Companion Iceland
All topics
Everything we cover, in seven parts. Some pages help you prepare for something. Others explain how an Icelandic system works. Each one is marked, so you know what you are opening.
Where are you right now?
Planning your move
Before you pack or book
- • Can you legally move here
- • What work and pay are realistic
- • Papers to sort out while you are still at home
- • What the move really involves
Already in Iceland
Making the system work for you
- • Registration, kennitala and electronic ID
- • Tax cards, pay and your bank
- • Health cover, doctors and schools
- • Your rights at work, and where to get help
Jump to a section
01Moving & legal status
From deciding whether to come, to your first weeks, to the right to stay.
Before you move
PrepareCan you legally come, is work realistic, do the numbers work.
Your first weeks in Iceland
PrepareRegistration, kennitala, tax, health cover, everyday life.
Starting out in Iceland
PrepareTake-home pay, electronic ID, finding a room, the first winter.
Residency & permits
How it worksKennitala, permits, registration, who needs what.
Citizenship & the rights ladder
How it worksWhat changes at each rung: kennitala to passport.
Bringing your dog or cat
PrepareThe MAST permit, the rabies test timing, the quarantine.
02Work & careers
Earning a living here, and getting what you already know recognised.
03Money, banking & property
Tax, pay, banks and a home of your own, explained in plain words.
Talking to your bank
PrepareThe money words and the questions to ask before you go.
Taxes
How it worksTax cards, withholding, deadlines, the yearly statement.
Money & investment
How it worksPensions, banking, saving, sending money home.
How to save money in Iceland
How it worksOutlet shops, two-for-one offers, card rewards, and when shops lower prices.
Renting a home
PrepareSearching, deposits, the lease, housing support, avoiding fraud.
Buying property
How it worksWho can buy, the waiver, indexed vs non-indexed mortgages.
04Health & wellbeing
Getting care, getting through the winter, and knowing who to call.
05Family & community
Partners, children, faith and the people who make a place feel like home.
Family & relationships
How it worksMarriage, partners from abroad, divorce, custody.
Parents separated, or never together
How it worksPaternity, custody, where the child lives, contact, child support.
Child protection (barnavernd)
How it worksWhat the law says about reports, removal and parents' rights.
Where to meet people
PrepareRed Cross groups, libraries, pools, parent groups, clubs.
Religion & places of worship
How it worksServices in other languages, church tax, how registration works.
06Education & children
Daycare, school, university and learning Icelandic as an adult.
07Law, transport & public services
The everyday systems around you, and what to do when something goes wrong.
Getting around
PrepareFinding your bus and stop, the Klappið app, winter travel.
Weather warnings & roads
How it worksWarning colours, closed roads, and what they mean for work and school.
Driving in Iceland: your licence
How it worksSwapping a foreign licence, the car test, motorcycles, taxi, truck and bus, winter tyres.
Municipal support and services
How it worksGrants, daycare, housing support and crisis help from your sveitarfélag.
The law & you
How it worksYour rights, lawyers, fines, deportation risk.
Voting & elections
How it worksWho can vote, who cannot, and the vote foreign residents do have.
After death
How it worksWills, inheritance, repatriation.
Looking for your municipality? Reykjavík, the capital area and Reykjanesbær each have their own page.
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