Guide: work in Iceland

Nordic citizens do not need a work or residence permit to live and work in any Nordic country. However, they need to follow the rules of the state in question regarding registration in the National Registry. Further information can be found on the Info Norden website 

Unemployed persons from the Nordic countries who come to Iceland in search of work must obtain an Icelandic Id. No. from the National Registry of Iceland in order to register as seeking work at the nearest employment office of the Directorate of Labour. The addresses of the employment offices are available on the Directorate of Labour’s website.

You can read about seeking a job in Iceland on the Info Norden website. 

All the Nordic countries are members of the EEA Agreement, which means that individuals can go to another Nordic country for up to three months in search of work and still retain their right to unemployment benefits from their home country. You can read more about this on the Info Norden website. 

You can learn about these matters on the Info Norden website. 

Once you have moved to Iceland and registered with Registers Iceland, you should contact the Icelandic tax authority, the Directorate of Internal Revenue (Ríkisskattstjóri). An individual who is registered as resident in Iceland and works there must pay taxes. The Directorate of Internal Revenue's website contains information on taxation of income, pensions, shares, securities, benefits and the sale of assets.

As a general rule, you pay tax in the country where you work and earn income. You do not have to pay taxes in two states for the same income. Double-taxation conventions that apply between Iceland and most EEA countries cover this.

Persons who move to Iceland are responsible for notifying their move to Icelandic Health Insurance (Sjúkratryggingar Íslands). As a general rule, individuals will be covered by Icelandic Health Insurance six months after they have registered their residence in the country in the National Registry.

Citizens of the EEA and Switzerland who are sent to work temporarily in Iceland by their employer or are self-employed can continue to be insured by the social security administration of the country from which they came. They must submit an S1 certificate from their insuring country to Icelandic Health Insurance in order to obtain health insurance in Iceland. An S1 certificate is issued on the basis of an A1 certificate, which confirms that the employee is covered by the social security legislation of the issuing country.