Iceland working holiday visa (Working Holiday / Youth Mobility)

Applicants must be citizens of Andorra, Canada, Chile, Japan or the United Kingdom, aged 18 to 30 when they apply, coming mainly to experience Icelandic culture and daily life, and must not have held this permit in Iceland before. Each agreement adds its own rules: Andorran and Chilean applicants submit a sworn declaration on the purpose of the stay; Japanese applicants must live in Japan and not intend to settle; UK applicants may not work as professionals in fields they are not qualified for or as professional athletes or coaches.

No other nationality can use this route. Young people from other countries who want to live and work in Iceland have to qualify for a work, student or au pair permit instead.

Applicants show their own means of at least ISK 259,951 a month for the first three months after the permit is issued; support from third parties does not count, and neither do cash or property. Health insurance valid in Iceland for three months from domicile registration, with ISK 2,000,000 cover, is required, as is a criminal record without recent prison sentences for serious offences.

The application is made on paper to the Directorate of Immigration in Kópavogur, with the fee paid by bank transfer beforehand. Because all five nationalities are visa-free in Schengen, applicants may be in Iceland while the file is processed, as long as they have not spent more than 90 days in the Schengen Area in the past 180. If they exceed that, processing stops until they leave and present a boarding pass as proof.

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).

The permit includes unrestricted access to work: holders can take any job and change employers without applying for a work permit. It does not allow family members to join, and it cannot be used as a basis for permanent residence. Staying abroad for more than three consecutive months can lead to revocation.

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.