Iceland sees surge in medical licence applications from abroad

According to mbl.is, 147 people from countries outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland applied for medical licences in Iceland over the past five years, as applications from abroad have risen sharply.

The figures are presented in an article in the Icelandic Medical Journal by doctors Anna Björg Jónsdóttir, Þórdís Jóna Hrafnkelsdóttir and Inga Sif Ólafsdóttir. They say the reasons for the increase should be investigated, including whether Iceland is more attractive because the licensing process is shorter and doctors are better paid than in neighbouring countries.

A total of 656 people who trained abroad applied for medical licences in Iceland between 2020 and 2025. Of these, 147 came from countries outside the EEA and Switzerland.

The authors say Icelandic medical licences are automatically recognised in countries with which Iceland has agreements, including through mutual recognition of professional education and qualifications in EEA countries and Switzerland. Licensing decisions must therefore meet international standards, they argue.

A regulation issued in 2023 improved the process for applications for professional and specialist licences from countries without agreements with Iceland on the recognition of professional education and qualifications. However, the authors say information provided to foreign doctors remains inadequate.

They warn that doctors who have learned Icelandic and passed the CCSE examination may end up waiting for adaptation positions that are unavailable because institutions lack funding to provide them.

Based on the number of doctors who completed the CCSE examination in 2024 and 2025, the authors say there are not enough adaptation positions available nationwide. Doctors in such positions are not equivalent to doctors who hold a medical licence, they emphasise.

The authors call for standards and assessment methods to ensure that adaptation positions improve patient and colleague safety, and that doctors who complete the period are confident and fully qualified to practise in Iceland. They also say there must be clear and safe procedures for identifying and responding to inadequate knowledge or skills, and that the 2023 regulation does not yet align sufficiently with neighbouring countries.