Visas
Visas
Iceland joined the Schengen Area on 25 March 2001. The Schengen Area includes the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal Sweden and Spain. The main effect of the Schengen Agreement for travellers is that persons wishing to enter any country in the Area must apply for a visa which is valid for all Schengen Area countries. In any period of six months, travellers are not permitted to spend more than a total of three months in the Schengen Area. It should be noted that a number of EU members are not party to Schengen arrangements and will have other visa requirements.
Travellers to Iceland must be in possession of a passport, valid at least for three months beyond their intended stay. In addition, nationals of many countries are required to obtain a visa prior to entering Iceland.
There are, however, several exceptions to these rules:
- Citizens of the Nordic countries need not have a passport to enter Iceland
- Citizens of several European countries may enter Iceland carrying, instead of their passports, national identity cards, issued by their governments. List of countries and permitted identity cards
- Citizens of these countries do not need a visa to enter Iceland
- Persons with a valid residence permit in another Schengen country do not need an additional visa to enter Iceland
South African citizens, and citizens of many other countries who are resident in South Africa, require Schengen visas for visits to Iceland. These visas are not processed by the Embassy of Iceland and applications should be submitted instead to the Royal Danish Embassy in Pretoria. See here for contact details of the Royal Danish Embassy. Travellers from South Africa using Temporary Passports are advised that these are not suitable for travel to Iceland as they are not recognised in most countries through which they must transit.
Please note that queries from outside South Africa should not be directed to the Danish Embassy in Pretoria. Instead see here for details on where to apply.
- Schengen visa requirements and application forms
(Note: South African citizens and residents of South Africa need to download and complete both forms).
