I am a student
The application processing time can be up to 10 working days after all necessary documents have been submitted.
You can reside in Iceland as a student if
- You are an EEA/EFTA citizen.
- You have been admitted to a private or public accredited establishment
EEA/EFTA citizens who intend to stay in Iceland as a student must:
- Register legal domicile in Iceland no later than three months after your arrival.
- Be admitted to a private or public accredited establishment, for the principal purpose of following a course of study
- Be able to support yourself and any family members you bring with you financially.
You must have comprehensive private health insurance until you have had your legal domicile registered in Iceland for 6 months. A six month period of registered legal domicile in Iceland is the requirement to gain access to the public health insurance scheme in Iceland.
It is each persons own responsibility to know and verify the conditions of their insurance, i.e. what the insurance covers.
As a student you may be entitled to an S1 health insurance certificate from your home country if you are not employed in Iceland. You can contact the relevant health insurance institution of your home country to see if you are eligible to be issued an S1 certificate.
If you have an S1 certificate, you must present it to Registers Iceland and it must also be presented to the Health Insurance Administration (Sjúkratryggingar Íslands) for it to take effect. Registers Iceland can also forward the certificate to Sjúkratryggingar Íslands.
Note: Abuse of rights or fraud may result in the revocation of a person‘s right to reside in Iceland.
During your stay in Iceland as a student you are allowed to work.
You can bring your spouse, cohabitant or children with you. They must also register.
After 5 years in Iceland, you may be entitled to a permanent right of residence, if you meet the requirements.
If you plan to stay in Iceland for less than 3 months, you do not meet the requirements for domicile registration in Iceland and you should apply for a system ID, see more here.
If you plan on being in Iceland for longer than 3 months, you need to apply for a legal domicile in Iceland. You can stay in Iceland as long as you meet the requirements for legal domicile registration in Iceland.
If you have grounds for residence as a student and you are no longer studying, you can reside in Iceland as long as you meet the requirements for registration based on one of the other residence categories :
- As an employee
- As a self-employed person
- A person residing on the basis of sufficient funds
- As a family member
- As a posted worker
If you are leaving Iceland because you no longer have the funds to support yourself, you must notify us that you are leaving and submit a notification of moving from Iceland using form A-251.
Individuals can stay abroad for up to 6 months on a yearly basis without registering their domicile out of Iceland.
Please note that you do not need to register out of Iceland for a stay abroad for more than 6 months if any of the following conditions apply:
- Longer absence on one or more occasions for compulsory military service.
- A single absence of a maximum of 12 consecutive months for urgent reasons, such as pregnancy and child birth, serious illness, study or vocational training or work to which the person concerned is sent to in another EEA/EFTA country or third country.
If you leave Iceland for more than 6 months and the above mentioned reasons don't apply, you are required to register your legal domicile out of Iceland here. For more information regarding moving from Iceland, see here.
If you have registered out of Iceland, but have returned, you will need to re-apply for legal domicile registration within 3 months, using form A-271.
If you have acquired permanent residence, you will not lose it unless you leave Iceland for a period exceeding two consecutive years.
Please note that it is not permitted to have a legal domicile registration in two countries at the same time according to pgr. 1 of art. 2 of the law of legal domicile no. 80/2018.
You can apply using application A-271 or click on the application form on the right.
With your application, you must always submit a valid passport or ID card along with the required documents to demonstrate that you meet the requirements for legal domicile registration.
If you wish to reside in Iceland as a student, you must submit the following:
- Documentation that you are enrolled at a private or public accredited establishment, for the principal purpose of following a course of study; including vocational training.
- A declaration that you have sufficient funds for yourself and any family member during your period of residence. Here you can open the declaration that you need to submit.
- Documentation that you have comprehensive private health insurance during your stay in Iceland or at least the first 6 months of your stay.
It is optional to submit the following documents with the application :
- Birth certificate
- Marital status certificate. Applicants are encouraged to submit their marital status certificate because marital status may affect an individual's rights and their children (if relevant)
Upon arrival in Iceland, applicants must visit a registration office and present the original copies of the following documents
- Passport or legal travel document
- Birth certificate and/or marital status certificate, if they were submitted in the application process.
All documents must be in Icelandic or English. In cases where documents are in another language, a certified translation is required along with the original document.