Iceland, the ice island of Europe, where true travelers go. In addition to the perfection of its nature and geography, with its beautiful landscapes, geysers, mountains, auroras and many other unique features that it has, Iceland is one of the first countries that come to mind when it comes to an ideal trip for many. Ideal for tourist travel, business trips are also often organized to this country. If you also want to travel to Iceland and do your work, and also want to explore this fascinating ice island, you can apply for an Iceland business (business trip) visa. You can read more about the documents you will need when applying for a business visa, the letter of invitation and the general visa procedure in this article.
Iceland Visa Types
You can obtain a visa by applying for an Iceland Schengen visa to realize your temporary trip to Iceland, which is included in the list of Schengen countries. The reasons for applying for this type of visa can be tourism, visiting family or friends, business trips, medical examinations or treatment, short-term studies, exchange programs, and many other non-permanent nuances. If you want to receive long-term studies (such as bachelor's, master's, doctorate, etc.) in Iceland with a duration of more than 90 days or to work permanently in an institution located here, apply for an Iceland national visa if you have official invitations or acceptance letters from those educational and work institutions.
To realize your short-term business trip, you apply for the "business visa" type of the Iceland Schengen visa. It should be noted that a short-term business visa does not give you the right to work permanently in Iceland, this visa is provided for your business trip.
Iceland Schengen Visa
Iceland Schengen visa can be single-entry or multiple-entry like other Schengen visas. At the same time, you can also apply for long-term visas, i.e. for three months, six months, one year, two years, or five years. Once you have an Iceland Schengen visa, you can enter any Schengen country during your trip. However, in any case, we recommend that you make your first entry into the Schengen area from the country where you received your visa, i.e. Iceland. Otherwise, if you try to enter the Schengen area with an Iceland visa from another country, the border service of that country may turn you back and not allow you to enter the country, unless you mention it during your visa application. This experience has been experienced in some cases and therefore we advise you to avoid this risk.
If you apply for an Iceland Schengen visa, you must indicate Iceland as the country where you will stay the most during your travel period.
Collection of Documents for Iceland Schengen Visa Application
When applying for an Iceland Schengen visa, you must submit the following documents:
Original and copy of the first page of your foreign passport
Copies of your previous visas and entry-exit stamps, if applicable
A copy of your identity card
Reference from the place of work* and, if applicable, an extract from the salary card (for persons studying, a reference from the educational institution) Reference and statement from the bank account in your name (Detailed information about the amount is mentioned below)
Copies of extracts* of properties in your name and a copy of your car's passport, if applicable
Proof of your marital status* (copy of your marriage certificate if you are married, birth certificate if you have children under 18 or divorce certificate if your marriage has broken down)
2 pieces of 3.5x4.5 size, biometric and your photo on a white background
Hotel reservations you made for your trip
Airline reservations you make for your trip
Schengen-compliant travel insurance that will fully cover your trip
Application form filled in English
A printed version of your online payment slip
A formal invitation letter for the business institution, event or meeting
Documents marked with "*" must be submitted to the embassy in English. If you have obtained the original document in Azerbaijani rather than in English, in this case, each of these documents must be translated into English and certified by a notary and submitted to the embassy.
If you do not have the original of the invitation letter, you can submit a scanned version to the embassy in printed form. The invitation letter must have the signature and seal of the institution that invited you. Also, on the invitation letter, the name of the invited person, that is, your name, and additionally, if possible, your date of birth, passport number, and travel dates must be mentioned. If your place of stay is organized by the institution that invited you, in this case, you may not include a hotel reservation in your documents if the address of your stay is mentioned in the invitation letter sent to you.
After your documents have been accepted, in any case, during your visa procedure, you may receive a call from the embassy and you may be asked to submit new documents.
The amount in your bank account is based on the travel dates you have indicated, i.e. the length of your stay in Schengen, the price of the flight tickets and hotels you have booked, etc. varies depending. In general, it is recommended that you have at least AZN 3,500-5,000 in your bank account for a one-week trip (equivalent to Euro or US dollars). This amount should fully cover your travel plan. When calculating the amount, you can sum up the average daily cost of 70-80 euros for each day you indicate that you will stay in the Schengen area with the price of your ticket and hotel reservations, and expect a little higher than the figure you received.
If your expenses are covered by the institution that invited you, this must be mentioned in the invitation letter. In this case, you can provide a statement from your bank account, but in any case it is advisable to show a small amount in your account in your name.
If you are an entrepreneur, you can submit the documents that will replace the certificate from the workplace (a copy of the TIN, a certificate issued by the Ministry of Taxes about your turnover, an extract from the register of your company) to the embassy. If you are not working, studying or in any case sponsoring another person to cover the costs of your trip, in this case a copy of that person's identity card, proof of employment (if self-employed, the documents listed above), proof of bank account and statement (this bank account can be both in your name and in the name of the sponsor), if you have a family bond, a document confirming this (for example, if it is a parent, your own birth certificate, if it is a brother or sister, both of your birth certificates, etc.) and a paper about sponsorship to the embassy must be presented. If the applicant is under 18 years of age, in this case, if he is traveling alone, a copy of the permission document to leave the country from both parents or, if he is traveling with one of the parents, must also be submitted during the visa application.
It should be noted that even if you submit documents such as TIN, turnover certificate from the Ministry of Taxes, extract from the register of your company or sponsorship paper, permission paper, you must have each of these documents translated and certified into English by a notary.
Visa Procedure
An application for an Iceland Schengen visa is made at the VFS Global visa application center of the Norwegian Embassy in Azerbaijan located in Ankara. The visa decision is made by the consul in the consular department of the Norwegian Embassy in Ankara.
Wait for the visa appointment to submit the documents.
Visa applications can be made no earlier than 6 months before the date of the trip. All applicants are required to be personally present when submitting documents, except for applicants who are exempt from fingerprinting. Applicants who are free of fingerprints do not have to be personally present if they give a notarized power of attorney to another person to present the documents.
Persons exempt from fingerprinting are divided into the following groups:
Persons who have received a Schengen visa in the last 5 years and have their fingerprints in the system
Children under 12 years old
Persons who are physically unable to provide fingerprints;
Holders of a diplomatic or special passport and accredited to a diplomatic or consular post in Belgium
Diplomatic or consular personnel and their family members (spouse and dependent children) who will be assigned to an international organization with an Icelandic headquarters or representative office.
The Iceland Schengen visa process usually takes 4 weeks (excluding official non-working days related to holidays) from the date of application. This period includes the 10-15 days required for the delivery and return of the documents from the visa center in Azerbaijan to the embassy in Ankara, as well as the 10-15 days required for the decision to be made after the application is received by the embassy in Ankara.
The visa fee of 35 euros is paid online after completing and confirming the application form online. When submitting the documents, the service fee of the visa center is 55 AZN, the two-way courier service fee is 74 AZN, and the SMS service fee is 3 AZN to inform about the completion of the visa procedure and the passport is ready. These payments are accepted in cash and only in AZN.
Note that if the applicant wants the visa result to be known sooner than 4 weeks, he can use the Premium Express delivery service to get his documents to and from Ankara faster. In this case, the courier should pay 208 AZN instead of 74 AZN. Premium Express delivery can be expedited. In this case, the delivery and return of the documents to Ankara takes 5 working days instead of 2 weeks. This service has no effect on the duration of the visa procedure at the embassy. However, our experience shows that for urgent business trips or conference participation, the inviting institution can contact the embassy in Ankara and ensure that the decision is issued sooner than 15 days, or even within one working day.
Possibility of Iceland Schengen Visa
As with the visa application of any country, your chances of getting a visa in Iceland depend on the status of your profile. Your workplace and position should be normal and good, your monthly income should be slightly higher than the standard salary range (in experience, there have been many cases of obtaining visas for people with a monthly income of 500-600 AZN), you should show enough money in your bank account to cover your entire trip, the nuances that bind you to the country Availability and travel history (property in your name, family and children) are factors that increase your chances of getting an Iceland Schengen visa. For those who have never had a Schengen visa before, the Norwegian embassy can be seen as a relatively risky first visa application option. Although in our experience many applicants have received their first Schengen visa from the Norwegian embassy, unless the other nuances in your profile (listed above) are high, the Norwegian embassy is a risky embassy to get your first Schengen visa. In any case, having previous Schengen visas is a factor that increases your chances of getting an Iceland visa from the Norwegian embassy. When applying for a business visa, the official letter of invitation you will present can increase your chances of getting a visa. If the purpose and reason for the trip stated in your invitation letter is related to your field of work or if you have made similar business trips before, these nuances will have a positive impact on your profile.
Visa Support to Iceland
We, as a Vizam.az company, can help you during your Iceland Schengen visa application. If you use our visa support service, our service includes making an appointment on your behalf at the visa center, filling out your application form, professionally preparing your documents, arranging your flight tickets that will cover your trip and will include purchasing your hotels, setting up your visa travel tour plan, making travel insurance to cover your trip, consulting, and following up on your visa procedure. Note that the travel insurance fee will be calculated in addition to our service fee. The insurance fee is usually in the range of 16-18 AZN for 1 week. You can get this insurance yourself. We can also assist you with notarizing and notarizing your documents in English. The additional fee for each document will be AZN 16. In general, our company's Iceland Schengen business visa support service fee is 69 AZN per person.
You can click here to place your order, contact 050/55-3000135 for more information.
Warm and happy moments await you on the ice island! Happy travels!
