Residence permits for volunteers

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Residence permit application

Requirements

All applicants for a residence permit must

prove their identity with a valid passport
give correct information about their purpose of stay in Iceland
meet the following basic requirements

Applicants must demonstrate that they have secure means of support for the period they wish to reside in Iceland.

Secure means of support for volunteers means either:

that the organization you will be volunteering with will support you financially, or
that you are able to support yourself during your stay without relying on salaried employment.

The Directorate of Immigration may obtain tax returns and documents from tax authorities in confirmation of this.

Amount

The minimum amount required as secure means of support is:

247.572 ISK for individuals per month.
396.115 ISK for married couples per month.
123.786 ISK additionally for family members 18 years of age or older.

The amount corresponds to the basic amount of financial assistance from the City of Reykjavík, see rules on financial assistance (in Icelandic). The amounts are based on income before taxation.

Duration

A foreigner’s means of support must be secure for as long as the residence permit is valid. This means that if a residence permit is issued for one year, secure means of support for one year must be demonstrated.

The following is not considered secure means of support

Payments in the form of social assistance, by the state or municipality (other than housing compensation (húsnæðisbætur)). If an applicant has received such compensation and is unable to demonstrate satisfactory support through other means, a residence permit will be rejected.
Alimony payments and child allowance, since their purpose is to support a child.
Support by a third party, in other instances than stated above.
Assets other than bank-account balances (for example real estate) and dividend from companies, interest or other payments that cannot be reliably expected to be available for payment.
Cash is not considered as satisfactory confirmation of support.

An insurance certificate must be submitted, confirming that the applicant has taken out (purchased) a health insurance

that is valid in Iceland,
for at least six months from the date of the registration of the applicant's legal domicile in Iceland,
with a minimum coverage of ISK 2,000,000.

Six months after registering your legal domicile with Registers Iceland you will be automatically covered by the national health insurance.

When applying for a residence permit no matters may exist that could cause the applicant being denied entry or stay in Iceland.

This means that you may not have

during the past five years, served a prison sentence abroad or been sentenced there to punishment for conduct which under Icelandic law would be subject to imprisonment of longer than three months
been sentenced for a punishable offence in Iceland, or to be subject to security measures for conduct liable to imprisonment, for longer than three months or have been sentenced to imprisonment more than once in the past three years

Special requirements for volunteers

You must be 18 or older.
You must have an invitation to work for an acknowledged non-governmental organization doing work in charitable or humanitarian fields, operating on a non-profit making basis and exempt from tax.
- The requirement that the work is for an acknowledged organization may be waived if the proposed stay can be demonstrated to be for a verified charitable or humanitarian purpose.
- Examples of organizations qualifying for having volunteers are AUS, Reykjavík Youth Center (Hitt húsid), the Salvation Army, the Icelandic Red Cross, SEEDS, the Scout Movement, Worldwide Friends and more.
The work you will be doing must be in accordance with the activities of the non-governmental organization you will work for.
- Examples of work that does not fall under the definition of volunteer work is unpaid work at farms, restaurants, guesthouses and in tourism.
You need to show that you can support yourself during the stay with other means than earned income in Iceland.
You need to show that you have got a ticket home at the end of your stay.

Residence permit application

Service provider

Directorate of Immigration