It depends on your citizenship whether you need a residence and work permit to be able to work in Iceland. Citizens of EU/EEA member states do not need permits but non-EU/EEA citizens do. International Staff Services-Welcome Center assists all incoming employees who are starting their career at the University of Iceland with the beaurocratic formalities needed when moving to Iceland. Employees EU/EEA Citizens EU/EEA citizens do not need a residence and a work permit in Iceland and may stay in Iceland for up to three months without registering and moving domicile to Iceland. The relocation to Iceland is quite simple in terms of bureaucratic related issues for EU/EEA citizens. Nordic Citizens All imperative information for Nordic citizens moving to Iceland can be found on Register Iceland. All other EU/EEA Citizens Long term employment/stay EU/EEA citizen staying longer than three months an Icelandic ID number is needed and change of domicile is required. EU/EEA citizens who have been recruited to University of Iceland can apply for an Icelandic ID number online through Registers Iceland before they arrive in Iceland. The required application form A-271 need to be filled out and submitted. To finish the process, the University of Iceland needs to confirm the employment relationship with the applicant. International Staff Services confirms the relationship on behalf of the University, done when one has started working. The employer´s ID number for the University of Iceland is 600169-2039. Please take into consideration the ID number does not become usable, active/valid until the applicant shows up in person at Registers Iceland and register in Iceland. Make sure to bring a passport. Employment Contract The employment contract will be made upon arrival as the ID number and a bank account number is needed. Health Insurance Upon arrival, everyone will have to apply for an Icelandic health insurance registration at the Icelandic Health Insurance. During the registration process, the Icelandic Health Insurance will obtain the E-104 form which is needed to verify previous insurance coverage, you are also welcome to bring it yourself if possible. Those who are moving to Iceland from a non-EU/EEA country can not transfer their health insurance will need therefore to acquire a six months Medical Cost Insurance. Short term employment/stay or living abroad EU/EEA citizens staying less than six months. EU/EEA citizens who are recruited by University of Iceland and stay in the country is less than six months will need an Icelandic system ID number The employment contract requires an ID number and a bank account. The University of Iceland applies for the system ID number for the employees. A copy of a passport is required for the application. This also applies to those employed by the University of Iceland but will be living abroad during the employment. A few other issues need to be considered: Open a Bank Account To open an Icelandic bank account please contact one of the banks in Iceland for further information on the process. Tax Issues Individuals who live abroad but have earnings or properties based in Iceland are eligible for a limited tax liability depending on a double taxation convention between Iceland and the individual country of residence. More information can be found on our tax site Employees non-EU/EEA Citizens All non-EU/EEA citizens require a residence- and a work permit in Iceland and need to apply through Iceland Directorate of Immigration (DOI). All applications managed by the University of Iceland get expedited service at the Directorate of Immigration. The most time consuming part of the process is to accumulate required documents so we strongly recommend accumulating them as fast as possible. Further and more detailed information will be provided via email to the new employee when confirmation of employment offer has been received. All possible issues that arise during the process go through us and we will notify the applicant accordingly. The Immigration Process Employment confirmed Welcome Center contacts the newly recruited employee. Employee accumulates required documents for immigration purposes and keeps the Welcome Center updated on the process. Employee sends all the required documents to Iceland, to the Welcome Center. Welcome Center submits the documents to the Directorate of Immigration and keeps the applicant updated on any developments. Welcome Center notifies the applicant of the accepted application and the preliminary issued permit. Employee applies for a D-visa to Iceland at a relevant embassy - if applicable, depends on citizenship. Welcome meeting upon arrival at the University of Iceland, Welcome Center. Employee registers formally into Iceland through Directorate of Immigration - appointment and a photoshoot. Employee undergoes a medical checkup - if applicable, depending on citizenship. Required Forms for a Residence Permit based on Work In order to apply for a residence permit, the following documents are required. All incoming international employees apply for a residence permit based on work and a work permit as qualified professionals, this applies to PhD students as well. Official documents must be English or the original must be accompanied by a certified English translation. Application for a residence permit based on work - form D-207 - A residence permit based on expert knowledge. Information on representative on page 9 in the D-207 form, filled in and signed by the applicant. This page gives the authority to represent the applicant at the DOI. The representative is one living in Iceland and the Welcome Center provides one for all incoming University staff. Here is information about the representative. Payment for the Directorate of Immigration processing fee. Arranged by the University of Iceland. In some cases, the research project pays for the applicant initially but reimbursement is required upon arrival. Application for a work permit for a qualified professional Employment confirmation Only personal info should be filled in and the form must be signed. All other info will be filled in by the employer. The actual employment contract between the University of Iceland and the incoming employee is made upon arrival. An Icelandic ID number is required for the contract which is obtained through the immigration process and ready upon arrival. Degree certificate - a copy of PhD certificate. Incoming PhD students need to submit a copy of their MS certificate. University of Iceland PhD study program acceptance letter - for incoming PhD students only. Passport photo. Photocopy of passport. Foreign criminal record certificate. The criminal record must not be older than twelve (12) months when submitted and must be presented from all countries where the applicant has lived for the past five (5) years, for a period exceeding six (6) months. Either an original or a copy of a criminal record is required. Note that in certain cases the Directorate of Immigration may still need to request a certified original criminal record. Translation of the foreign criminal record certificate. Only if the foreign certificates are not in English or the Nordic languages. The translation should be done by an authorized translator and should be either an original or a certified copy. The actual criminal record should accompany the translation as the translation alone is not sufficient. Medical Cost Insurance. Online application. Make sure a notification is sent to Iceland Directorate of Immigration. Payment confirmation should accompany the rest of the documents. If there is not an option to pay for the insurance in advance due to special circumstances (e.g. residents from Iran) you can apply for the medical insurance here: https://minarsidur.sjova.is/radgjof/sala/?saleItemId=5 and in some cases, reimbursement is required upon arrival. Documents to be submitted must be signed by the applicant, also page 9 in the D-207 form. More detailed information on the first permit documents required can be found on Iceland Directorate of Immigration website. Submission of Documents In order to shorten the process, required documents should be accumulated immediately. The application will not be processed at the Directorate of Immigration unless all required documents have been submitted. Incorrect or missing information in the forms can affect the processing time. When application documents are ready, all of them should be sent together by post to the Welcome Center, preferably with express shipping like FedEx, UPS or others. University of Iceland Division of Human Resources International Staff Services – Welcome Center Aðalbygging, Sæmundargata 2 102 Reykjavík ICELAND Welcome Center submits the application to the Directorate of Immigration after acquiring necessary payments and signatures. In some cases, payments should be reimbursed by the applicant upon arrival. Application accepted and a Residence Permit Granted The Directorate of Immigration notifies the representative in Iceland when the application for a residence permit has been accepted and a preliminary residence permit granted. The representative notifies the applicant. The residence permit is not issued formally unless the applicant meets in person at the DOI offices upon arrival. Please notice residence permits are issued for one or two years depending on the validity of the applicant's passport. Actions are required for the final process of issuing the residence permit: Pre arrival, information on where and what embassy the applicant needs to apply for a D-visa to Iceland if required. Please see who needs a visa on the DOI webpage. Upon arrival, the applicant has to be photographed in order to be issued a residence permit card. The photo will be taken at Directorate of Immigration, Dalvegur 18, 201 Kópavogur. Please bring a passport. Upon arrival please make sure you have filled out the form A-269 Notification of residence in Iceland and bring it to the Directorate of Immigration. Upon arrival, depending on the citizenship some applicant needs to undergo a medical examination within two weeks from entering Iceland. Applicants from certain countries are exempt from a medical exam. Please notice the medical exam can be quite expensive. Another possible option is to have the medical exam done in the home country at a recognized and certified clinic and have it evaluated by the health authorities in Iceland. When the application has been accepted it´s time to book the airfare to Iceland in accordance with the supervisor’s wishes and instructions. D-Visa to Iceland Those citizens who don´t require a visa to Iceland can enter Iceland anytime and wait for the permit to be issued. They are prohibited to work until the permit has been granted. Those citizens who require a visa to Iceland are prohibited to enter Iceland without a visa. The applicant needs to make an appointment at the relevant embassy, the one listed in the application form. The Directorate of Immigration provides the embassy information needed on the applicant. Depending on countries, Danish or Norwegian embassies provide an embassy service on behalf of Iceland. Those who require a visa to Iceland but have a Schengen visa can enter Iceland without an embassy involvement but are prohibited to work until the permit has been granted. A list of countries that need a D-visa can be found on the Directorate of Immigration webpage. Icelandic ID number The Icelandic ID number is issued when the residence and work permits are granted and will be ready upon arrival. Further information on it can be found on our site Register into Iceland. The ID number and an Icelandic bank account are needed for the employment contract. Spouses and Family EU/EEA citizens bringing their non European spouses are obliged to fill out the form "Application for family reunification with an EEA/EFTA citizen residing in Iceland" and either bring to Register Iceland upon arrival or send along with required documents to the Directorate of Immigration prior arrival. Non-EEA citizens are able to bring their non-EU/EEA spouses and family to Iceland but all the family members are required to apply for a residence permit. All the applications, the employee´s plus the family´s, can be submitted together and processed together which expedites the whole processing time. The University arranges the payment for the family as well but reimbursement is required upon arrival. All information on required documents for the family can be found on the Directorate of Immigration website: Spouse or cohabiting partner Children Guest teachers/researchers The University of Iceland welcomes guests researchers and other guests for a short or a long stay. Those are usually receiving salaries from abroad. EU/EEA citizens do not need a residence and a work permit but those nationals outside of EU/EEA do. We assist with obtaining the residence and the work permit in Iceland. Documents to be submitted by the applicant must be signed originals in English. Application for a residence permit based on work - form D-207 - For guest researchers/teachers and PhD students funded from abroad. Application for a residence permit for students - form D-208 For guest PhD students funded from Iceland. Information on the representative. The representative is one living in Iceland. Page 9 in the D-207 form and page 8 in the D-208 form need to be filled in and signed by the applicant. International Staff Services provides information on the representative offered. Payment for Directorate of Immigration processing fee. Guest researchers will need to arrange the payment themselves. Payment information can be found further down this site. Application for a work permit based on collaboration and service contract with a foreign institute. Signed by the applicant and the home institute (employer) and the University of Iceland (contractor). Only needed to accompany the D-207 form. Service agreement between the host institution and the home institution. Confirmation of financial means - a copy of a salary/grant agreement/bank statement. The grant amount is needed. Confirmation of university enrollment in home country - official copy. For PhD students guests only. Confirmation of university enrollment in the host country (Iceland) - official copy. For PhD students guests only. Degree certificate - a copy of a PhD certificate or an MS certificate in the case of PhD students. Passport photo. Photocopy of passport. Confirmed original of a foreign criminal record certificate. The criminal record certification must not be older than six (6) months and must be presented from all the countries where the applicant has lived for the last five (5) years, for a period exceeding six (6) months. Either an original or a copy of a criminal record is required. The certificate must not be older than 12 months when submitted. Note that in certain cases the Directorate of Immigration may still need to request a certified original criminal record. Confirmed copy or original translation of the criminal record certificate done by an authorized translator. Applies only if the foreign certificates are in other languages than English or Nordic languages. Please make sure either an original or a certified copy of the actual criminal record accompany the translation. The translation alone is not sufficient. Medical Cost Insurance. Online application. Make sure a notification is sent to Iceland Directorate of Immigration. Payment confirmation should accompany the rest of the documents. Directorate of Immigration payments information: Processing fee 16.000 ISK / fast track service cost is 48.000 ISK - total kr 64.000 ISK. Please pay into DOI bank account: Bank account nr: 0515-26-410424 DOI ID nr: 670269-6399 More detailed information on the first permit documents required can be found on Iceland Directorate of Immigration website. Submission of Documents In order to shorten the process, required documents should be accumulated immediately. The application will not be processed at the Directorate of Immigration unless all required documents have been submitted. Incorrect or missing information in the forms can affect the processing time. When application documents are ready, all of them should be sent together by post to the Welcome Center, preferably with express shipping like FedEx, UPS or others. University of Iceland Division of Human Resources International Staff Services – Welcome Center Aðalbygging, Sæmundargata 2 101 Reykjavík ICELAND Welcome Center submits the application to the Directorate of Immigration after acquiring the necessary signatures. Application accepted and a Residence Permit Granted The Directorate of Immigration notifies the representative in Iceland when the application for a residence permit has been accepted and a preliminary residence permit granted. The representative notifies the applicant. The residence permit is not issued formally unless the applicant meets in person at the DOI offices upon arrival. Actions are required for the final process of issuing the residence permit: Pre arrival, information on where and what embassy the applicant needs to apply for a D-visa to Iceland if required. Please see who needs a visa on the DOI webpage. Upon arrival, the applicant has to be photographed in order to be issued a residence permit card. The photo will be taken at Directorate of Immigration, Dalvegur 18, 201 Kópavogur. Please bring a passport. Upon arrival please make sure you have filled out the form A-269 Notification of residence in Iceland and bring it to the Directorate of Immigration. Upon arrival, depending on the citizenship some applicant needs to undergo a medical examination within two weeks from entering Iceland. Applicants from certain countries are exempt from a medical exam. Please notice the medical exam can be quite expensive. Another possible option is to have the medical exam done in the home country at a recognized and certified clinic and have it evaluated by the health authorities in Iceland. When the application has been accepted it´s time to book the airfare to Iceland in accordance with the supervisor’s wishes and instructions. D-Visa to Iceland Those citizens who don´t require a visa to Iceland can enter Iceland anytime and wait for the permit to be issued. They are prohibited to work until the permit has been granted. Those citizens who require a visa to Iceland are prohibited to enter Iceland without a visa. The applicant needs to make an appointment at the relevant embassy, the one listed in the application form. The Directorate of Immigration provides the embassy information needed on the applicant. Depending on countries, Danish or Norwegian embassies provide an embassy service on behalf of Iceland. Those who require a visa to Iceland but have a Schengen visa can enter Iceland without an embassy involvement but are prohibited to work until the permit has been granted. A list of countries that need a D-visa can be found at the Directorate of Immigration webpage. facebooklinkedintwitter
