An Iceland Business Visa is a short-stay permit that allows a person to enter Iceland and engage in business-related activities. It is a type of Schengen Visa for Iceland. It permits its holder to remain in Iceland, and the rest of the Schengen countries for a maximum of 90 days, within a six-month period.
Iceland Business Visa Application
If you need a visa to enter Iceland as a business person then you will have to follow some procedures to get it. The application process for an Iceland Business Visa contains several steps, which you need to follow in the given order below:
Figure out if you need a business visa to enter Iceland
Despite that a good number of countries have signed an agreement on visa-free travel with the Schengen countries, there are many others who have not. This means that a high number a world citizens need a visa to enter the Schengen territory, including Iceland.
If you want to travel to Iceland in order to participate in business-related activities, you will need to apply for an Iceland Business Visa if:
- Your country is not one of the Schengen visa-exempt countries.
- You come from a Schengen visa exempt country, but you have previously been rejected from entering Iceland without a visa.
Based on the information given above you must have figured out whether you need a visa or not to enter Iceland. If you do not, then you can just travel to Iceland with your valid passport and documents related to your trip, in case the border officers ask you about it. If you need a visa, then proceed with the other steps.
Check when and where you need to apply
You cannot file an application for an Iceland Business visa whenever you want. It is a rule that the earliest you can file an application is six months before your intended trip. On the other hand, the latest you are permitted to submit an application is two weeks before the trip. As for where you need to apply, you should check our article about where to apply for an Iceland visa, which contains information on the diplomatic bodies representing Iceland in each world country.
Fill-in the application form for an Icelandic business visa
Use a computer to fill-in the application form for an Iceland business visa. The form contains questions about you, like your name, surname, ID number, passport number, birth date, place, etc. It also asks about your intended trip and your previous trips if any.
Collect the documents required for an Iceland Business Visa
Start collecting the required documents for a Business visa to Iceland one by one. Make sure they all comply with the criteria set by the Schengen authorities.
There are a few of documents required for an Iceland Business Visa. These documents are required for the processing body to be able to make a decision on your case, whether you should be issued a visa or not.
In the case of an intended business trip, you should be submitting the following documents as well:
- Iceland Business Visa Application form. Printed twice and signed at the end.
- Two passport-size photographs. Make sure your photos comply with the rest of the Schengen Visa photo guidelines and specifications.
- Your valid passport. With at least two blank pages, a minimum validity of three more months beyond the date you leave Iceland and issued within the last 10 years.
- Copy of passport pages.
- Complete travel itinerary for your trip to Iceland. This document must contain your flight name, departure/arrival timings along with dates, your flight code, and your flight reservation/booking numbers.
- Travel Medical Insurance that covers your entire stay in Iceland. For any health incident in Iceland and the whole Schengen area, with a minimum coverage of €30,000.
- Proof of employment status. As an employment contract, bank statements, etc.
- Proof of financial means. Bank statements confirming you have a minimum of 145€ per each entry, and around 29€ per each day that you plan to spend in Iceland.
- A cover letter from the sending organization/company containing the following details:
- Your name and designation
- An outline of your itinerary, the purpose of visit, names, and addresses of the companies you intend to visit, period and place of the intended stay.
- A signed invitation letter from the company in Iceland containing your name, purpose of visit, dates of the intended stay, nature of costs being covered.
Schedule a visa appointment
In most of the countries, you will be able to make an appointment for a visa interview online. There are some other countries, which do not offer this opportunity, thus you will need to make an appointment in person.You will need to check for more information in this regard with the diplomatic body representing Iceland in your country of residence.
Pay the fee for a business visa to Iceland
The fee for an Iceland Business visa is €90. Again, how you make the payment depends on your country of residence. In some countries, you will be able to make the payment online. In the rest, you will have to make it at the beginning of the visa interview.
Attend the visa interview
On the day of your appointment, show up on time at the place where you will be interviewed. Make sure you have all of the required documents for an Iceland Business Visa with you. The interview will last about 10 minutes. During the interview, you will be asked several questions by the visa consular. You will also be handing in your documents.
After the interview, the visa processing body will process your application and then notify you of their decision.
How Long Can I Stay in Iceland with a Business Visa?
The maximum you may be permitted to remain in Iceland with a business visa is 90 days within a six-month period. However, that does not mean that you will be issued a three-month valid visa to Iceland.
The diplomatic body representing Iceland and processing your visa application in your country of residence is the one that decides on the validity of your visa, the permitted duration of stay and the permitted number of entries. When it comes to these three, please pay attention to their differences:
- Duration of stay: this is the number of days you are permitted to remain in Iceland and the whole territory of Schengen. If it says 15 days, then you cannot stay any longer than 15 days.
- Visa Validity: This is the period within which you can stay in Iceland. I.e. if your visa is valid from 1 March to 30 March, but the duration of stay is 15 days, then this means you can spend those 15 days within this period (from 5 to 20 March, for example). You can calculate the time you can stay in Iceland through the 90/180 rule calculator.
- The number of entries: This is the number that stipulates how many times you can enter Iceland with that visa. Note that if the number of entries is two, but the duration of stay is 15 days, this does not mean you can spend 15 days in Iceland each time you enter. It rather means that you can spend 15 days in total in Iceland.
All this information is found in the visa sticker affixed in your passport. Learn here how to read your Iceland Schengen visa sticker!
How Can I Get a Multiple-Entry Business Visa for Iceland?
If you are planning to travel more often to Iceland, and you want to avoid applying for a visa each time, you can apply for a multiple-entry visa. Usually, this visa is issued to businesspersons who have traveled often to Iceland or the other Schengen countries often in the past two-three years.
However, you can try to get such a visa even if you have started to travel to Iceland only recently. If you already have scheduled business-related activities for the next-coming months, you can submit proof on those activities as:
- Invitation to each activity
- Booked flight for each time you need to travel to Iceland
- Hotel booking for each trip
If you do so, the embassy may issue you a multiple entry visa with longer validity.