Iceland · Visa guide
Iceland · Visa guideIceland Family & Friends Visit Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa to visit family or friends living in Iceland — up to 90 days.
- ProcessingUsually about 15 calendar days from submission
- Visa categoryFamily & Friends Visit Visa
- Your guideOne consultant
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Iceland Family & Friends Visit Visa — overview
An Icelandic family-and-friends visit visa is a short-stay Schengen visa (Type C): up to 90 days in any 180-day period. It is decided by the Embassy of Iceland in New Delhi and handed in at VFS, but it starts online — the application is completed on Iceland's visa portal and the confirmation is shown at the counter.
Iceland publishes the amount you must be able to fund: 8,000 ISK a day if you are staying in a hotel, or 4,000 ISK a day where a third party bears the costs of the stay. Your host invites you through an online form on island.is rather than by letter.
Earliest slot we saw
Checked by hand · 26 September
- New Delhi
- 28 Sept
Tourist / short-stay appointments only. A snapshot from the portal on the date above, not a live feed. Slots move hour to hour and we never hold or sell them. All Iceland centres & earliest dates
Iceland puts a number on it
Most Schengen states ask for "sufficient means". Iceland's checklist gives the figure your bank statement must support for the entire trip:
- 8,000 ISK a day if you are staying in a hotel;
- 4,000 ISK a day if the expenses of the stay are borne by a third party — for a family visit, usually your host.
Work it out before you apply. Three weeks with your son, hosted, is 84,000 ISK — and it has to be visible in an original statement, every page stamped and signed by the bank, covering three months. Iceland asks for that statement from all applicants regardless of sponsorship.
Whose account, and what goes with it
The account may be in your name or your sponsor's. If you rely on the sponsor's account, the statement must travel with two things: a signed sponsorship letter and a signed copy of the sponsor's passport. Note that the copy of the sponsor's passport must itself be signed.
Two online steps before VFS
Iceland's process has a digital half:
- The application is completed on visa.government.is, and the confirmation of submission must be shown to VFS staff. You still bring the printed, signed Schengen form.
- The invitation is an online form on island.is ("Invitation Letter for visitors"), completed by your host — not a letter they type themselves. If your host is paying, island.is also has the Guarantee form for visits, the online sponsorship form.
Ask your host to do their form first; the rest of your file refers to it.
The insurance card is not the insurance
The checklist says it in capitals: an insurance card is NOT sufficient. Bring the policy schedule showing the dates, the coverage area, and cover of at least EUR 30,000.
A flight reservation with a PNR
Iceland wants the round-trip reservation to show the PNR number and the traveller's name — a screenshot of fares does not qualify.
Source: Embassy of Iceland in New Delhi — visa document checklist (tourism / business / visiting family and friends), February 2025 edition, as issued through VFS Global and held in our knowledge base. Amounts and requirements change; confirm against the current checklist before you submit.
12 items
Documents you need
Passport
Valid at least 3 months from the date you leave the Schengen area, issued within the previous 10 years, with at least 2 blank pages. If available, copies of Schengen entry and exit stamps from previous passports.
Schengen visa application, printed and signed
With one passport-style photograph, at most 6 months old, white background, 3.5 × 4.5 cm.
Online application — and its confirmation
The online form at visa.government.is. Confirmation that it has been submitted must be presented to VFS staff.
Travel medical insurance — the policy, not the card
Valid for all Schengen countries, at least EUR 30,000, stating the period of validity, the coverage area and the whole trip including arrival and departure days. An insurance card is NOT sufficient.
Proof of transportation
Round-trip flight reservation showing the PNR number and the traveller's name, plus intra-Schengen travel if you visit several states.
Proof of accommodation
If staying with family or a friend: proof of sponsorship and/or private accommodation from the host. Otherwise hotel or rental reservations for each state visited.
Cover letter
Purpose of travel, duration, names of anyone accompanying you, and transport and accommodation details.
Online invitation form from your host
For visiting family or friends, the host fills out Iceland's online invitation form on island.is. Visiting a spouse living in Iceland: a copy of the marriage certificate or proof of cohabitation. Visiting close relatives: proof of the family relationship.
Personal bank statement — from every applicant
Original, in the name of the applicant or the trip's sponsor, last three months, every page stamped and signed by the bank. Required regardless of sponsorship. It must show 8,000 ISK a day for a hotel stay, or 4,000 ISK a day if a third party bears the costs.
If a sponsor's account is used
A signed sponsorship letter and a signed copy of the sponsor's passport with the statement; a marriage certificate if the sponsor is your spouse.
Income-tax returns
ITR acknowledgements for the last two assessment years.
Proof of occupation
Employed: three months' payslips, employment contract and leave letter. Self-employed: company registration with GST number, business bank statement and a barcode-verifiable income-tax return. Retired: three months' pension statements.
5 steps
How the process works
Typical processing: Usually about 15 calendar days from submission — may extend up to 45 calendar days. Apply at least 2-3 weeks before travel.
Step 1
Free eligibility review
We assess your profile and build a document checklist matched to the embassy's requirements.
Step 2
Build the file & cover letter
Every document — finances, bookings, insurance and the cover letter — is prepared and verified.
Step 3
Book the VFS Global appointment
Applications in India are submitted through VFS Global — we schedule your slot.
Step 4
Submit & give biometrics
You attend the VFS centre to submit the file and provide fingerprints and a photograph.
Step 5
Decision & passport return
The embassy decides the application and your passport is returned through VFS.
Transparent
Costs & fees
Item
Amount
Schengen visa fee (adult)
EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11; under 6 exempt. Payable in INR.
EUR 90
VFS Global service charge
Plus optional add-ons such as courier.
Confirmed at booking
Government and third-party fees change often — we confirm the exact current amounts for your case before you pay anything.
5 answers
Frequently asked questions
The Embassy of Iceland states it: your statements must show that for the entire trip you have 8,000 ISK per day if staying in a hotel, or 4,000 ISK per day if the expenses of the stay are borne by a third party such as your host.
Through Iceland's online invitation form on island.is. If you are visiting your spouse, add a copy of the marriage certificate or proof of cohabitation; if visiting close relatives, proof of the family relationship.
No. Iceland's checklist says in capitals that an insurance card is NOT sufficient. Submit the policy document showing the period of validity, the coverage area and cover of at least EUR 30,000 for the whole trip.
Both. You complete the online application at visa.government.is and must show VFS staff the confirmation of submission, and you also bring the printed and signed Schengen application with a photograph.
Yes. The statement is required from all applicants regardless of sponsorship. It may be in your name or your sponsor's; if it is the sponsor's, it must come with a signed sponsorship letter and a signed copy of the sponsor's passport.
Why it matters
Going it alone vs filing with us
On your own
- Guessing the document list — one missing or wrongly formatted paper triggers a refusal.
- Generic cover letters copied from the internet that officers recognise and flag.
- No read on peak rejection windows or what this visa post is strict about.
- Government and VFS fees are non-refundable — money lost if you are refused.
- A refusal stamp follows you and weakens every future visa application.
With Lifeset Overseas
- An honest case assessment before you spend a rupee on government fees.
- A file built to the embassy's exact checklist and in the exact order.
- Weak finances, ties or purpose identified and fixed before submission.
- Previously refused? We can rescue and rebuild the file.
- Every case handled by one consultant, end to end.
Refused before?
A refusal isn't the end
A refusal is not a permanent bar — but it only improves if the actual reason is found and answered, and nobody can tell you a second application will succeed. If a Iceland visa has been refused, we:
- Read the actual refusal letter and pinpoint the real gaps.
- Advise whether to pull the officer's notes (CAIPS / GCMS) for the true reason.
- Identify which part was weak — funds, employment, purpose or ties.
- Tell you honestly whether to reapply now or strengthen the file first.
- Refused? Your fee back, or a rebuilt application free — your choice.
Other Iceland visas
Iceland Tourist Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa for tourism and holidays in Iceland — up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
Iceland Business Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa for business meetings, conferences and training in Iceland.
Iceland Study & Research Visa
A visa for study, research or an internship in Iceland — short stays use a Schengen visa; longer study needs a residence permit.
Iceland Cultural, Sports & Religious Visa
A short-stay Schengen visa for cultural, sporting and religious events and film crews in Iceland.
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