Legal domicile

Individuals who stay or are planning to stay in Iceland for six months or longer must have a legal domicile in this country. An individual’s legal domicile is the place where s/he has a fixed abode.

A fixed abode is the place where the individual is most of the time. It is the place where the individual has her/his belongings, spends her/his free time, and sleeps when s/he is not temporarily absent due to vacations, work trips, sickness, or other reasons.
A domicile must have a definite address in a street or in a house with a name.
A guesthouse, hospital, accommodation for fishery workers, construction camp or any other lodging of this sort cannot be counted as a domicile or fixed abode.
It is only possible to have a domicile in one place.
Married couples are to have the same domicile. If they live in two different places, the domicile shall be where the children live.
If a married couple does not share the same residence and their children live with both parents or the couple has no children, the couple is required to decide which residence is the domicile. If an individual registers no domicile, the Þjóðskrá (National Registry) shall determine it. The same regulations apply to cohabiting individuals or those in a common-law marriage or registered partnership.
Children 17 years old or younger have the same domicile as their parents if the parents live together, otherwise the domicile of the parent who has the custody of the child.
An individual who leaves Iceland and thereby ceases to have a domicile in Iceland must report this to the municipality in which s/he lives before leaving. The individual must also report where s/he will live overseas.
Everyone who has a domicile in Iceland must be registered with the National Registry.
When the residence permit is registered, one’s domicile is also registered, and the date of registration in the National Registry corresponds to the date of issue of the residence permit.