Study in Iceland: Student Visas & Permits

Iceland is part of the EEA. This means that if you’re from the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you can freely enter Iceland and stay for as long as you like. If you’re not from one of these countries, you’ll probably need a visa to study in Iceland.

If you're going to Iceland for a short course, you can stay for up to ninety days without a visa if you're from a visa-exempt country. If you're staying for longer, then you'll definitely need a visa. To get an Icelandic student visa, you’ll need the following: 

• Your passport
• Two passport-sized photos
• Proof of fee payment. The visa costs 6000ISK (US$50).
• A completed application form. You can find that here.
• Proof of admission to your program
• A copy of a clean criminal record
• Proof of health insurance. It must cover up to 2,000,000ISK (US$16,000) as a minimum
• Proof of financial self-sufficiency through bank statements 

If your documents are not in English or a Nordic language, then they must be submitted with a notarized translation. As documents can be submitted in English, this makes things much easier. 

Once you’re in Iceland, you’ll need to get a residence permit. You can do this at the Directorate of Immigration in Reykjavik. Your permit allows you to work for up to fifteen hours a week. It is possible to find a job in Reykjavik without knowing Icelandic, but it can be trickier elsewhere.

Your permit also allows you to travel as a tourist around the EEA, the EU and Switzerland, with the exception of Ireland. As Icelandic visas are Schengen visas, you'll need to enter the area through Iceland. For example; you can't enter Schengen through Paris on a visa issued by Malta. Fortunately, there are plenty of transit flights to Reykjavik via the UK and Canada.