For people moving to, and living in, Iceland
Practical guidance for moving to, and living in, Iceland
A quiet companion for the practical side of life here. Whether you are planning your move, or you have already arrived, this guide explains taxes, healthcare, housing, your rights at work, written plainly, kept current, and always free to read.
Guided by a resident. Written by a resident of Iceland and checked against official sources, so you can follow each step with confidence.
Your first weeks in Iceland
Your first weeks here are mostly paperwork. The other half is simply knowing how to live here day to day.
The paperwork
- • Register your legal address with Þjóðskrá to get a kennitala.
- • Open a bank account, and tell your employer how to use your personal tax credit (persónuafsláttur) through Skatturinn.
- • Get electronic ID (rafræn skilríki) on your phone. Almost every office uses it.
- • Health insurance here generally starts three months after your legal domicile is registered. Some people transferring cover from abroad qualify sooner.
- • Find which collective agreement covers your job and which union represents it. The agreement sets minimum pay whether or not you join.
Everyday life
- • Getting around: the Strætó bus, paid with the Klappið app. How to find your bus and your stop.
- • Where you sleep at first: a hostel or a shared room is normal while you look for a rental.
- • Food: Bónus, Krónan and Nettó are the everyday, lower-cost shops.
- • Find your nearest apótek (pharmacy) before you are sick.
- • Find your heilsugæsla (health centre). For advice, call 1700.
- • Tap water is safe to drink. Hot water smells of sulphur, that is normal.
- • Go to the local sundlaug (swimming pool). It is where life happens here.
- • Learn the emergency number: 112. It works for everything.
Topics
What would you like to understand?
Settling in
Before you move
Can you legally come, what work exists, and what to finish at home first.
Your first weeks in Iceland
Registration, kennitala, tax, health cover, and how daily life works here.
Starting out in Iceland
Take-home pay, kennitala and electronic ID, finding a room, the first winter.
Residency
Kennitala, permits, registration, the basics of legally being here.
Citizenship & the rights ladder
What you can do at each rung: kennitala, permanent residence, passport.
Housing
Renting, deposits, registering an address, heating and bills.
Buying property
Who can buy, the waiver, indexed vs non-indexed mortgages.
Work & money
Work rights
Contracts, unions, sick leave, holidays, what employers must do.
Taxes
Tax cards, withholding, the yearly statement, missed deadlines.
Money & investment
Pensions, banking, sending money home, building credit.
Recognising foreign qualifications
Degrees, trade certificates and professional licences: which office, what to send.
Driving licence
How long your foreign licence works here, who can swap it, and the Icelandic test.
Health, family & life
Healthcare
Sjúkratryggingar, finding a doctor, what is actually covered.
Family & relationships
Marriage, bringing a partner from abroad, divorce, custody.
Parents separated, or never together
Paternity, custody, where the child lives, contact, child support, and what a threat really means.
Child protection (barnavernd)
Who must report, what can and cannot cost you custody, and your rights as a parent.
Getting around
Which bus goes to your address, finding the stop, paying with Klappið, winter.
Education
Daycare, school, university, Icelandic for adults.
Studying in Iceland
Student permit, proof of money, insurance, student housing, working while you study.
Where to meet people
Red Cross groups, libraries, pools, parent groups and language cafés.
After death
Wills, inheritance for foreigners, repatriating a body.
When things go wrong
The law & you
Your rights, finding a lawyer, fines, how a record affects residency.
Voting & elections
Who can vote in Iceland, the EU referendum, and the vote foreign residents do have.
Municipal support and services
Housing support, daycare, leisure grants, crisis help, and how to find your sveitarfélag.
Looking for your municipality? Reykjavík, the capital area and Reykjanesbær each have their own page.
This site is independent and non-commercial. It exists because moving to a new country and settling into it are hard enough without scattered, half-correct information. We try to write what we wish we had been told before we arrived, and what we learned once we were here.
Visiting Iceland instead of moving here? Our sister site Fylgja Iceland is the practical companion for short stays and travel.
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