relocating an entire family to Iceland?

Hi dreaming of Iceland,

Welcome to Expat.com!

I have created a new topic as from your post on the Iceland forum.

All the best,
Christine
Expat.com team

when you say you have the documentation ready, how exactly do you mean? If you've just printed the forms, you've still got quite a way to go before relocation will be successful. Some points:

-moving with a family means you have to prove you can support the family financially. Have you read the utl.is website in detail? it explains financial support requirements in addition to the types of family reunification visas.

-Iceland doesn't have any self-employed or freelancer visas, so you'll have to get a visa as a "qualified professional", hired by an Icelandic company. Not sure how feasible this is if you're a massage therapist.

-why do you want to move to Iceland? Have you been here before? Even the "major" city here is not that big, and smaller towns may have limited opportunities if you're trying to get hired as a massage therapist.

-if you're considering shipping from the STates, look into what it costs to actually move everything. Iceland does have plenty of pots and pans, and most of the essentials you need to get on with your life. Sheets won't fit because the beds are different sizes (unless you want to ship your bed too, but that will be probably quite expensive).

-learning as much Icelandic as possible now is useful- although people generally speak good English, not knowing Icelandic can be a hindrance to employment.

what is your husband planning to do? Is he working in a field that might qualify him for a professional visa?

- I only have the documentation printed. I know it takes a long time to get the ball rolling. I know you have to have the ID number to get a contract job and a place to live. I understand that you get paid by electronic deposit. The Employer takes care of the taxes and the money for the health care and the retirement.

- being able to support yourself- do you mean having a job with a contract or having a bank account with money to provide for us while we get situated? As I understand it you have to have take a course in Icelandic and have job contract then the people hiring you will help you find a place to live. But within that lies my dilemma will they help relocate an entire family or just one person. I have experience work in all types, but I was more interested in the gardening and reforestation. Massage is just what I have papered education in. I thought maybe Massage therapy might fall under a professional visa, but I suppose from your response it does not. I don't want to "freelance". I could possibly work for a hotel that offers Massages. I have experience in a lot of different areas from daycare to hotel front desk and cleaning, to working in the County Extension Office. My husband is working on his accounting degree. but he has "handy man" experience, he manages up-keep and repairs for 21 properties here.

-utl.is I have been around the website quite a bit but I will keep looking. This is about a 3-5 year plan we have for moving out there. I know you can stay for up to 3 months with out a visa and if your looking for work it can be extended to six months. Also on the utl.is web site it does not specify what a qualified professional is. unless it means you have a person in your family who already lives IN Iceland or has an Icelandic citizenship and  in that case we would not qualify this is what I found for Qualified Professional: http://utl.is/index.php?option=com_cont … 58&lang=en

- Have I ever been to Iceland, not yet, I have been looking into it for a few years though (relocating and visiting). Lately I have been looking at housing costs there, so hopefully we can save enough for a place to buy and not have to rent for too long. I know you have to register where you are living and such. I found a website where you can travel to Iceland and work and they go into detail about it, you can apply for six months to a year. There is a ticket back home if you work there for a year. I thought that might be a good way to start?

- pots and pans I wan't trying to be sarcastic or anything, I like cooking with the Cast Iron pans I have. Yes I noticed the beds look much different so I wouldn't mind getting a new one. As for bringing a car over... at this time I wouldn't be doing that, I do not want to be taxed on emissions from a 1990's car:)or pay the shipping fees. I know we would need a car to commute. I hear cars run about $30,000 USD that would have to be something we would have to look into more before I could make a concrete decision. Can you pass along any links for buying a car there? If cost serve us better in the long run to buy here and have it shipped then that's what we will do. The reason I asked is I want to bring as much as I can because I don't want to be spending all the money I make reacquiring essentials I could have brought from home. I would like to do this as cost effective as possible.

- Why do I want to move to Iceland, well there are alot of obvious reasons, then there are the ones I have made by doing my research and reading various things here and there. Iceland has geothermal heating for the majority of the country and they are in the process of learning how to harness the hydrogen and create fuel cells with that. Icelands government system is stronger than ours here in the US and seems to have the majority of its kinks worked out. I like what I have been reading about the Educational system as a whole. The country in itself in a little over 300,000 ppl. I read that Iceland has 80% Evangelical Lutheran's. Iceland seem so have pride in itself as a whole working unit. Iceland can support itself in economic crisis. There seems to be a spark that Icelanders have in their culture, they seem to have great pride in their history and work hard on creating their ever evolving future. I read they just cut some financing from their foreign aid . There are lots and lots of things about Iceland that I find appealing and make me want to move there. The beauty is part of it as well.

- the country living aspect, basically I would like to be involved with  the gardening and reforestation, I know my husband would like to possible help out with that as well. The options seem endless working in Iceland from this perspective. But you are there and I am here. Like I said 3-5 Years before this is a reality, I hope and pray sooner.We own our home here and like I said we have 2 small children and we would need to down size and see what we would want to do with the rest of our belongings. I don't care what town we live in to start I figure we will have to rent to start out and if in time we are financially sound enough to move further out then so be it. But I have been looking all around the island for property and what is near or in the town.

I have a few questions, is the Icelandic currency backed by Gold? and do people really use the 66 north to stay warm? (silly one but I just thought I'd ask.) I was looking into the real estate and I need to Google the words for insulation, geothermal, and summer house.


I would love it if you could send me any links or videos. Thank you for asking me questions, and looking at my post I do greatly appreciate it.If I have misunderstood anything I have read please correct me.Also If I have missed answering one of your questions or you don't understand my answer please let me know. Thank you again for your help. PS I know about the winter and the pretty much total darkness, but those geothermal pools along with the hot cocoa soup seem like they would help a bit!

Thanks! Glad to be here!

some clarification:

-support: there's no resettlement visa as such so supporting yourself means having a job that will make enough to pay for your family. Information on financial support here: http://utl.is/index.php?option=com_cont … 9&lang=enr

I'm not sure how many hotels would provide massage services outside of Reykjavik or mayybe Akureyri. Hotels outside these two towns are few and far between, and are generally much more basic with the services they provide. If they DO provide extra services, it'd be in the summer season only. It's hard to describe how sparsely populated the country is if you've never seen it.

-The visa/work information you have is not correct. As an American you can stay 90 days out of a six-month period in the Schengen zone (including Iceland and much of western Europe). So, if you spend a month in France, you can only spend two months in Iceland before you have to leave for three months. During that time you're not allowed to be working.
The six months for job seeking only applies if you are a citizen of an EEA country (European Economic Area, which is again most of western Europe). Americans don't count in this group, and I don't recommend you take the chance with this. If you do stay longer, there's a risk of getting caught, which will jeopardize your ability to stay legally if you get a job. Information here: http://www.mcc.is/english/extra/immigra … nd/non-eea

-Whatever site you're looking at, make sure it accepts applicants from the US. Many of the short-term work sites are only targeting EEA citizens since there's no visa paperwork required for them. I highly recommend visiting the country before you sell everything to relocate. Come in winter, and visit more than just Reykjavik.

-there are some links in this forum elsewhere with information on cars in Iceland that I suggest you check out. I never had to deal with any of this since I had a special vehicular arrangement during the time I had a car.

-what you say about the geothermal energy is mostly correct, but I'm not sure I can agree with you that the government is "stronger" than the USA. The last election was not a good result in the eyes of many people, and extreme spending cuts have done away with the ministry of the environment and are going into healthcare and education as well. I recommend reading this blog for some detailed analysis of the country:
http://icelandweatherreport.com/
also here
http://icelandreview.com/

Icelandic currency: it's a joke outside Iceland. You can't buy it in most banks outside Iceland, and if you try to take Icelandic currency out of the country, you have to prove your need for it. Even with a plane ticket you can only take a limited amount out. Anyone who says Iceland's fully recovered from collapse should consider whether a place with currency restrictions is truly in the clear.

66 north is worn, as is cintamani and other brands from US & Europe. Also wool. 66 North is really expensive though. I only have a few pieces that I bought in the discount store or received as gifts.

I will be very happy if i get there with my family and also get ajob thank

Hi omoregie linda,

May be some more information about the job you are looking for and more details about how we might help you? Thank you!

Regards,

David.

Expat-blog team.

Thanks for the information I will be doing more research but my stance is still the same. I am not sure how aware you are of what is going on in our country. I am not going to be getting into the details here as it would be way to information and this is about Iceland not the US. Like my name implies this is my dream, and since I have 2 small children it may not become the reality I want, but no matter, I am still going to look into it as best as I can because at this point in time it looks to be the safest, most stable place to relocate. Now I'm not sure if Iceland will take people seeking to leave for other reasons, like being persecuted for religious beliefs and what not but that is what it starting to happen here. I am very current with the current events, laws and bills going threw our govt. and it isn't good to say the least. So if you have any information on seeking Asylum that would be good to look into too.Here is a link as an example:  washingtonsblog.com/2013/04/the-u-s-government-believes-that-the-founding-father-were-ter    Are there any jobs that look like they are in demand there that are not being filled? 

With that I will look into the links you have posted. Having to deal with the currency issue, well if I plan to relocate, I don't plan on leaving. I suppose maybe a vacation but that wouldn't be for several years as we would need to establish our selves there which takes time. This will be a dream in progress, and I will be working on it. So thank you for your help it is appreciated.

asylum can be sought in Iceland, however they don't have a very good track record accepting people who seek it. People coming from war-torn countries with very poor personal safety are constantly being sent back:

http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/ … .news.aspx

I have doubts that coming from the states and saying you are seeking asylum for political reasons will be accepted, but you can of course try. The paperwork required for asylum seeking isn't clearly published, but there is information about it here:

http://utl.is/index.php?option=com_cont … 93&lang=en

People seeking asylum are usually relegated to a guesthouse in a rather remote part of the country, with limited spending money, and cannot work until a decision has been made on their case. I wouldn't recommend it for a family with small children unless you are coming from VERY dire straits (again, I have doubts that political disagreements with the USA would count quite like coming from a place where your very personal safety is constantly uncertain).

As for the conditions in America, I am aware of them. I have family there and still read the news regularly. I'm not sure what exactly you think you'd be escaping by leaving the states for Iceland but all I can say is that I advise reading as much as you can about Icelandic politics of recent years before you decide it is REALLY better. It´s very easy to say "it'll be great once I get out of XX place", only to discover after a few years, once you understand the language, it's really all the same shit in a different package.