Visit Iceland
Think of Iceland and there are several familiar associations: hip Reykjavík, the beautiful therapeutic Blue Lagoon, or perhaps our musical exports Björk or Sigur Rós. But this land of boiling mud pools, spurting geysers, glaciers and waterfalls is also an adventure playground. Its breathtaking landscape is an inspiration to artists and photographers. Iceland is the least densely populated country in Europe, with a pure, unpolluted and truly magical landscape.
Iceland’s summers are surprisingly warm, lush and green, with days lengthening until midsummer, when the sun dips down to the horizon but never sets. During winter you can marvel at the amazing, undulating green, blue, yellow and pink lights of the aurora borealis in the night sky, and the winters are not as cold as you might imagine. Regardless of when you visit, you can be assured of the warmth of the Icelanders’ welcome and their desire to share their culture and make every effort to ensure that your stay is a pleasant one.
Below you can find various information about visiting Iceland.
VISA AND PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS FOR ICELAND
SCHENGEN VISAS
Iceland is a member of the Schengen cooperation, a collaboration of 29 member states that aims to ensure the free movement of people across borders. A uniform visa is issued by all Schengen countries and is valid for travel throughout the entire area for up to 90 days within a 180 day period. If you have already received a Schengen visa, you do not need to apply separately for a visa to travel to Iceland.
The Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Netherlands, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia , Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany.
WHAT NATIONALITIES REQUIRE A VISA TO VISIT ICELAND?
When traveling on a Canadian passport, no visa is required for tourists staying up to 90 days in Iceland. For those with other passports, please visit this Icelandic government website to confirm whether you require a visa before entering Iceland: https://island.is/tharft-thu-vegabrefsaritun .
WHAT NATIONALITIES REQUIRE A VISA TO TRANSIT VIA ICELAND?
Citizens of the following countries - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sri Lanka - require a visa to transit through Iceland, whether changing planes or not, unless one or more specific exemptions apply. For a complete list, please see: https://island.is/tharft-thu-vegabrefsaritun/transit .
Travelers from the countries listed above who hold Permanent Resident status in Canada and who are not traveling on Canadian refugee travel documents are exempt from transit visa requirements.
Individuals holding a valid Canadian refugee travel document require a visa to transit through Iceland if they are citizens of countries whose nationals require a visa to visit Iceland, even if they have Permanent Resident status in Canada.
For more information, please see: https://island.is/tharft-thu-vegabrefsaritun/transit .
HOW TO APPLY FOR A SCHENGEN VISA FOR ICELAND
To apply for a Schengen visa for Iceland, please do so online through: VFS Global. For further information, applicants may contact VFS Global at 1-866-978-5904, Monday through Friday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm ET. VFS Global can also be reached by e-mail at: [email protected]. Please be aware that the waiting time for visas varies and can be many weeks long.
The Consulate of Denmark in New York City will be administering your digital visa application on behalf of Iceland and can be reached, if necessary, at: [email protected]. Prior to reaching out, however, please first try to have any outstanding questions regarding your application answered by VFS Global or by consulting the Embassy of Denmark's website regarding Schengen visas: https://canada.um.dk/en/travel-and- residence/visa
WHERE TO APPLY FOR VISAS FROM COUNTRIES OTHER THAN CANADA?
Please visit the following link in order to find the appropriate offices throughout the world that issue Schengen visas on behalf of Icelandic authorities: Directorate of Immigration - offices around the world
NOTE:
For all visitors to Iceland, please ensure that your passport or other travel document is valid 90 days beyond your return date from Iceland.
Please be advised that the Embassy of Iceland does not process any visa applications, the visa processing is done by VFS Global on behalf of the Embassy of Denmark, https://canada.um.dk/en/travel-and-residence/how -to-apply-for-a-visa/
Most visitors arrive to Iceland via flight.
A list of airlines who fly to Iceland can be found on the website of Visit Iceland.
It is possible to find multitude of websites dedicated to the tourism industry in Iceland, and for an unknown eye it is almost impossible to gather where to start and what source to trust.
Below you can find links to a few websites that are trustworty and reliable. Visiting these websites is a great way to start planning you trip to Iceland as you can find just about all the information you need on each of them.
Have fun in Iceland!
Iceland, long known for it's exotic nature, is picking up as a cultural destination, thanks to its many international cultural festivals, Harpa concert hall, musicians and the Icelandic sagas to mention only few reasons. Today, arts and culture is thriving in Iceland and the creative industries have become a vibrant and growing sector of the Icelandic economy.
There are festivals of some kind taking place each week of the year across our beautiful island, and although all of them are brilliant in their own Icelandic kind of way, we chose to only highlight the biggest festivals in each category below. If you want to look for another festival in Iceland the Embassy recommends that you visit one of the tourism websites you can find listed on this website.