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Awesome Reykjavík

A guide to moving to Reykjavík and the capital region.

Pages that are not yet linked are suggestions for pages. We welcome contributions. See how to contibute below.

Guides

  1. Finding a temporary place to stay
  2. Working in Iceland
  3. The Local tech scene
  4. Mobile and internet access
  5. Kennitala (national ID)
  6. Auðkenni (electric identity)
  7. Finding a permanent place to stay
  8. Guide to neighborhoods and postal codes
  9. Public transport
  10. Getting a car
  11. Shopping for furniture and electronics
  12. Grocery shopping
  13. Furniture and electronics
  14. Getting a bank account
  15. Driver’s license
  16. Access to healthcare
  17. International schools
  18. Getting help
  19. Language
  20. Eating out and ordering in
  21. About the Icelander]

The Trinity: Kennitala, Mobile Plan and Bank Account

You’re basically a tourist until you get a kennitala. It’s a ten digit personal identity that is used everwhere in Iceland. If you have employment in Iceland and are willing to wait up to 5 days with your foreign SIM card until you acquire kennitala, this is the order of things:

  1. Get a kennitala → Kennitala. This takes five days to process if all documents are submitted correctly. Start this process online before you depart for Iceland.
  2. Get a mobile plan → Mobile plans. You'll need to visit a telco branch and bring your passport. Use your non-Icelandic credit card for billing as you haven't opened a bank account yet.
  3. Get a bank account → Bank account. Visit a branch to open a bank account and set up your electronic certificate.

You can activate the electronic certificate on your visit to the telco branch and skip the bank visit if you like, opting instead to sign up via one of the bank apps.

There are of course other ways to go about it, but this is probably the quickest way to onboard.

Contributors

How to contribute

We are accepting contributions for edits or new guides. There are a few ways to contribute.

  1. Choose a topic in our issues page to write about or pick your own.
  2. We have a Facebook group we encourage you to join.
  3. Fork and send us a Pull Request on GitHub (preferred).
  4. If you're not familiar with Github, you can email jokull@solberg.is to publish a guide of your own.

Further reading