Free Movement Reaches Iceland Through a Treaty Printed in Its Own Statute Book, and One Sentence in Chapter XI Says Nordic Time Does Not Count Against You
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Denmark on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
195 exceptions recorded across 74 countries · none match Denmark to Iceland · Residency under a regional treaty
Iceland is not in the European Union. Free movement reaches it through the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Porto on 2 May 1992, which Act 2/1993 gives the force of law in Iceland and prints in full as a schedule - so the treaty guaranteeing freedom of movement for workers in the EC Member States and the EFTA States is readable in Icelandic inside the Icelandic statute book. Chapter XI of the Aliens Act works it out. An EEA or EFTA national may enter on a passport or an identity card and stay three months, so long as the stay does not become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system; a jobseeker gets six months, and so do their family members. Beyond three months the right continues on one of four grounds - employment or self-employment, providing or receiving services, sufficient funds with comprehensive sickness insurance, or enrolment in a recognised educational institution with both - and must be registered within three months of arrival, though section 81(4) forbids refusing anyone their rights merely for not holding the certificate. After five years of lawful continuous residence the right becomes permanent and is detached from those conditions, lapsing only on two continuous years abroad. The sentence that belongs to Iceland alone is section 83(3): a stay in another Nordic country shall not be deducted from the period of stay. Where section 49 of the same Act counts time anywhere in the Schengen area against a third-country visitor's ninety days, chapter XI refuses to count Nordic time against an EEA national's three months.
At a glance
- Stay with no conditions
- Three months from arrival, on a passport or an identity card
Section 83(1) of the Aliens Act, qualified by the stay not becoming an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system.
- Jobseeker
- Six months from arrival, and the same for family members
Section 83(2) of the Aliens Act. The figure is in the Act rather than in guidance.
- Time in another Nordic country
- Not deducted from the period of stay
Section 83(3) of the Aliens Act. Section 49(1) does the opposite for everyone outside chapter XI: a stay in another Schengen state counts as a stay in Iceland.
- Registration deadline
- Three months from arrival
Section 89(1) for an EEA or EFTA national, section 90(1) for a family member who is not one. Section 81(4) forbids refusing someone their rights on the sole ground that they do not hold the certificate.
- Permanent right of residence
- Five years of lawful continuous residence, after which the conditions stop applying
Section 87(1) of the Aliens Act. It lapses on an absence of more than two continuous years.
- Early permanent residence on retiring
- Three continuous years in Iceland and twelve continuous months of work, where you reach pension age or take early retirement
Section 87(3)(a). Section 87(3)(b) gives it after two years where permanent incapacity ends the work, and section 87(4) removes the residence requirement entirely where the incapacity came from an industrial accident or occupational disease.
- Posted non-EEA service worker
- Up to 90 working days in a calendar year with no permit
Section 81(3) of the Aliens Act, for a demonstrable employee of a service provider established in the EEA or an EFTA state.
- Residence card for a non-EEA family member
- Decided within six months, valid five years, lost after six months abroad in a year
Section 90(3) of the Aliens Act, which allows the six-month absence rule to be displaced by special circumstances.
Requirements
- Nationality of a state covered by the EEA Agreement or the EFTA Convention, or being the family member of such a national
- A valid passport or national identity card for the first three months
- Beyond three months: employment or self-employment, providing or receiving services, sufficient funds with comprehensive sickness insurance, or enrolment in a recognised educational institution with funds and insurance
- Registration within three months of arrival, which produces a registration certificate
- For a family member who is not an EEA or EFTA national, a residence card applied for within three months of arrival
In detail
The treaty is inside the statute
Act 2/1993 does two things. Section 1 authorises ratification of the EEA Agreement, the Surveillance and Court Agreement, the Standing Committee Agreement and ten later instruments, the last of them the financial-mechanism agreement for May 2021 to April 2028 added by Act 103/2024. Section 2 then gives the main text of the EEA Agreement the force of law in Iceland and prints it as a schedule. The practical consequence is unusual in this corpus: the free-movement article a reader needs is not in a Union database in English, it is in the Icelandic statute book in Icelandic, at the same address as the Aliens Act, consolidated to the same date.
The Nordic sentence
Section 83(3) is nine words and it is the Icelandic half of the Nordic passport arrangement, written from the other end than its neighbours write theirs. Denmark's section 1 lets a Nordic citizen enter and stay without permission. Finland's section 157 gives passport-free entry when coming directly from another Nordic state. Sweden's Aliens Act simply names four countries whose citizens need no permit. Iceland adds something none of them says: that time already spent in another Nordic country does not eat into the three months an EEA national has here. Section 49(1), which governs everyone outside chapter XI, says the opposite about Schengen time, so the two rules sit in the same Act pointing in different directions and the difference is exactly the Nordic area.
Registration is evidence, not permission
Section 89 requires an EEA or EFTA national staying more than three months to register, within three months of arrival. Section 81(4) then forbids refusing that person their rights on the sole ground that they do not hold the registration certificate, the permanent-residence certificate, the acknowledgement of a residence-card application or the residence card, because the right can be proved by other documents. The right exists on the conditions in section 84; the certificate records it. That distinction is written into the Act rather than left to be inferred.
Where the EFTA Convention does the work instead
Section 80 names two instruments: the EEA Agreement and the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association. Switzerland is in EFTA and not in the EEA, so for a Swiss national it is the second that opens chapter XI. Every other EFTA state - Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein - is in both. The chapter applies the same rules to all of them and to Union nationals without distinguishing between the sources, which is why the Act talks throughout about EES- or EFTA-borgari as one category.
Country-level policy
Almost everything a person needs in Iceland hangs on one registration: the logheimili, the registered domicile kept by Registers Iceland under the Act on Domicile and Residence 80/2018. Health insurance counts three months of residence and the insurance agency looks first at the domicile register. The Income Tax Act decides who is domiciled for tax by reference to this Act. The Nationality Act defines resident here as having a logheimili, and counts the years from it. Marriage-based residence permits require spouses to have the same registered domicile. Section 14 of the Act then says who may have one: a person staying or intending to stay for work or study for three months or more may register, and anyone staying six months or more must. An EEA or EFTA national may stay three months without registering, six if seeking work. Anyone else intending to stay longer than three months needs a valid residence permit from the Directorate of Immigration before they can register at all - and article 23 of Act 37/2026 added a sentence excluding one permit from that: the short-term residence permit in section 21 of the Aliens Act, the one the remote-work route now runs on. Section 14 also names the instrument that governs a move of domicile to or from the other Nordic countries: the Nordic Agreement on Population Registration, as it stands from time to time.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Denmark
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Meginmál EES-samningsins skal hafa lagagildi hér á landi. Sama gildir um ákvæði bókunar 1 við samninginn og ákvæði 9. tölul. VIII. viðauka og g-liðar 1. tölul. XII. viðauka við samninginn.»Our translation - not official
The main text of the EEA Agreement shall have the force of law in this country. The same applies to the provisions of Protocol 1 to the Agreement and to the provisions of point 9 of Annex VIII and point 1(g) of Annex XII to the Agreement.
Section 2(2) says the Agreement, the Protocol and the Annexes referred to are printed as schedules I to IV to the Act, which is why the treaty text can be quoted from the statute book.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Frelsi launþega til flutninga skal vera tryggt í aðildarríkjum EB og EFTA-ríkjum.»Our translation - not official
Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured among EC Member States and EFTA States.
Article 28(3) spells out the rights it contains - to accept offers actually made, to move freely for that purpose, to stay for the purpose of employment, and to remain after having been employed - subject to limitations justified on grounds of public policy, public security and public health. Article 28(4) excludes employment in the public service.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Ákvæði þessa kafla gilda um rétt útlendinga sem eru ríkisborgarar ríkis sem fellur undir samninginn um Evrópska efnahagssvæðið og stofnsamning Fríverslunarsamtaka Evrópu til að koma til landsins og dveljast hér á landi.»Our translation - not official
The provisions of this chapter apply to the right of foreigners who are nationals of a state covered by the Agreement on the European Economic Area and the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association to come to the country and to stay here.
The chapter names both instruments. Switzerland reaches Iceland through the EFTA Convention rather than through the EEA Agreement, which is why the second is there.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«EES- eða EFTA-borgara sem framvísar gildu vegabréfi eða kennivottorði er heimilt að koma til landsins án sérstaks leyfis og dveljast hér á landi í allt að þrjá mánuði frá komu hans til landsins svo lengi sem vera hans verður ekki ósanngjörn byrði á kerfi félagslegrar aðstoðar.»Our translation - not official
An EEA or EFTA national who presents a valid passport or identity document may come to the country without any special permission and stay here for up to three months from arrival, so long as the stay does not become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system.
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«EES- eða EFTA-borgara sem fellur undir skilgreiningu 1. mgr. og er í atvinnuleit er heimilt að dveljast hér á landi í allt að sex mánuði frá komu til landsins. Sama gildir um aðstandendur borgarans.»Our translation - not official
An EEA or EFTA national falling within the definition in the first paragraph who is seeking work may stay in this country for up to six months from arrival. The same applies to the national's family members.
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Dvöl í öðru norrænu ríki skal ekki draga frá dvalartímanum.»Our translation - not official
A stay in another Nordic country shall not be deducted from the period of stay.
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Útlendingur sem hvorki er ríkisborgari EES- eða EFTA-ríkis né aðstandandi slíks borgara má koma til landsins án sérstaks leyfis til að veita þjónustu í allt að 90 starfsdaga á almanaksári sé hann sannanlega starfsmaður þjónustuveitanda á Evrópska efnahagssvæðinu eða í EFTA-ríki.»Our translation - not official
A foreigner who is neither a national of an EEA or EFTA state nor the family member of such a national may come to the country without any special permission in order to provide services for up to 90 working days in a calendar year, provided he is demonstrably an employee of a service provider in the European Economic Area or in an EFTA state.
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«EES- eða EFTA-borgari sem skv. 84. eða 85. gr. hefur dvalist löglega á landinu samfellt í minnst fimm ár hefur rétt til ótímabundinnar dvalar hér á landi. Réttur til ótímabundinnar dvalar er óháður skilyrðum 84. og 85. gr. Réttur til ótímabundinnar dvalar fellur niður dveljist viðkomandi utan landsins lengur en tvö ár samfellt.»Our translation - not official
An EEA or EFTA national who under section 84 or 85 has resided lawfully and continuously in the country for at least five years has a right of permanent residence here. The right of permanent residence is independent of the conditions in sections 84 and 85. The right of permanent residence lapses if the person stays outside the country for more than two continuous years.
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«hefur við starfslok náð lögbundnum ellilífeyrisaldri hér á landi eða hættir í launuðu starfi til að fara snemma á eftirlaun, að því tilskildu að hann hafi dvalist á landinu samfellt lengur en í þrjú ár og starfað hér á landi í minnst tólf mánuði samfellt þegar hann hættir störfum,»Our translation - not official
has on ceasing work reached the statutory old-age pension age in this country, or leaves paid employment in order to take early retirement, provided he has resided in the country continuously for more than three years and has worked here for at least twelve continuous months when he stops working,
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«EES- eða EFTA-borgara og aðstandanda hans sem dvelst hér á landi skv. 84. eða 85. gr. lengur en í þrjá mánuði ber að skrá sig. Frestur til skráningar er þrír mánuðir frá komu til landsins.»Our translation - not official
An EEA or EFTA national and his family member staying in this country under section 84 or 85 for longer than three months must register. The deadline for registration is three months from arrival in the country.
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Directive 2004/38/EC is not cited anywhere in chapter XI of the Aliens Act. The chapter reproduces its substance in Icelandic terms and the Directive itself was not read for this record.
The regulation under section 84(4) defining sufficient funds for the purposes of section 84(1)(c) was not located and not read, so no amount is published here.
Annex V to the EEA Agreement, which carries the special provisions on free movement of workers referred to in article 28(5), was not read.
Act 105/2014 on the free right of employment and residence of workers within the European Economic Area exists in the lagasafn and was not read for this record.
- consolidatesLog um Evropska efnahagssvaedid, 1993 nr. 2 13. januar
Lagasafn, Althingi · consolidated to 2026-10-01
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesLog um utlendinga, 2016 nr. 80 16. juni
Lagasafn, Althingi · consolidated to 2026-10-01
About this source
The consolidated collection of Icelandic Acts, published under section 9 of the Act on Stjornartidindi and the Legal Gazette 15/2005. The minister is responsible for publishing it and a three-member editorial board appointed for five years at a time oversees it, one member nominated by the Speaker of Althingi; it is hosted on the parliament's own site. Each edition carries a number and a date - the one read here is Utgafa 158a, Islensk log 1. oktober 2026 - and an Act is served at a pinned address of the form https://www.althingi.is/lagas/<edition>/<year><number>.html, with /lagas/nuna/ as an always-latest alias. Every Act's header prints the date it came into force and a Breytt med line naming every amending Act with its own commencement. Amending Acts are worked into the parent Act, new Acts are added and repealed Acts are removed at each update. Passages inserted or substituted by a later Act are printed inside square brackets with a numbered footnote naming the amending Act and section, and repealed provisions are printed as an ellipsis with the same kind of footnote, so the page shows what has gone as well as what is there. Treaties given the force of law are printed in full as schedules, which is how the EEA Agreement and the Nordic Convention on Social Security are readable in Icelandic inside the statute book. The parliament separately serves each Act as passed at https://www.althingi.is/altext/stjt/<year>.<number>.html.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The lagasafn is a statutory consolidation and it is still subordinate to the gazette: section 9(1) of Act 15/2005 says that where the lagasafn text and the text published in Division A of Stjornartidindi diverge, the Stjornartidindi text governs. It must not be cited as the authentic text. It is a snapshot and not a running text - the Um lagasafn page says it is updated as a rule three times a year, at the start of the year, in spring and in autumn, with the edition numbered by legislative session and lettered a, b or c - so an Act passed since the edition date is simply not in it, and the site keeps a separate Nylega samthykkt log page for those. The square-bracket convention means a figure substituted by a later Act is printed inside brackets with a footnote marker beside it, so the number is in the collection but is not quotable as a clean sentence; the amending Act's own text has to be used instead. The collection publishes Acts only: regulations are at island.is/reglugerdir and are a different publisher. It says nothing about how an agency applies an Act - no subsistence amount, no fee, no processing time and no country list is in it.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source