Last reviewed: 29 September 2026. Rules change, so check the official sources linked below before you act.
Moving to Iceland involves a lot of moving parts, and you don’t need to solve them all at once. It helps to think in stages:
Planning → Preparing → Arriving → Settling in
Visiting Iceland, working here temporarily and moving your legal domicile here are different things. What you need to do depends on your nationality, why you’re moving and how long you plan to stay.
Not sure where to start?
- Still deciding? Immigration → Jobs → Cost of living
- Moving soon? Documents → Accommodation → Money → Phone
- Already here? Residence registration → Kennitala → Healthcare → Banking
Planning your move
1. Check whether you can move to Iceland
Before booking flights or signing a lease, find out which rules apply to you. Nationality matters most, and your reason for moving (work, study, family) also affects your right to live and work here.
| If you are… | What it generally means |
|---|---|
| A Nordic citizen | You can usually live and work here. If you stay more than six months you must transfer your legal domicile, and you must report the move within one week of arrival, in person at Registers Iceland or your local police office. |
| An EEA/EFTA citizen | If you’ll stay three months or longer, you’re entitled to apply for legal domicile registration. If you’ll stay six months or longer, you’re required to. Registration gives you a kennitala. |
| From outside the EEA/EFTA | You need a residence permit if you intend to stay more than three months, so sort this out before you move. The Directorate of Immigration decides on permits. Your kennitala is normally issued through the permit process, and you can’t register a legal domicile without the permit. |
In all cases, staying six months or longer generally means you need to register a legal domicile. Start with the rules that apply to you, not with someone else’s experience.
2. Work out whether you can afford to get established
Your normal monthly budget is only part of the picture. The useful question isn’t “Can I afford to live in Iceland?” but “Can I afford to get established here?” Your first weeks may include:
- rent and a security deposit
- temporary accommodation
- food and transport
- luggage or moving costs
- household basics
- phone and other setup costs
- a gap before your first salary
Build in a financial buffer wherever possible.
3. Decide whether you need a job before you move
Some people arrive with a job arranged; others search once they’re here. Which is realistic depends on your immigration route, occupation, language skills and savings. Ask yourself:
- Does my immigration route depend on employment?
- Can I legally look for work after arriving?
- Is Icelandic commonly required in my field?
- Do my qualifications need to be formally recognised?
- How long could I support myself without income?
English is widely used in some workplaces, but requirements vary a lot by sector and employer. If you’re arriving without work, make sure your savings cover a realistic job search. Once you start working, you’ll also need to understand basic payroll and tax withholding.
Read: Is It Harder for Foreigners to Find Work in Iceland? →
Read: Moving to Iceland Without a Job →
4. Find somewhere to stay
You don’t need your perfect long-term home before you move, but you do need somewhere legitimate and affordable to land. Separate the problem into two stages:
Somewhere to arrive → Somewhere to live
Compare temporary and longer-term options, including rent, deposits, location and transport. Be cautious about sending money for accommodation you haven’t verified. Temporary housing gives you time to learn neighbourhoods and commuting before you commit. Also, Reykjavík isn’t all of Iceland, and where you work may shape where it makes sense to live.
This matters for registration too: a legal domicile needs a real address, and places such as guesthouses and work camps don’t qualify. Check how your landlord or accommodation can support your registration.
Preparing to move
5. Get your documents and existing accounts ready
Depending on your circumstances you may need:
- passport or national ID card
- immigration or residence documents
- employment contract or offer
- rental agreement
- birth or marriage certificates
- health-insurance documentation, including proof of previous public coverage if you have it
- professional qualifications and education records
- certified copies or translations where required
Keep originals together and store secure digital copies as well.
Also, don’t dismantle your old financial and digital life too quickly. Before leaving:
- keep your existing bank account active
- keep your existing phone number
- make sure your cards work abroad, and check foreign transaction charges
- make sure you can still receive two-factor authentication codes
- keep access to your main email account
- have more than one way to pay, and emergency money you can reach
You can simplify later. During the move, flexibility is more useful.
Arriving in Iceland
6. Register your residence and get your kennitala
A kennitala is Iceland’s ten-digit national ID number. It’s used for government services, employment, banking and more. When you register your legal domicile you are assigned one, so the two are closely linked. How you get there depends on your nationality (see the table in step 1).
Legal domicile (lögheimili) is your officially registered permanent residence, not just wherever you’re staying. Registration is done at Registers Iceland, and if you move afterwards you must report the change of address within seven days.
You may also come across a system ID number. It’s not a kennitala and doesn’t give you the same rights: Registers Iceland states that it isn’t equivalent to a residence permit and doesn’t grant rights such as social-security payments. It can also cause problems with banking and electronic ID.
Read: How to Get a Kennitala in Iceland →
7. Check your healthcare coverage
Don’t assume you’re covered by Icelandic public health insurance from day one. Moving your legal domicile to Iceland generally means a waiting period before you’re insured, and during it you pay the full cost of care.
How long is the wait? Generally three months from the date Registers Iceland registers your legal domicile, according to Iceland Health. This was cut from six months for people moving from outside the EEA, with most of the changes taking effect on 1 August 2026, as Iceland Review reported. Many older guides and some other pages still say six months, so check the date on anything you read.
You may be able to skip the wait if you were insured in the social-security system of another Nordic or EEA country, the UK, Switzerland, Greenland or the Faroe Islands. Private insurance doesn’t count. Nordic returnees within 12 months, some family members of insured EEA nationals and some recent students may also qualify, and there are limited medical exemptions (see the official exceptions).
What to do:
- Apply for health insurance through Ísland.is one day after Registers Iceland registers your legal domicile. If you have a European Health Insurance Card, include a copy (front and back) to speed things up.
- Ask whether your permit or visa route requires private insurance for the gap, and buy cover if you need it.
- If you need care while your application is processed, bring your EHIC if you have one, or pay as uninsured and apply for reimbursement once retroactive insurance is approved.
The question to answer before you travel: what covers me between arriving and becoming insured?
8. Get connected
Reliable phone and data make everything else easier. You can keep roaming at first, buy an Icelandic SIM, use an eSIM or move to a local plan. An Icelandic number is useful but not essential.
You’ll also meet electronic ID (rafræn skilríki), which is used for online banking, government services and other systems. It can be app-based, so it doesn’t always depend on a physical SIM.
9. Open a bank account
A kennitala is commonly required for a standard Icelandic account, and electronic ID often makes online onboarding easier. Some banks offer in-person routes for people who can’t finish online. Don’t close your old account too soon: keeping both gives you a fallback while salary, cards and transfers move across.
Read: How to Open a Bank Account in Iceland as a Newcomer →
Settling into life in Iceland
10. Start work, or keep looking
If you have a job, make sure your employer has the details it needs, confirm where your salary is paid, and check your first payslip rather than assuming it’s right. If you’re still searching, use your first weeks to adjust: Are certain qualifications a barrier? Is Icelandic asked for more than you expected? Are opportunities concentrated in particular places or industries? Keep an eye on how long your buffer will last.
11. Sort out longer-term housing and transport
Once the urgent admin is done, you can decide where you actually want to live. Consider commute time, rent, access to work, local services, public transport, whether you need a car, and life inside or outside the capital area. A setup that works in central Reykjavík won’t necessarily work elsewhere. Driving licence rules and language learning options are also worth looking into at this stage.
Once the urgent stuff is done…
Once your residence, ID, healthcare, phone and banking basics are in place, you can turn to everything else.
Read: Your First 30 Days in Iceland →
Before you leave home: quick checklist
- important documents, plus secure digital copies
- initial accommodation
- residence permit, if you’re from outside the EEA/EFTA
- proof of previous public health coverage, and a plan for the gap before Icelandic cover starts
- access to your existing bank account and phone number
- cards that work internationally, and more than one payment method
- working two-factor authentication and access to your main email
- emergency funds
Check the official rules
Immigration, residence, registration and healthcare requirements depend on your nationality and circumstances, and they change. Moving2Iceland helps newcomers understand the process, but it isn’t a substitute for official guidance. Before acting, check the current information from Ísland.is, Registers Iceland, the Directorate of Immigration and Iceland Health.