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Law & public life · Elections

Voting in Iceland

On Saturday 29 August 2026 Iceland votes on whether to restart membership talks with the European Union. Many people living here are asking the same three questions: am I allowed to vote, where do I go, and what does the result mean for me? This page answers those in plain words.

Guided by a resident. This is a subject where guessing is not fair to anyone, so every rule below comes from Registers Iceland (Þjóðskrá Íslands), Ísland.is, or the official referendum site. We take no side on how anyone should vote. We only explain how the vote works.

Last verified 29 August 2026 · skra.is, island.is, thjodaratkvaedi.is

What is being voted on

The vote is a national referendum (þjóðaratkvæðagreiðsla, say: THYOH-thar-at-kvaytha-graytsla). Voters are asked whether Iceland should restart accession negotiations with the European Union. It is a vote about starting talks, not a vote to join. Iceland is already in the European Economic Area (EEA), which is why EEA citizens can already live and work here.

The official information page for the vote is thjodaratkvaedi.is.

Who can vote in this referendum

Registers Iceland sets out three rules for national referendums:

  • An Icelandic citizen who is 18 years old on election day and is registered as living in Iceland (legal domicile, lögheimili).
  • An Icelandic citizen who has moved abroad keeps the right to vote for sixteen years from the date the legal domicile moved out of Iceland. After sixteen years abroad, you must apply to Registers Iceland to be put back on the electoral register.
  • Foreign citizens living in Iceland who have not been granted Icelandic citizenship do not have the right to vote in parliamentary elections, presidential elections or national referendums.

There is one old exception: Danish citizens who lived in Iceland on 6 March 1946, or in the ten years before that date, under Act No. 85/1946.

Source: Registers Iceland — Public referendum 2026 and Ísland.is — Who can vote?

The election you can vote in as a foreign resident

Citizenship decides national elections. Where you live decides municipal elections (sveitarstjórnarkosningar). That is the door that is open to foreign residents:

  • Nordic citizens (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) can vote in municipal elections once they have legal domicile in the municipality and are 18 on election day.
  • All other foreign citizens can vote in municipal elections after having had legal domicile in Iceland continuously for three years on election day, and being 18 on election day.

This matters more than people expect. Your municipality decides daycare places, schools, social support, snow clearing, sports subsidies for children and local planning — the parts of daily life you feel every week. Source: Registers Iceland — Foreign nationals.

If voting matters to you long term, the route to national voting rights is citizenship. See our Citizenship page.

Where you vote, and what to bring

You are on the electoral register (kjörskrá) in the municipality where your legal domicile was registered on the reference date, 22 July 2026. Registers Iceland has a search: you type your kennitala and it shows whether you are on the register, your municipality, your polling place and your voting district.

Check yours here: Where shall I vote — Registers Iceland. Questions about the register go to kosningar@skra.is.

Bring identification with a photo. A voter must be able to show who they are. Voters who need help in the voting booth have the right to assistance; the rules for that are on Ísland.is — For voters. Early voting for this referendum opened on 27 July 2026, before election day itself.

Questions people are actually asking

I have a permit and I pay tax here, so why can I not vote?

What actually happens
Iceland separates the two things. Tax and social contributions follow where you work and live. The right to vote in national elections follows citizenship. Paying tax here does not put you on the register for a national referendum.
What to do
Use the vote you do have. Check whether you meet the municipal rule — Nordic citizen with domicile, or three continuous years of domicile for everyone else — and make sure your address is registered correctly with Registers Iceland, because the register is built from that address.
The common trap
Leaving an old address registered. If your legal domicile is wrong, you can end up on the register in the wrong municipality or not at all.

If Iceland starts EU talks, does my permit change?

What actually happens
No. This vote is about whether to restart negotiations. Nothing about residence permits, work permits or EEA rights changes because of the vote itself. Any real change would come years later, through law, and would be announced by Útlendingastofnun and Ísland.is.
What to do
Keep doing what your permit requires: renew on time, keep your address registered, keep your insurance in order. See Residency.
The common trap
Acting on rumours in group chats. Immigration rules change through published law, not through election results.

My spouse is Icelandic. Can they vote for both of us?

What actually happens
No. A vote belongs to one person. Nobody may vote on behalf of someone else, and nobody may be told how to vote. If a voter needs physical help in the booth, they can ask for assistance under the official rules.
What to do
If you cannot vote yourself, you can still take part in the conversation: read the official material on thjodaratkvaedi.is and talk about what the result would mean for your household.
The common trap
Pressuring anyone about their vote. Voting is secret in Iceland, including inside a family.

I became an Icelandic citizen recently. Am I on the register?

What actually happens
The register for this referendum was drawn from legal domicile and status on 22 July 2026. If your citizenship and address were registered by then, you should appear.
What to do
Enter your kennitala in the Registers Iceland search. If you believe you are missing, write to kosningar@skra.is rather than waiting until election day.
The common trap
Turning up at a polling station in a municipality you moved to after the reference date. You vote where the register says, not where you sleep today.

Where to read more

We do not tell anyone how to vote, and we do not campaign. If you find something on this page that is out of date, write to hello@yourcompanion.is and we will check it against the official source.

See also: This week in Iceland and The law & you.

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