No statutory minimum wage – but pay and terms may never be lower than in the collective agreements, and you get at least 24 working days of holiday a year. 85.8% of people aged 20–64 have a job (EU: 76.1%) and unemployment is 4.5%. Find out where to look, how to register and get your ID number (kennitala), and how tax works.
EU/EEA citizens can live and work in Iceland under the EEA Agreement – you just register (see above). Nordic citizens follow separate rules.
If you are not an EEA/EFTA citizen, you need a residence permit based on work from the Directorate of Immigration (Útlendingastofnun), and you must have a job offer from an Icelandic employer. The main work-based permits are for:
Graduates of Icelandic universities (bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree) can get a special residence permit to look for a job after graduation – a bridge between the student permit and a permit for work requiring expert knowledge. The processing fee for work-based permits is ISK 80,000.
All the conditions and application steps are explained on island.is.
Key figures: Eurostat (population on 1 January 2026; unemployment and employment rates 2025; minimum wages July 2026); for the United Kingdom – Office for National Statistics; for Liechtenstein – national statistics. Country information: EURES – Living and working conditions, public employment services and the official government websites listed under each country. Rules, thresholds and amounts can change – check the official sources before you move. Updated: October 2026.
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