Icelandic Directorate of Immigration

The Icelandic Directorate of Immigration is one of the divisions of the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs and operates according to Act No. 96/2002 on Foreigners and also Regulation no. 53/2003 on Foreigners. The Act on Foreigners governs the rights of foreigners to enter Iceland and to reside in Iceland.  According to the Icelandic Citizenship Act, any person who is not an Icelandic citizen is considered a foreigner.

The most extensive objective of the Directorate is issuing residence permits. The Icelandic Directorate of Immigration handles all applications for residence permits, whether those are permits in conjunction with a work permit, or e.g. family reunification, student permits, au-pair permits, visas and requests for asylum.  Other than this the Directorate is involved in many projects having to do with matters concerning foreigners and cooperates on many levels with other organizations.  The Directorate works closely with the following organizations and branches of the  government:

 

Ministry of Justice:

The Minister of Justice is in supreme charge of the matters subject to the Act on Foreigners.  The Ministry sets the rules and regulations the Directorate must adhere to and govern the rights of foreigners to enter Iceland and reside in the country.  The decisions of the Directorate may be appealed to the Ministry of Justice.

 

The National Commissioner of Police:

The International Division of the National Commissioner of Police coordinates the policing through the country as to the affairs of foreigners and border patrol.  The International Division is also involved in the affairs of asylum seekers and foreigners entering Iceland illegally.  The police investigates their record and attempts to identify foreigners through cooperation with foreign authorities and organizations.  The International Division further plans and executes deportation and expulsion of foreigners from Iceland.

 

Police force:

The police force is involved in the affairs of foreigners in many ways, both as it applies to asylum seekers and other matters of foreigners.  One of the most important roles of the police force in the case of foreigners is to control whether foreigners are legally permitted to stay in Iceland.  The police force checks whether foreigners hold residence permits and if applicable, work permits.  The police force further is in charge of border control, interviewing asylum seekers and deportation of foreigners.

 

Directorate of Labour:

 

The Directorate of Labour issues work permits for foreigners.  A joint commission of the Directorate of Labour and the Directorate of Immigration is a very important venture, as the Directorate of Immigration issues residence permits according to the Act on Foreigners and the Directorate of Labour issues work permits according to the Foreign Nationals Right to Work Act.  A foreigner can not be granted a work permit, unless he has been granted a residence permit from the Directorate of Immigration.  Therefore the organized and close cooperation of the two directorates is essential.

 

Ministry for Foreign Affairs:

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs cooperates with the Directorate in the case of residence permits for foreign civil employees and dependants of the military personnel stationed at Keflavik Airport.  The Directorate keeps a record of those individuals.

 

The Intercultural Centre (Alþjóðahús):

One of the main objectives of the Intercultural Centre is to facilitate the integration of immigrants into the Icelandic society.  This objective is achieved in part by providing information, support, interpretation services and social activities.  The Intercultural Centre further provides counselling and support for immigrants and their families and general information on rights and obligations in the Icelandic community.  The Directorate of Immigration has in cooperation with the Intercultural Centre provided information on residence permits and the rights of foreigners.

 

Red Cross:

The Red Cross is involved in the affairs of foreigners in many ways, e.g. as advocate for asylum seekers.  Furthermore the Red Cross assists foreigners as needed to access information on their rights and obligations in the Icelandic community, including dealing with the Directorate of Immigration.