How to Apply for a Student Permit in Iceland (.pdf) - University of ...

How to Apply for aStudent Permitin IcelandFor Citizens of Countries Outside the EEAwww.hi.is1

Important notifications» Application deadlines– Fall semester (September to December) –Application and all supporting documentsmust have been received by the Directorate ofImmigration no later than 15 July each year.– Spring semester (January to May) –Application and all supporting documentsmust have been received by the Directorate ofImmigration no later than 15 Novembereach year.» An application for a student permit shall havebeen approved BEFORE the applicant arrives inthe country. This means that if an applicant is inIceland before the visa has been issued, he must,without exception, leave the country while theapplication is being processed.» A student residence permit is intended for a foreignerto be able to study at a secondary school oruniversity in Iceland. The permit is granted on thecondition that the individual is a full-timestudent and/or the study course is recognised bythe Icelandic Student Loan Fund. Full-time studiesat a university in Iceland are 30 ECTS creditsper semester. Satisfactory progress at a universityis deemed to be 50% or at least 15 ECTS the firstsemester and 75% a semester after that, or atleast 22 ECTS credits per semester.» The applicant may apply for a student workpermit in his first term of study, provided asigned contract of employment. Extension tostudent work permit is based on the applicant’sprogress of studies.ApplicationThe following documentation must be submittedwith the application.IMPORTANT: All these documents must besent together and in right order. If sufficientdocumentation is not submitted, the applicationprocessing time will be considerably longer.1. A completed application form for a residencepermit signed by the applicant» The form can be found here: www.utl.is/media/stofnunin/eydublod/ums_dvalar_og_atvinn.pdf.2. One passport-size photo» 35mm x 45mm.» The photo must be attached to theapplication.3. A photocopy of the applicant’s passport» The validity of the passport shall extend atleast three months beyond the expected stayin Iceland.» The copy must show:– Personal information about the applicant– Validity period of the passport– Signature of the passport holder– Visas applied to the passport– Entry stamp, if the applicant has arrivedin Iceland2 3

4. Criminal record check» The certificate must be issued by the country/countries where the applicant has resided forthe past five years. In the case of US citizensthe criminal record check has to be issued bythe state they have resided for the past fiveyears.» The certificate should not be issued more than6 months prior to submitting the applicationfor a student permit.» The criminal record check has to be certificedby apostille from the applicant’s home Ministryof Foreign Affairs.5. Medical insurance» Insurance must cover at least 2,000,000 ISKand shall be issued by an insurance companyauthorised to provide services in Iceland. If yourinsurance company is not on this list: http://fme.is/lisalib/getfile.aspx?itemid=3219,you need, without exception, to buy Icelandicinsurance. The name of your insurancecompany has to be 100% correct in the list,i.e. if you see Sun Life, London on the list butyou are insured at Sun Life, Canada, it is notvalid. If you are unsure whether your insurancecompany is on the list, you can send an enquirymail or e-mail to The Financial SupervisoryAuthority in Iceland (www.fme.is). The addressis: Suðurlandsbraut 32, 108 Reykjavík, tel:+354 525 2700, fax: +354 525 2727 ande-mail: fme@fme.is.» For Icelandic insurance, i.e. Sjóvá, seewww.sjova.is.6. Financial support» An applicant for a residence permit shall provesecure support for the entire period of time ofthe intended stay in Iceland. Without securesupport, a residence permit will not be issued.» Minimum support shall be comparable tothe minimal support guidelines set by themunicipalities. Minimum support for a singleperson is ISK 125,540 per month for theentire expected stay in Iceland. Please checkthis website to make sure the minimum supporthas not changed: www.utl.is/english/residence-permits/support. The documentsubmitted must be an original copy.» IMPORTANT: Applicants over the age of18, without exceptions, must show theirown support; it is not sufficient thatparents support the applicant.» With respect to security of support, an applicant’ssupport shall be deemed secure if:– The applicant possesses adequate fundsfor support during his stay, in a currencyregistered by the Central Bank of Iceland.– The applicant receives a student loanor grant adequate for his support, in acurrency registered by the Central bank ofIceland, www.sedlabanki.is.– Support may be derived from more thanone source and shall be deemed adequateif the applicant demonstrates that the totalamount suffices for support.– Payment of social support from the stateor municipality shall not make a personentitled to a residence permit.7. Housing certificate» The applicant must prove that he has securehousing for the period of intended stay inthe country. Ask your landlord to provide thisdocument, possibly directly to the Directorateof Immigration.8. School confirmation» The applicant shall provide a written confirmationfrom the school he has enrolled in. Acopy of your acceptance letter is sufficient.» Confirmation of registration of full-timestudies. If you are applying as an exchangestudent at the University of Iceland, theOffice of International Education (OIE) willof Immigration directly. International degreeseekingstudents should consult their facultyat UI.provide this information to the Directorate4 5

IMPORTANT: Attached to the application must becertified originals of documentation as applicable. TheDirectorate of Immigration reserves the right to askfor authentication of foreign documents, if necessary.The authentication can be either an „apostille“from the applicant‘s home country, or a doubleauthentication from the Ministry for Foreign Affairsin the home country and the Embassy of that countryin Iceland, or the embassy accredited to Iceland (ifthe country does not have an embassy in Iceland).This applies to criminal record checks, marriagecertificates, birth certificates and any other certificatessubmitted with an application for a residence permitin Iceland. The Directorate requires that all foreigndocumentation issued in languages other thanEnglish or one of the Scandinavian languages, mustbe translated by an accredited interpreter. Furtherinformation on apostille is available athttp://hcch.e-vision.nlThe application should be sent to:Directorate of ImmigrationSkógarhlíð 6105 ReykjavíkIcelandProcessing feeIMPORTANT: An application will not be processeduntil it has been paid for. All applicationssubmitted to the Directorate of Immigration that donot have a payment receipt attached will be returnedto the applicant / authorised agent.IMPORTANT: To submit an application, the applicanthas to deposit the correct amount to the accountof the Directorate of Immigration and submit thepayment receipt with the application. Please be awarethat banks may take various fees for the process, andif the payment the Directorate of Immigration receivesis too low, the application will be returned to theapplicant / authorised agent without being processed.The fees in Iceland are about ISK 1,000; you will haveto ask the bank in your home country about their feesand make sure you cover all costs.IMPORTANT: When depositing to the account ofthe Directorate of Immigration from overseas, thefollowing information must be provided as explanation:The applicant’s ID number (birthday) and name ifavailable. This must be comparable to the applicant’spassport, e.g. 010185-4679, John Smith-Brown.Bank information for the Directorate ofImmigration (before making the money transferplease check this information at www.utl.is/english/residence-permits/processingfee/instructions):IBAN = IS07 1175 05411973 6702 6963 99SWIFT Code = SISLISREIcelandic social security number/ ID number =670269-6399Bank information: 1175-05-411973Name of bank: Central Bank of IcelandAddress: Kalkofnsvegi 1, 150 Reykjavík.Cost of permits for a person over the age of 18:First permit:12,000 ISKRenewal of a permit:6,000 ISKREMEMBER TO PRINT OUT THE PAYMENTRECEIPT AND SEND IT WITH THE APPLICATION!NOTE: The processing fee is not refundable!6 7

Approval – D-VisaIf the application for a student permit is approved, allapplicants with the exception of US citizens (if takinga direct flight to Iceland from the US) need to obtaina D-Visa in the closest embassy issuing such visas onbehalf of Iceland. The application must state at whichembassy the applicant intends to obtain the visa.Please see the following website for a list of embassies:www.utl.is/english/visas/apply. Contact yournearest embassy for information on how to receiveyour D-Visa.Upon arrival in Iceland1. Register a domicile in Iceland at the NationalRegistry» The office of the National Registry (i. Þjóðskrá)is located in Borgartún 24, 105 Reykjavík.Opening hours are from 8:30–16:00,Monday–Friday. (www.thjodskra.is).2. Get a health check» Applicants for a residence permit mustundergo a medical examination within thefirst two weeks of their stay in the country.Applicants coming from Central and SouthAmerica, including Mexico, non-EEA Europeancountries, Asia or Africa must undergo amedical examination with respect to infectiousdiseases. If the applicant, in the opinion of aphysician, has a valid medical certificate fromabroad which has been issued less than threemonths before, no further medical examinationis needed. Applicants from the EEA (otherthan Romania and Bulgaria), Australia, NewZealand, Switzerland, the USA and Canada donot have to submit such a medical certificate.www.landlaeknir.is/pages/953.» Students in need of a health check should goto the Health Centre, at Álfabakki 16, 109Reykjavík. The purpose of the visit is a bloodtest and tuberculosis test. The results of thesetests are sent directly to the Directorate ofImmigration. The costs of these medical testsvary depending on the applicant’s nationality:ISK 10,200-30,000 You need to make anappointment by calling: +354 585 1390(open on weekdays 08:20–16:15). For moreinformation, see www.heilsugaeslan.is or askthe authorised agent for advice.3. All applicants are to come to the Directorateof Immigration or to the District Magistrate/Police Authorities in the area where theapplicant resides, with their passport or traveldocuments and have their photo taken.Upon fulfilling those obligations, the permit is issuedand the residence card is sent to the applicantsaddress in Iceland.Renewal of a student permitApplicant for a renewal of a student permit mustbring the passport/travel document which hepresented when entering Iceland. The application issubmitted in person at the Directorate of Immigrationand the application fee paid at the same time. A photographof the applicant will be taken by the officeraccepting the application.If there are grounds for renewing the student residencepermit, it is done upon considering the applicationof the foreigner. The permit is usually renewedfor one term. It is permissible to grant the applicantcontinued residency on the same conditions until theapplication has been processed. This permission iscontingent upon the application being submitted tothe Directorate at least 30 days before the first permitexpires.The following documentation must be submittedwith the application.IMPORTANT: All these documents must besent together and in right order. If sufficientdocumentation is not submitted, the applicationprocessing time will be considerably longer.8 9

1. A completed application form for a residencepermit signed by the applicant» The form can be found here: www.utl.is/media/stofnunin/eydublod/ums_dvalar_og_atvinn.pdf.2. A photocopy of the applicant’s passport» The validity of the passport shall extend atleast three months beyond the expected stayin Iceland.3. Housing certificate» The applicant must prove a secure housing forthe period of intended stay in the country. Askyour landlord for this document.4. Support» An applicant for a residence permit shall provesecure support for the period of time of theintended stay in Iceland. Without a securesupport, a residence permit will not be issued.5. Social services certificate» The applicant must submit a certificate fromthe applicable municipal services, indicatingwhether or not he has received any financialsocial support.6. Confirmation of registration of full-timestudies» This document should be requested from theService Desk in Háskólatorg.7. Progress of studies» The applicant needs to prove satisfactoryprogress of his studies, with completingminimum 50% of full time studies or 15 ECTSthe first semester and 75% or 22 ECTS afterthe second semester. A copy of your transcriptof records is satisfactory.8. Medical insurance» When a residence permit is renewed forthe first time, the applicant needs to provethat he has valid medical insurance forthe requested period. This can be either acertificate from the Icelandic Social InsuranceAdministration (i. Tryggingastofnun, www.tr.is) or medical insurance, for a minimum ofISK 2,000,000 from an insurance companyauthorised to provide services in Iceland.Attached to the application must be certifiedoriginals of documentation as applicable. TheDirectorate requires that all foreign documentationissued in languages other than English or one ofthe Scandinavian languages be translated by anaccredited translator.The foreigner may apply for a student work permitprovided a signed contract of employment and thatthe progress of his studies is satisfactory.When the processing of the application is completed,the residence card will be sent to the applicant.10 11