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if you're looking for a job, you have the right to stay for six months. I'm not sure how the healthcare works though.

more info from the immigration office:

does it mean that if you cannot find a job in six months (just an extreme scenario, i know) you can get in trouble?

I think you'll have a hard time registering your residency, given that a reason to stay is part of the documentation that link says is required. If you haven't got a means of support, they may not let you register as a resident.

if you're not registered, you don't get a national ID, which means you pretty much can't do much. No bank account, limited healthcare access, and pretty much everything else. Iceland runs on the kennitala.

of course it would be nice if someone from EEA could confirm this since I don't have personal experience. I just know that before my registration went through, Iceland was a very frustrating place to get things done.

i got an answer from my possible new employer over there and they told me that as a EU citizen you get access to everything after 6 months, after which you automatically get the residency

Hope this can help someone else!

I was speaking to a guy here a few weeks ago who's from Ireland, and the picture he painted wasn't quite that simple. He said that getting registered (i.e. getting a kennitala) is far from automatic. He told me a story of six months of go-rounds with the registry office before he got his. It used to be quite simple to get the kennitala (and therefore be officially a resident in the national database), but it's apparently quite a different story now.

Ok i arrived in Iceland one week ago and i think i can givve more info about this subject Remember that this applies only for a EU citizen!

You can apply for a residency permit if you're unemployed in three different ways:

- You can register as a cohabitant or wife/husband in case your partner has already a job here and can provide for you. The "cohabitant" part is tricky since you must prove in some way or another that you already cohabited BEFORE getting to island (so for example you should provide a copy of a rent contract with both your names on it)

- You can register as an individual who can provide for him/herself: this is achieved by giving proof that your bank account has around 2500 EUR at the time of the request

- You can go to the Directorate of Labour and register as unemployed: this will give you access to a "limited" residency permit. You cannot get access to health insurance with it, but you can stay here for 6 months since you're proving that you're willing to find a job


This is all the info that i got: the process itself didn't sound painful at all, it should just take around 3-4 weeks to get the id.


A completely different story is to find an apartment here! We've been looking every damn minute of the past 7 days but still we haven't found anything yet!

Hope i've been helpful to others here

Thanks for the info . I am going back to Iceland in April to look around more and to see what is available housing wise . I am about two years out from being able to consider the move . I will be retiring early from the fire service so I will have support and also have other funds to live on . My biggest struggle will be moving my dog over which will be a tough one but not impossible.

Auron,

So if I have a web based business and enough cash is it feasible that I stay for a year without employment in Iceland?

thank you

@joeyeggs, note that auron's post begins with a caveat that the information only applies to a EU citizen. Your profile says you are American, so you would need to have a work/study/family reunification visa.

there is no "self employed" or entrepreneur visa here so I am not sure how you would be able to stay legally in Iceland.