Spouse or Cohabiting Partner Residence Permit

The permit may be granted on the basis of marriage or cohabitation . The word spouse both refers to marital spouses and cohabiting spouses.

You were 18 or older when you got married or started cohabitation.

If you apply on the basis of cohabitation, you must have lived with your spouse for at least one year before applying.

This applies, for example, to a marriage ceremony if one or both parties was a minor at the time of getting married, or if only one or neither party attended the marriage ceremony (referred to as proxy marriage). The same applies to a marriage ceremony where the person conducting the ceremony is not authorized to do so in the country of the ceremony and also in case of polygamy or polyandry.

The Directorate of Immigration may reject an application for a residence permit for a spouse if there is serious grounds for believing that the sole purpose of the union is to obtain a residence permit.

Requirements that your spouse must meet Your spouse is an Icelandic citizen, a Nordic citizen, a holder of a permanent residence permit, a holder of a temporary residence permit for work requiring expert knowledge for athletes due to a shortage of labour on the basis of a collaboration or service contract for students and is enrolled in full-time university studies leading to a Bachelor

they must have worked or studied in Iceland in legal stay for at least the last four years before your application is submitted.

Your spouse may not, in the past five years, have been convicted or subjected to security measures

Your spouse must consent to you being issued a residence permit in Iceland based on your family ties.

If the spouse, who has the right to reside in Iceland, is a citizen of an

If you apply as a spouse on the basis of marriage, you must submit Original or a certified copy of an original marriage certificate. The original document must be legally authenticated with an apostille certification or chain authentication.

Original or a certified copy of the marriage certificate's translation by an authorized translator.

If you apply as a spouse on the basis of cohabitation, you must submit Original or a certified copy of the applicant's original marital status certificate. The document may not be older than six months when the application is submitted.

Other documents confirming that you and your spouse have cohabited for at least one year. For example: Certificate of registered cohabitation. Rental agreements, were the names of both the applicant and cohabiting spouse appear. Letters addressed to the applicant and sent to the confirmed address of the cohabiting spouse, for example:

the Directorate of Immigration may call in the applicant and his/her spouse for interviews

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

The minimum amount required as secure means of support is: 259.951 ISK for individuals per month. 415.922 ISK for married couples per month.

does not need to demonstrate independent funds. Due to the maintenance obligation between marital spouses under the Marriage Act

A cohabiting spouse must therefore demonstrate independent funds.

with a minimum coverage of ISK 2,000,000.

You will have a permanent address at the same place as your spouse.

The residence permit is granted on the basis of Article 70 of the

A residence permit for a spouse is generally granted for one year at a time, but for a maximum of two years.

The permit may be renewed for a maximum of two years, if the requirements are still met

The residence permit confers an independent right to family reunification for applicant’s children under the age of 18 , if the applicant has custody of them applicant’s parents 67 years or older

Spouses of Icelandic citizens and spouses of residence permit holders for work requiring expert knowledge may work

The residence permit may be the basis for a

you have not resided abroad for more than 90 days in total each year

If marriage or cohabitation ends because the holder of a permit for a spouse or his/her child has been subject to violence or abuse during the relationship, a residence permit on grounds of special ties to Iceland may be granted.