Education
Preschool in Iceland
Education and qualifications in Iceland
The Icelandic preschool stage for children before compulsory primary school.
ENIC/NARIC Ísland: Iceland's Qualification Recognition Centre
Based at the University of Iceland, for degrees and regulated trades
If an employer or university in Iceland asks how your foreign degree compares, or you trained abroad in a regulated trade, ENIC/NARIC Ísland is usually where the answer starts. This explanation covers what its evaluation can and cannot do, how it differs from a professional licence or an admission decision, and when you might need it.
As written locally
ENIC/NARIC Ísland
Search official websites or match forms using this exact wording.
Evaluations of foreign education, not decisions
What ENIC/NARIC Ísland does
Where Iceland's recognition centre fits when your degree or trade training comes from abroad.
ENIC/NARIC Ísland is Iceland's national centre for the recognition of foreign qualifications, based at the University of Iceland. It gives free, advisory evaluations of foreign higher-education degrees for work or study, and it receives applications for licences in regulated trades, but it does not license health professionals or teachers.
ENIC/NARIC Ísland is part of the European network of national recognition centres. It is located at the University of Iceland (Setberg, Suðurgata 43, Reykjavík) and accepts applications through its online portal at enicnaric.is.
For a foreign university degree, it issues an academic evaluation that explains how the degree compares with Icelandic education. The evaluation is free and can be requested as verified or unverified. ENIC/NARIC itself says it can take up to three months once all documents are received. Some degrees from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden are recognised automatically. The evaluation is advisory: it does not make a binding decision, cannot be appealed, and does not by itself admit you to a university or give you the right to work in a regulated profession.
For regulated trades, such as chef, painter or electrician, you apply through ENIC/NARIC for a non-refundable fee of ISK 10,000. Trade experts give an opinion, and the District Commissioner of East Iceland (Sýslumaðurinn á Austurlandi) then issues the licence for a further fee. This can also take up to three months.
Other professions use their own authority: health professionals apply to the Directorate of Health (Embætti landlæknis), and teachers apply for a teaching licence through the Ministry of Education and Children. For upper-secondary education, island.is directs applicants to ENIC/NARIC, while transferring credits into an Icelandic upper-secondary school is decided by the school itself.
Key takeaways
- ENIC/NARIC Ísland evaluates foreign higher-education degrees free of charge.
- Its evaluations are advisory and cannot be appealed.
- Allow up to three months after all documents are submitted.
- Regulated trades are licensed through ENIC/NARIC and the District Commissioner of East Iceland, for a fee.
- Health professions and teachers are licensed by other authorities.
Job offers, study plans and regulated trades
When you need ENIC/NARIC Ísland
The centre becomes relevant when an employer or university asks how your foreign degree compares with Icelandic education, when you want to work in a regulated trade with training from abroad, or when you are unsure which authority recognises your qualification. The examples show how that plays out.
You meet ENIC/NARIC Ísland when an employer or university asks how your foreign degree compares with Icelandic education, when you want to work in a regulated trade with training from abroad, or when you are unsure which authority recognises your qualification. Apply early, because evaluations can take months and missing documents restart the wait.
Example situations
- An engineer with a degree from outside the EEA requests a verified evaluation so a new employer can set the right pay grade.
- A trained electrician applies through ENIC/NARIC for an Icelandic trade licence, pays the ISK 10,000 fee and waits for the trade experts' opinion before the licence is issued.
- A nurse learns that an ENIC/NARIC evaluation is not enough to work in a hospital and applies to the Directorate of Health for a practising licence.
Why some professions are recognised elsewhere
An evaluation is not a licence
How an evaluation differs from a practising licence or a university admission decision, including for nurses and teachers.
An ENIC/NARIC evaluation is not a work licence and not an admission decision. Nurses, doctors and other health professionals need a licence from the Directorate of Health, teachers need a teaching licence, and universities make their own admission decisions even when you attach an evaluation.
Schooling and study vocabulary to browse after ENIC/NARIC
More Icelandic education and qualification terms
After ENIC/NARIC Ísland, these cards explain other Icelandic terms from education and qualifications, along with some from working life, that you may meet when comparing schooling or training. Each card stands on its own: they share a broad area of life, not a single procedure.
Education
Compulsory School in Iceland
Education and qualifications in Iceland
The compulsory school stage combining primary and lower-secondary education.
Education
Upper Secondary in Iceland
Education and qualifications in Iceland
Education after compulsory school, including academic and vocational programmes.
Government
Immigration Directorate in Iceland
Immigration and residence in Iceland
The authority responsible for many residence permits, international protection matters, and citizenship applications.
Immigration
Residence Permit in Iceland
Immigration and residence in Iceland
Official permission for a non-EEA or otherwise qualifying foreign national to reside in Iceland under stated conditions.
Immigration
Work Permit in Iceland
Immigration and residence in Iceland
Permission that may be required for a foreign national to work in Iceland, separate from residence permission.
Where to next
Explore another Icelandic term
Search the native word or browse the area of life connected to the letter, portal or service you are using.
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