Companion Iceland
All topics
Every section of the site, grouped by the part of life it touches. Each page is being rewritten in the same shape: the situation, what actually happens, what to do, and the trap to avoid.
Settling in
Before you move
The decision page: can you come, is work realistic, do the numbers work.
Your first weeks in Iceland
Registration, kennitala, tax, health cover, everyday life.
Starting out in Iceland
Take-home pay, kennitala, finding a room, first winter.
Residency
Kennitala, permits, registration.
Citizenship & the rights ladder
What changes at each rung: kennitala to passport.
Housing
Renting, deposits, address, bills.
Buying property
Who can buy, the waiver, indexed vs non-indexed mortgages.
Bringing your dog or cat
The MAST permit, the rabies test timing, and the two-week quarantine.
Work & money
Work rights
Contracts, unions, sick leave, holidays.
Taxes
Tax cards, withholding, deadlines, fines.
Money & investment
Pensions, banking, sending money home.
Recognising foreign qualifications
Degrees, trades and licensed professions: the three routes.
Driving licence
The countdown after you register, swapping a foreign licence, the Icelandic test.
Health, family & life
Healthcare
Sjúkratryggingar, doctors, what is covered.
The dark winter
Daylight, vitamin D, winter low mood, and where to ask for help.
Family & relationships
Marriage, partners from abroad, divorce, custody.
Parents separated, or never together
Paternity, custody, where the child lives, contact, child support, and threats.
Child protection (barnavernd)
What the law actually says about reports, removal and parents' rights.
Getting around
Finding the right bus for your address, the stop, the Klappið app, and winter.
Where to meet people
Red Cross groups, libraries, pools, parent groups, unions and clubs.
Education
Daycare, school, university, Icelandic for adults.
Studying in Iceland
Student permit, money proof, insurance, housing, work, after graduation.
After death
Wills, inheritance, repatriation.
When things go wrong
The law & you
Your rights, lawyers, fines, deportation risk.
Voting & elections
Who can vote, who cannot, the EU referendum, and municipal voting rights.
Municipal support and services
Grants, daycare, housing support, crisis help from your sveitarfélag.
Reykjavík
Applying in Reykjavíkurborg: portal, housing support, Frístundakortið, service centres.
Capital area municipalities
Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær, Seltjarnarnes.
Reykjanesbær
Keflavík and Njarðvík: local applications, shift work, civil protection.
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