iceland by more than three months.

First residence permits are applied for on paper only. Pay the ISK 70,000 fee by bank transfer to the Directorate of Immigration (IBAN IS05 0515 26 410424 670269 6399, SWIFT GLITISRE, Íslandsbanki) with the applicant’s name and date of birth as the reference, then post the signed form, receipt and documents to Dalvegur 18, 201 Kópavogur, or leave them in the drop box at reception. Unpaid applications are returned and the fee is not refunded if you withdraw.

Applications are not checked on arrival: the Directorate confirms receipt by email and contacts you or your agent only if something is missing. It publishes which months it is processing on its waiting-time page; a decision on a new permit can take up to six months.

To have a decision before term starts, the Directorate must receive the complete file by 1 May for the autumn semester or 1 October for spring. Collecting a criminal record certificate and translations takes time, so start as soon as you have the admission letter. Visa-required nationals may not be in Iceland while the application is pending; a file lodged during a stay in Iceland is refused unless compelling reasons of fairness apply.

When the Directorate approves the application, it asks the relevant embassy to issue an entry visa (D visa), normally the mission responsible for your place of residence. Within 90 days of the grant you must attend a photo appointment at the Directorate of Immigration in Kópavogur or a District Commissioner’s office, submit a notification of residence, and, if you come from a country on the Directorate of Health list, have a medical examination within two weeks of arrival. Miss any of these and the permit is not issued.

Once these steps are done the residence card is ordered; you are emailed and can collect it five days later where your photo was taken. The Directorate asks Registers Iceland to record your legal domicile, which gives you an Icelandic ID number (kennitala).

Degree students can apply for their spouse, cohabiting partner after one year together, and children under 18 at the same time or later, but family applications are processed separately and wait longer, so relatives should not expect permits on the same date. They are not fast-tracked even if a child is born in Iceland. Spouses of students need their own work permit to work.

Students may work up to 60% of full time in total across all employers without a work permit, and more during official breaks or in a formal internship. When renewing, you must report your employment, and the Directorate can check it with employers and other authorities. Renewal requires satisfactory study progress.

After a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral degree from an Icelandic university you can renew the permit as a job-seeking permit, a bridge to a residence permit for work requiring expert knowledge. Those with an Icelandic doctorate can get up to 12 months to look for expert work.

A refusal is a written decision that can be appealed to the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Board (Kærunefnd útlendingamála) within 15 days of receiving it. An appeal does not normally suspend the decision unless you ask for suspension; refused applicants who are in Iceland are usually given about 30 days to leave. If you miss the deadline, the refusal becomes final.