Cruise industry seeks 200 million kroner for port border checks

Representatives of companies serving cruise ships at Icelandic ports are calling for about 200 million kroner to be allocated to police border checks at ports in next year’s budget. mbl.is reported that Sigurður Jökull Ólafsson, chief executive of Cruise Iceland, raised concerns about the uncertain funding in a submission to Alþingi’s budget committee.

Ólafsson said the scale of border checks at ports has increased sharply in recent years, but additional funding has not been secured. He said police had requested about 200 million kroner and argued it was puzzling that the proposed budget made no provision for the work.

Since the end of the pandemic, a larger share of cruise passengers have started or ended their voyages in Iceland. It has also become more common for passengers to make their first entry to, or final departure from, the Schengen area by ship, particularly in Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður.

The EU Entry/Exit System became fully operational in spring 2026 and has substantially increased the workload for border checks at ports and international airports. Visitors arriving in Iceland from outside the Schengen area by air or sea must have their faces photographed and fingerprints recorded in a central database, a process that takes longer and requires more border officers than before.

Ólafsson said implementing the system is a legal duty for the relevant police authorities. He warned that failing to provide the requested funding could have serious consequences.

The request comes after the South Iceland police commissioner sought 700 million kroner to conduct and strengthen border checks at Keflavík Airport. In its submission on next year’s budget, Icelandair backed that request and warned that a lack of funding could seriously affect air travel, tourism and the economy.