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 which exempts travelers from border controls travelling between 26 EU and EFTA countries. A uniform Schengen visa issued by one of the Schengen states is valid for travel within the whole Schengen area. Schengen visa should be applied for at an Embassy representing the state where the main destination is within the Schengen area.
CANADIAN TRAVEL DOCUMENT
People travelling with Canadian travel documents, whether they have a permanent residence status in Canada or not, have to obtain a visa for either visiting or transiting through Iceland. Please ensure your travel document is valid for 90 days beyond your return date from Iceland.
CANADIAN PASSPORT
When travelling on a Canadian passport no visa is required for a tourist staying up to 90 days in Iceland. Please ensure your passport is valid for 90 days beyond your return date from Iceland.
WHAT NATIONALITIES REQUIRE A VISA FOR VISITING OR TRANSITING VIA ICELAND?
Please visit the website of Iceland's Directorate of Immigration to see if individuals with your citizenship require a visa before entering Iceland: Directorate of Immigration - who needs a visa
Citizens of the following countries typically require a transit visa even if they are not leaving the secure transit area at the Keflavik International Airport: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eastern Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka. However, some exemptions apply. For more information, see: https://island.is/tharft-thu-vegabrefsaritun/transit
APPLYING FOR SCHENGEN VISA
To apply for a visa, please contact VFS Global at 1-866-978-5904 Monday to Friday 11:00 to 15:00 ET. E-mail: [email protected]. Please be aware that the wait time for a visa 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 COUNTIRES 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 your passport or other travel documents are 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.