Iceland · Citizenship by naturalisation
Icelandic Citizenship by Naturalisation
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open. Dual citizenship has been permitted since 2003. A backlog has pushed processing to 18+ months, on top of the residence requirement.
Iceland allows dual citizenship and asks only A2 Icelandic, which is gentler than Estonia's B1 plus renunciation. But the practical timeline tells a different story. Seven years of residence with a 90-day-per-year absence cap, followed by an 18-month backlog, makes this an eight-to-nine-year project for a passport ranked below Ireland's or Sweden's.
Qualifying routes
60k ISK
Standard naturalisation
7 years' continuous legal residence, plus a permanent residence permit. A fee applies from 1 January 2026.
The facts
- Minimum
- 60k ISK
- Total landed cost
- ISK 60,000 for the fee, plus ISK 40,000 for the language test, plus criminal record certificates from every country you have lived in since age 15.
- Route type
- By residence
- Timeline
- 8–9 years (7 years' residence, plus an 18+ month backlog. Realistically, that means 8-9 years from arrival to passport.)
- Physical presence
- 7 years' continuous legal residence, with absences capped at 90 days per 12 months.
- Family
- Minor children may be included
- Permanent residency
- This is a prerequisite. A permanent residence permit is required before you can apply.
- Citizenship
- 7 years is the standard route. Shorter routes exist for Nordic citizens, spouses and cohabiting partners.
- Language test
- An Icelandic language test at roughly A2 level, covering speaking, listening, reading and writing. It is held about twice a year, and costs ISK 40,000.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- 7 years' continuous legal residence with a permanent residence permitabsences of no more than 90 days per 12 monthsan Icelandic language test, approximately A2 levelcriminal record certificates from every country of residence since age 15self-sufficiency, with no outstanding tax or maintenance debts
What can go wrong
- The 90-day-per-12-month absence cap is severe. It effectively rules out globally mobile clients for the full 7 years.
- Processing has slipped from 6-12 months historically to 18+ months. A realistic arrival-to-passport timeline now runs 8-9 years.
- Applications go through island.is and require an Icelandic electronic ID (rafraen skilriki). For new arrivals, that is itself a chicken-and-egg hurdle.
- Criminal record certificates are required from every country you have resided in since age 15. For mobile families, that is a real burden.
- The language test is held only about twice a year. Missing a sitting costs six months.
- Sources conflict on the shortened routes. Some say spouses need 4 years and cohabiting partners 5, with Nordic citizens at 3 or 4. This is unresolved. Verify with Utlendingastofnun.