Foreign citizens, except Nordic nationals, need a work and residence permit in order to work in the Faroe Islands.
If you are a citizen of a Nordic country, i.e. Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, no work permit is required to work in the Faroe Islands.
Researchers and lecturers invited to teach or conduct similar activities in the Faroe Islands can work without a work permit, provided the duration of their stay does not exceed three consecutive months.
Read more:
For stays longer than three months researchers and research candidates must have a residence and work permit.
The Faroe Islands have a general rule of only granting residence and work permit to foreign nationals with qualifications that are not available in the Faroe Islands.
Researchers must have a written job contract or job offer from a Faroese research institution specifying salary and employment conditions when applying for a permit. It is not required that the applicant is employed full time as a researcher. Salary and employment conditions must correspond to Faroese standards.
Research candidates who have a Master´s degree can be granted a residence and work permit if they want to conduct research as part of their further education or career development at a Faroese research institute or company which provides the necessary facilities. Research candidates must be able to support themselves by their own means or through payment from research institutes or employers in their country of origin while staying in the Faroe Islands.
Researchers and research candidates can get permission to sideline work if the work is relevant to their main employment.
Procedure
Applications for a residence and work permit in the Faroe Islands are processed by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration on consultation with the Faroese Immigration Office.
The application must be filed by the researcher and his or her employer together. The application must be submitted to a Danish diplomatic mission in the country where the researcher is residing.
Processing time for correctly completed applications for residence and work permit is normally within 3 months.
A residence and work permit for the Faroe Islands is normally granted with a validity of up to 1 year.
If the researcher wants to change employment to another research institution during his or her stay in the Faroe Islands, he or she must apply for a new residence and work permit before starting working with the new employer.
A step-by-step guide on how to submit an application for a residence and work permit in the Faroe Islands is available here: New in Denmark - Work in the Faroe Islands .
EU scheme
As the Faroe Islands are not a member state of the EU, the EU rules do not apply to the Faroe Islands. However, when the rate of unemployment in the Faroe Islands is low, EU citizens can apply for a residence permit through a special EU Scheme. The unemployment rate is currently below 3.5 per cent which makes it possible to apply for a residence and work permit based on this scheme.
EU citizens can start working immediately if their employer has been pre-approved to employ EU citizens after the special scheme by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration. A form has to be completed and handed to the Police on the first first day of work.
EU citizens who are employed by an employer who is not pre-approved, must apply for a work permit and can not start working until a permit has been issued by the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration.
Fast track arrangements
Certain groups of employees can be granted residence and work permission according to a special fast track arrangement.
- Doctors with an autorization to work in Denmark who hold a written job offer from a Faroese hospital can be granted a residence and work permit by the Danish Immigration Service without consulting the Faroese Immigration Office, provided requirement for the terms of employment, including salary and work conditions, are met.
- Athletes and coaches and oil industry employees can obtain special permits according to fast track arrangements.
Extension
Applications for extension of the residence and work permit must be submitted before the permit expires. The applicant is allowed to stay in the Faroe Islands and continue to work until the application has been processed.
Instructions on how to apply for an extension of a residence and work permit in the Faroe Islands is available here: Work in the Faroe Islands - Extension .
Mobility during stay
A foreign resident in the Faroe Islands will lose his residence and work permit if he leaves the Faroe Islands for an extended period of time, or if he no longer maintains a residence in the Faroe Islands.
Read more: