A residence permit for students can be granted for up to one year.
If the holder of the permit stays abroad for more than three consecutive months, the residence permit can be revoked. If the holder registers his legal domicile out of the country, the residence permit is automatically revoked.
Right to renewal
The permit can be renewed for up to one year at a time, if the conditions of the residence permit are still met and if satisfactory study results are shown, see the requirements for renewing a student permit.
Even though the residence permit has been revoked, it is possible to apply for a renewal, if this is done within the validity period of the previous residence permit and the reasons for doing so recommend it.
Right to renewal after graduation
A holder of a student residence permit who completes university studies in Iceland may be issued a special residence permit for employment seeking after graduation. A residence permit for employment-seeking is intended as a bridge between a student permit and a residence permit for work requiring expert knowledge. Only graduates of programs that meet the requirements for a specialist permit are eligible for such a permit, provided that the other conditions are also met. See the requirements for renewing a permit for a gratudate seeking employment.
Right to family reunification
The permit confers the right to family reunification for the holder's
cohabiting spouse, after at least one year of cohabitation,
children under the age of 18, if the holder has custody of them,
Children of foreign citizens do not receive Icelandic citizenship even if they are born in Iceland. The residence rights of children born in Iceland depend on the residence rights of their parents.
An application for family reunification with a student may be submitted at the same time as the application for a student residence permit or later.
Please note that applications for family reunification with students are not processed simultaneously with student residence permit applications. There is a longer waiting time for processing residence permit applications based on family reunification, and therefore it cannot be expected that family members will be issued residence permits at the same time as the student.
Applications for residence permits for the spouse and children of a student are not processed under expedited procedures, even if the student has given birth to a child in Iceland.
Right to work
A student must apply for a work permit to be allowed to work in Iceland, see instructions in document requirements.
A student work permit allows you to work up to 22,5 hours per week (60%), except when working is a part of your studies or takes place during a study break according to the curriculum.
A student may not start working before a work permit has been granted.
A work permit holder may only work for the employer on which the work permit is based,
Right to permanent residence permit
The permit cannot be the basis for a permanent residence permit except in instances where the applicant
has held a residence permit that may be the basis for a permanent residence permit for at least two years,
has previously held a student residence permit for at least two years
and thus has resided in Iceland legally for at least four years.
Please note that one of the conditions of a permanent residence permit is that you have not resided abroad for more than 90 days in total each year during the period of validity of the residence permit, counting from the date of issue of the permit.
Service provider
Directorate of Immigration