Iceland long term visa for remote workers

https://island.is/en/get-long-term-visa-for-remote-workers

by simonebrunozzi • 3 years ago

345 240 3 years ago

island.is

eunos• 3 years ago

The minimum salary requirements is quite huge, almost 90000 USD per annum. Seems for now targeting American.

robopsychology2• 3 years ago

It’s European too, you can pretty easily hit $90k in fully remote contract jobs

umanwizard4• 3 years ago

Most Europeans can already live in Iceland without needing a visa.

devoutsalsa2• 3 years ago

That’s likely due to the high cost of living in Iceland. You can live cheap-ish anywhere, but it takes a bit of local knowledge to do that, and I suspect the cheaper housing options in Iceland are not what most digital nomads seek. One data point, in spring of 2021, I saw 1kg of cherries (imported from the Netherlands) in the store for the equivalent of 25 USD.

diceduckmonk• 3 years ago

A Domino’s pizza there is $30 for a medium.

ghaff4• 3 years ago

So basically not much different from a 90-day tourist visa except that you can legitimately remote work which, in practice, there are no real restrictions to doing anyway so long as you're low-profile about it.

devoutsalsa2• 3 years ago

I’d guess it also doesn’t as staying in the Schengen area (aka free movement area the includes most of Europe, including Iceland). An American visiting as a “tourist” can’t spend consecutive 90 days in Iceland & then hop over to Spain, as that could take them over the 90 day Schengen visit limitation.

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/

KMag• 3 years ago

so long as you're low-profile about it.

And your employer is fine with it, or willing to turn a blind eye. That rules out lots of people working for large companies, particularly in highly regulated industries.

I would have loved to work remotely from Thailand in my previous job, and my previous employer would have been fine with it, had I been able to show them a work visa. Unfortunately, the Thai SMART Visa would have required my employer to have a Thai subsidiary. I could have created my own Thai single proprietorship and perhaps gotten my employer to hire me indirectly via that Thai entity, but at a minimum, that would have required lots of high-level approvals.

I got an email from the Ukrainian authorities (pre-2022) saying they didn't care if I worked remotely for a foreign company on a 90-day on-arrival tourist visa, and that was sufficient for my employer (as long as I didn't visit post-2014 conflict zones). (The Ukrainian ministry's email reply was along the lines of "Why are you asking us? Why would we care if you work remotely as a tourist, as long as you aren't doing any labor that requires a presence in Ukraine?") I worked from Kiev for a couple of months after a couple of high-level approvals.

Here's hoping more countries adopt digital nomad-friendly work visas. Lots of countries currently turn a blind eye, but it's much better to have everything explicit and above-board.

ghaff4• 3 years ago

I'm guessing most employers who wouldn't be fine with employees working in another country on a tourist visa for a few months also wouldn't be OK with them doing so on a work visa at least without lots of paperwork and approvals.

Of course, people who don't require special business visas to enter a country for, say, an event routinely do work when traveling in many cases. I've never done months at a time but I've certainly had ~1 month trips in Europe that were some combination of business and pleasure.

yodsanklai3• 3 years ago

My company is very strict about work permit when working abroad. That rules out most countries for me. Also I find that remote work only makes sense in countries where cost of living is low. I did a bit of remote work in France/Italy, but it feels like throwing money away. Unless you want to rent an apartment on a long lease and cook, it boils down to spending tourist money while being locked in your hotel room.

I considered the Thai visa which has crazy requirements. My income makes me eligible (I believe), but the visa costs $1000+ and you're not even sure to get it.

jyscao• 3 years ago

I suppose it also allows one to stay for >90 days (but <=180 days) if one so inclines.

Personally, having yet to visit Iceland, and hearing from friends who have that it's not the cheapest place, plus its northernly latitude, 90 days for me to first scout it out is more than enough for me.

ghaff4• 3 years ago

I would guess that there isn't a lot of overlap between "90 days isn't nearly enough" and "no interest in this being an open-ended sort of thing" people.

cm2012• 3 years ago

Iceland is such a beautiful country. I loved my visit there. I long for the day energy is cheap and clean enough everywhere that we can have hot tubs and pools in every town in every country like in Iceland.

diego_moita• 3 years ago

Iceland? Ouch!

People are lovely and awesome but the place is barren, cold, windy and desolated.

I'd take a lot of places in southern Europe, instead.

Aachen5• 3 years ago

Windy: can confirm. It's not that cold, like, it gets just as cold in a lot of countries a lot further south, but the wind is what kills you if you don't wear enough layers. One of the things I also didn't like about Amsterdam: always windy.

Desolated: I wouldn't say that, but then we went at a time where the F-roads were closed so we didn't go into the interior. When driving around, it was very rare not to see another soul for so much as an hour even in late autumn. For the country with iirc the lowest population density of Europe, this surprised me a lot. I thought that it was a Dutch and Rhine-area feature not to be able to get away from other humans.

Bare nature and ice features (cold): that is what you go to Iceland for! If you aren't into that, either you picked the wrong place or you've picked an expensive place to pick up on that! I can definitely accept the wind for how cool the nature is in Iceland.

Southern Europe, on the other hand, is where I'd not want to go, at least not outside of winter! Heard of the first forest fire in Spain last week already, no thank you.

mataug2• 3 years ago

Having visited Iceland previously, I'd love to work there over the summer.

you can show a foreign income of ISK 1,000,000 per month or ISK 1,300,000 if you also apply for a spouse or cohabiting partner.
you do not need a visa to enter the Schengen area

Unfortunately this ^ disqualifies me, despite meeting the income requirements, since I need a visa to enter the Schengen region. This seems to be an odd requirement, they are already issuing a visa, why require people to have powerful passports as well ?

ilrwbwrkhv• 3 years ago

No third world countries.

scottyah• 3 years ago

Iceland is expensive, it would be very unkind to let someone live there for an extended time yet not be able to enjoy a good quality of life.

rauljordan2020• 3 years ago

I'm from Honduras and don't need a Schengen visa. Many other poor countries can also get in without one

jersak2• 3 years ago

Guess I'm the exception to this rule, then. Although I don't live in my home country anymore, my third world country passport is allowed.

sabellito• 3 years ago

You are misinformed, the list is mixed:

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/who-needs-schengen-visa/

jck• 3 years ago

This is essentially just a way for people from the Americas to legally work from Iceland for a few months.

unsupp0rted• 3 years ago

Or Australians... or Malaysians... or Japanese...

yohannparis• 3 years ago

that's CAD 10k per month, not pocket changes indeed.

anon98356• 3 years ago

Because Iceland is a member of the Schengen zone. It's possible to travel between countries in the Schengen area without going through border control (although I don't know about the specifics of travelling to/from Iceland).

mataug2• 3 years ago

That was part of my earlier point, they are already issuing a visa, and a visa to Iceland is a Schengen Visa. This seems to imply that they only want nationals from certain countries.

Contrast this with Spain's digital nomad program, where they don't require someone to have a powerful passport, all they seem to care about is having a job outside spain.

https://prie.comercio.gob.es/en-us/paginas/teletrabajadores-...

itslennysfault2• 3 years ago

I traveled from US to Iceland to France without knowing this and honestly thought I somehow bypassed customs when I got to France. So, this is correct you can go from Iceland to other Schengen zone countries without any checks (I didn't show my passport or do customs at all)

vegardx• 3 years ago

I think it's because Iceland can't issue long-term visas due to the Schengen-agreement, only short term tourist visa or full residency.

Contrary to popular belief, at least within the Schengen-area, it's hard to immigrate into the Schengen-area from the outside.

bmelton4• 3 years ago

Took a vacation to Iceland for this past new year's, and am thrilled to hear any news that might allow me to stay there for longer. When I left Iceland, it felt very much like I was leaving a fairy tale.

I was delighted by the whales off the coast, and the northern lights felt like a spiritual event, but (at least according to lore) the Vikings invented the modern new year celebration by considering it a good enough time for everyone to dispose of their old flares and replace them with new, and so new year's in Iceland was better than the greatest fireworks show I'd ever witnessed, despite exactly 0% of the fireworks having been municipally provided. It felt like every member of every home had spent their life savings on fireworks and were setting them all off for hours. Impossible to describe, but here's some drone footage (not mine) that captures about 10 minutes of what went on for hours, and the experience from the city center on the ground was even more encompassing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAnQ7ECC2LA&t=245s

mixmastamyk2• 3 years ago

What is the temp on a winter night? I once spent NYE in NYC and froze my butt off... much preferred my time in Rio DJ. :-D Would love to try Iceland in the summer.

bmelton4• 3 years ago

Depends on the night, obviously, but "very cold" is a safe assertion.

The first day there I had a hard time, thinking that my casual cold-weather gear would keep me comfortable was a mistake I learned the hard way tracking the northern lights on a mountaintop at 2 in the morning on the coldest night they'd had in 50 years.

But, the next day I picked up a pair of (expensive) sweatpants to act as a third layer, and I was just fine. Toasty enough that at night times I'd casually take off a hat or some gloves.

If you absolutely hate cold weather, maybe check it out in summer time. If you're willing to layer (and not just throw on dumb layers like I did) then it's totally manageable.

I found the magic combo to be:

  * Thermalsilk top and bottom base layer
  * An intermediate layer for very cold nights (https://www.icewear.is/us/fodurland-wool-underwear-baselayer)
  * I got away with those two and a pair of Amazon Basics chinos, but a hard shell outer layer is probably smarter if you're trekking through snow

Otherwise, normal layering rules apply. Have a scarf and gloves (ideally, with liners) and a good hat, then Thermalsilk and a winter coat were all I needed, but I would often have a niceish sweatshirt layered in there as we often had dinner plans and I didn't want to violate any dress-code norms.

ghaff4• 3 years ago

Pretty similar to NYC in winter (because Gulf Stream). But then, I don't consider NYC especially cold for the most part; it's basically mid-Atlantic relative to New England much less northern Midwest.

huhtenberg3• 3 years ago

It's not the temp, it's the wind. So much so that the car rental insurance has special coverage for doors being damaged and/or torn off by wind gusts.

matwood2• 3 years ago

It's cold. The temp is cold, but the wind is rough. Expect lots of layers, gloves, and hats pretty much all the time in the winter. I lived in Denver for a couple of years and Iceland felt much colder.

hzoveiso• 3 years ago

https://www.google.com/search?q=reykavik+weather+by+month

January is the coldest month with average highs of 37° F and average lows of 27° C.

nl• 3 years ago

It is called ICEland for a reason.

danudey• 3 years ago

Iceland was absolutely fantastic. Iceland Air started doing direct flights from Vancouver and my wife and I got on the inaugural flight, despite her being several uncomfortable months pregnant.

Some highlights:

* We saw geysir, the first geyser known to modern Europeans and the source of the name "geyser" [0]

* We went inside of a volcano [1]

* We did not get fooled by Icelandic polar bears [2]

* We (well, I) ate an average of two hot dogs per day [3]

* We saw a viking home which they unearthed during construction and then built a museum around [4]

* We boiled ourselves like happy lobsters [5]

* We had te og kaffi, which smelled and tasted like the best cafe I'd been to in years [6]

We went in April and were really glad we'd bought sleeping masks for the flight as the midnight sun did throw us for a loop. We were walking down the street one day wondering why all the stores were closed already, then saw a group of young women in glittery dresses and platform heels walking down the street. Checked my phone and it was 11 PM on a Saturday. Oh, okay, clubbing. Right, it's bedtime. Okay.

When we got back from Iceland, my wife was starting a new position at her company where she had to show up at 6:30 AM, so we ended up keeping the same sleep schedule and getting up at 3:30 every morning to have breakfast and commute together. Working in tech meant I had about six hours alone in the office before anyone else really showed up, which was quite peaceful.

Highly recommend Iceland, even if you don't go for New Year's!

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geysir

[1] https://insidethevolcano.com/

[2] https://fooledbyiceland.tumblr.com/

[3] https://theculturetrip.com/europe/iceland/articles/how-this-...

[4] https://reykjavikcitymuseum.is/the-settlement-exhibition/exh...

[5] https://www.bluelagoon.com/

[6] https://goo.gl/maps/QCDLW6DPyLSeKumF9

bmelton4• 3 years ago

I did not go inside of a volcano, but did climb a glacier. Otherwise, while I thought the hot dogs were pretty neat, the wife didn't care for them, so we stuck to the one and then engaged in more of their fine dining options.

Dill and Ōx were phenomenal. One of them has a Michelin star, but I can't remember which. Kol was also pretty great. Otherwise, it was great snacking on stupid gift-shop snacks like smoked salmon and capers as a dramatic contrast to the typical American gift shop snacks of corn chips.

The settlement exhibition we saw as part of a walking tour, and absolutely adored, but somewhat overshadowed by the "Bureaucrat" statue across the street from it[1].

Didn't have te og kaffi, but did enjoy Skyr (which is a cheese that you can DRINK).

On the whole, I enjoyed it more than I could have thought possible. You mentioned Iceland Air, and one thing I thought was really smart was that they've positioned themselves as a destination layover going from North America to Europe. We usually travel to Europe for vacations, but this time we "punted" and chose Iceland as our preferred accommodations in London were unavailable, and now I am keen to make a tradition of stopping over in Iceland everywhere I can.

[1] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/monument-to-the-unknown-...

jersak2• 3 years ago

I was sold when you said "direct flights from Vancouver". One of the biggest pain points for me is having to get connecting flights in the east coast for most destinations we plan to go to.

amatecha2• 3 years ago

Nice, glad to hear you went to Iceland as well! I went in 2020, not sure when the YVR<->KEF direct flights started though! We just snuck in before COVID got crazy, and in fact our flight home got canceled the night before we were due to leave -- ended up getting booked a replacement flight through LHR though it required a bunch of stressful calls to Iceland Air.. that was an interesting finale to the trip. On the upside, all tourist attractions were basically empty and we had an even more "isolated" and otherworldly experience than planned! A+++ would visit Iceland at the start of a pandemic again :)

exar0815• 3 years ago

Been on Iceland on NY21/22 as well, NYE from the Perlan was absolutely mindnumbing. Vik was absolutely beautiful. Polar Lights left me completely speechless.

Most beautiful country in the world. Even though the winter was harsh. Perfect if you love photography, the whole day Golden Hour basically.

dzhiurgis2• 3 years ago

Interesting people describe outdoors as sort of best thing for digital nomad. I live in NZ and really disliked visiting Iceland, but I can see how it would be nice as a developer - stay indoors because it's cold and dark, people kinda introverted, not much to do overall.

melenaboija• 3 years ago

Spain also provides a nomad visa:

- Digital nomads (Official) [1]

- ‘Digital nomads’ can now live in Spain with their families — if they earn enough [2]

[1] https://prie.comercio.gob.es/en-us/paginas/teletrabajadores-...

[2] https://www.immigrationspain.es/en/visa-for-digital-nomads/

outworlder• 3 years ago

Portugal too.

dejawu• 3 years ago

While this seems awesome (and I do hope to make use of it) I do find it a little funny that an application for a visa for remote work must be submitted by snail mail.

xenospn• 3 years ago

Yeah, I was surprised by that. Wouldn’t that make processing incredibly inefficient?

tenpies• 3 years ago

There is something deeply ironic about:

visa for remote workers
remote
Applications can only be submitted in paper form.

What a fantastic way to attract people who will work through the internet: by having them submit paperwork through well, paper.

20,000 ISK says the forms get scanned as soon as they arrive too.

BigCryo2• 3 years ago

Iceland is too expensive I would imagine.. go Latin America or Southeast Asia, problem is that it's hard to get to stay there long-term unless you go through the bureaucracy.. some expats have speculated for years that America uses its influence overseas to prevent Americans from moving overseas permanently to cheap Nations like the third world

IntelMiner• 3 years ago

Reminded me of an ancient King of the Hill joke

"Hank and I used to go to Mexico every time they devalued the peso!"

"Yeah, that got old fast..."

mrleinad5• 3 years ago

I'm curious. What prevents an American from living in Argentina long term? I believe the country is quite friendly in terms of long term visitors. Have you done some research on that?

BigCryo2• 3 years ago

The speculation says that America uses its power to coerce cheap Nations to throw up bureaucratic obstacles and restrictions that prevent Americans from moving overseas easily.. America protects this financial capital for moving overseas but it also protects social capital for moving overseas by keeping Americans here and stopping them from taking their savings and moving to cheap countries and therefore robbing America of social capital... Let me be specific.. it would financially benefit third world countries to allow Americans with money to move in easily and without restrictions without Visa time limits and so forth.. and when I say any American with money I mean any person who's had a job and worked and saved the money from the job... I'm not talking about rich people ...

the idea is that America uses its power against the third world Nations to coerce them to throw up restrictions to moving easily overseas

Aachen5• 3 years ago

That they don't like you to get a salary in USD and the Peso has crazy inflation, would be one consideration. But then I've heard Buenos Aires can be quite like any rich country city (probably for most people here: normal city) and life's definitely a lot cheaper there so it might be worth it

slaw4• 3 years ago

Latin America and Southeast Asia are opposite in terms for long term stay. You can stay easily up to 180 days in Latin America, not to in SE Asia.

FpUser• 3 years ago

"it is not your intention to settle in Iceland"

I assume one can be working remotely and at the same time applying for permanent residence. What is the problem with that?

meheleventyone2• 3 years ago

You’d need a different visa presumably.

lr4444lr• 3 years ago

What's the incentive here? A rotating cast of high income earners paying state and local taxes without the benefit the pension system(s)? The country has about 1.73 births per woman with a barely positive net migration. Maybe they should think about getting interested people on a citizenship path.

ericmay2• 3 years ago

Maybe they should think about getting interested people on a citizenship path

One thing you'll find out is that the EU member states (along with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) are really not very friendly or welcoming in terms of "path to citizenship".

One thing I'd like to see actually is open immigration and potentially more free trade between the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. I'd add Ireland but I think EU status would be a problem.

ygjb• 3 years ago

I don't know about other countries, but immigration targets in Canada are trending towards attracting 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025. Just because we have alot of openings doesn't mean it's easy though... there are several paths, and most of them are designed to favour folks who will integrate well socially and economically (and that doesn't just mean rich white folks, it means more along the lines of skilled labour and the means to sustain your family while they get settled).

umanwizard4• 3 years ago

It is way easier to get a work visa (and later citizenship) in any of the countries you named than it is in the US.

robocat• 3 years ago

along with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) are really not very friendly or welcoming in terms of "path to citizenship".

About 30% of New Zealand and Australia’s populations are immigrants. I don’t think we could let many more in! As a comparison, the US is about 15% population of immigrants - and look at the stink over there about there being too many! The places with more immigrants than NZ/Oz by percentage are mostly either small island populations, or Arab states (where you are not actually an immigrant, since you don’t have citizenship rights, and slave labour conditions are rife).

One resulting issue is that some major parts of the NZ/Oz housing markets are already some of the most unaffordable in the world (think San Franscisco, but earning less so even less affordable)! The five most expensive cities in the world by unaffordability are Hong Kong, Vancouver, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto : e.g. Sydney: average monthly income of $6,100 with median house price of $1.4 million. Auckland median house price is $1.1 million, whereas the average individual monthly income is $4,269. We have the land, we just need to build a lot of houses to keep up.

heffer• 3 years ago

The path from Permanent Resident to Citizen in Canada is pretty straightforward in my eyes and most Permanent Residents eventually do become Citizens [0]. Given that there are many pathways available for people to immigrate to Canada and Canada also looking to increase immigration in the coming years I am not sure what you mean by "not friendly or welcoming". Are you referring to the fact that there is a selection process in place and not everyone may qualify due to it?

[0] https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98...

eps• 3 years ago

Canada grants citizenship after 3 years of residency.

Downright hostile attitude towards "path to the citizenship" if you ask me.

carlosjobim4• 3 years ago

Those people would not be Icelandic. The purpose of a nation is to serve their people, not to replace them with other people.

johntiger1• 3 years ago

bigoted take

rocket_surgeron• 3 years ago

A rotating cast of high income earners paying state and local taxes without the benefit the pension system(s)?

Did you expect something different?

That's literally the goal of every "DiGiTaLnOmAd" (you're a migrant worker, dickhead) visa scheme everywhere in the world. They want short-term renters eating out every night and racking up airport fees.

edit: unless you're super-wealthy in which case "Velkominn, Willkommen, いらっしゃいませ, Bem-vindo, 欢迎, Bienvenu, Tere tulemast, etc...."

meheleventyone2• 3 years ago

Iceland has a steady population growth due to immigration already. That said there has been talk in the last month or so of changing up the visa situation to make it easier to recruit tech workers outside of the EEA:

https://northstack.is/2023/03/13/the-icelandic-government-in...

version_five3• 3 years ago

I see these visas and I understand there are some circumstances where maybe you have to get one (employer letting you work remote, maybe certain kinds of rental housing) but honestly I don't understand why they have any requirements, and opposed to just asking an otherwise admissible person to declare they're there for work. Like others, I can already go for 90 days if I want for tourism, just with my passport. I don't have to prove income or insurance or submit a photo. What real risk are they taking by just letting my say I'm coming for 6 months to work remotely? All the "remote" visas I've seen are similar, and it all just seems like some silly think bureaucrats dreamed up because they can't let go of control, that really is pointless.

resonance19942• 3 years ago

There are several nationalities belonging to the third world for whom this is a godsend (not this one particularly, but others in the region). As an Indian national, I have to undergo a painful process to procure a tourist visa, which is often valid only for a few days. Something like this which let's me work remotely for clients based over Europe and North America, and let's me travel through Schengen without any stress is really a game changer.

Algemarin5• 3 years ago

As an Indian national

As an Indian national, you are not eligible for this visa program.

One of the requirements is:

you do not need a visa to enter the Schengen area

mrleinad5• 3 years ago

Third world tourist that earns over 8k per month? Quite a small pool to draw from there.

Algemarin5• 3 years ago

It's very straightforward: they don't want poor or middle-class foreigners in their country. They want rich people. So that the rich people can live in expensive housing, eat at expensive restaurants, and pump their riches into Iceland's economy.

This is why the minimum barrier to entry into this program is having an income of ISK 1,000,000 per month, which means that you need a salary of over €80 000.

Additionally, they also don't want foreigners to actually settle in their country, which is why there is a 180-day ceiling. The purpose of this program is to have rich foreigners come for a spell, spend lots of money, then go away. They're being very transparent about this.

chroma• 3 years ago

$80k/year is rich? That’s less than the median household income in a half-dozen states. 18% of Americans make over $100k/year.

MrDresden3• 3 years ago

Iceland is in Schengen, so foreigners living in a country which is also a member have the ability to move to Iceland and settle here. So foreigners are welcome here. So much so that 14% of all residents are foreign and that does obviously not count those who have received citizenship.

throwaway0493• 3 years ago

Limits on numbers. Welcoming you as a tourist and welcoming you indefinitely are not the same thing. It's not a big population so wouldn't take a very large number of arrivals to impact public services like healthcare and schools.

mrleinad5• 3 years ago

Which in order to grow, you'd need more people. And they're not canadians, they don't have an easy immigration path for people that want to move in.

In a way, they're pretty japanese.

tayo42• 3 years ago

Maybe they don't want to remote workers? They make hard to get visas and discourage working on a tourist visa?

xingped• 3 years ago

Only 180 days (and only if you're currently in your home country)? That's pretty lame and makes it not really worth it. If I want to live in a country on a remote worker visa, I'd want it to be at least 1yr minimum in length. As it stands, that's barely any better/different than a normal tourist visa.

distances• 3 years ago

Except that you can't work with a tourist visa? Seems like a major difference.

Retric• 3 years ago

Most countries allow you to do some remote work on a tourist visa. Banning people from checking work email is simply untenable if you want tourism.

UK for example has a fairly explicit line: “The applicant must not receive payment from a UK source for any activities undertaken in the UK.”

The idea of someone working fully remotely gets tricky as for example the US wants you to pay US taxes if you’ve made more than 3k/year while working in the US.

r00f• 3 years ago

I have always been blown away by money requirements for such visas, in many countries. Show monthly income of 1000000 ISK. Over 7k USD. Why?

I used to live in Dubai, which is considered pretty expensive place, and never spent over 2500 per month, despite dining out almost all the time. Maybe 3000 if I needed some purchases like clothing or hobbies stuff. I get it, Numbeo says Iceland is 13% more expensive, but 7k? What exactly kind of lifestyle are they expecting from humble nomad?

Not all nomads work remotely for FAANG. Some live happy nomad life with much lower income.

triceratops2• 3 years ago

They want rich nomads who will spend lots of money in the local economy.

slaw4• 3 years ago

Only high earners are welcomed.

whichfawkes• 3 years ago

Well, of course they're going to set the requirement high enough that they can be confident you'll survive without them needing to pay to deport you.

Beyond that though, they want you to spend your money in Iceland - why else?

Presumably you aren't paying any income tax. So the only advantage to letting you into the country is that you'll spend money on goods and services.

ashconnor• 3 years ago

Your FAANG job probably wouldn't allow you to work from Iceland anyway.

Still the requirements are less strict than Thailand's remote work visa [0] but that lasts for 5 years renewable for another 5.

In Thailand's case the existence of a work-from-Thailand visa also clarifies that working remotely on other visas (Tourist, Non-O, Non-B) is not permitted.

[0] https://kpmg.com/th/en/home/insights/2022/11/legal-news-flas...

__s• 3 years ago

Indeed, tried to get the go ahead with this at Microsoft, HR was very clear about not letting it through

zerr• 3 years ago

Seems like a lawful way to say "North Americans Only".

noodlesUK• 3 years ago

Basically because you already need to have visa free entry to Schengen (and if you're an EEA/CH citizen you can already move there) this is only available to North Americans, Aussies/Kiwis, and other rich countries like Japan, as well as us Brits mourning our FOM.

Pmop• 3 years ago

Isn't Iceland inhabited by like 340k people? Maybe they're testing the waters or trying to limit how many people end up moving there.

Overall I agree. DNs would use Portugal's D7 to move in (in an exception of what the visa was originally intended to), but then Portugal introduced a DN visa which now requires a much higher income than what D7 requires, I think 4x times more than D7.

MrDresden3• 3 years ago

Iceland is in Schengen. Effectively the whole of Europe could move here tomorrow if they wanted. This is not due to immigration control.

EduardoBautista• 3 years ago

D7 was minimum wage, if I recall correctly, around 800 euros per month. I don't think 4x minimum wage is at all unreasonable if it makes the process smoother, since they make the D7 application process as horrible as possible.

I had an awful experience applying for D7, so I am now happily living in Dubai instead which has the best residency process I have seen for ANY country.

starik36• 3 years ago

Over 7k USD.

I don't think you understand how ridiculously expensive Iceland is. Practically everything has to be shipped/flown in.

Just to give you an idea, a small completely unremarkable burger at a fast food place will be around $20-25. It will not make you full.

7K a month is realistic. Our vacation was still fantastic despite the cost.

Aachen5• 3 years ago

That's realistic if you are there as a tourist who wants the premium experience on everything.

Staying in hotels and eating out daily, we didn't spend 7k when extrapolating our two weeks to a month. Heck, it's still below 7k if you include all one-time purchases like the way there and back, clothing, new expensive hiking boots, etc. I've got a problem with most waterproof fabrics so I didn't have a raincoat, but reading about Iceland, I figured it's worth finding one that works for me, so that's another purchase I count towards my Iceland expenses. All in all still below 7k after extrapolation. (Edit: oh and I forgot that this is for 2 persons. You can't divide by two of course, but some correction factor should be applied.)

I fully agree with anyone saying Iceland is expensive, but if you stay in an actual apartment instead of hotels, don't do a number of guided tours every month, don't rent a vehicle for the whole time you're there (and drive around, though fuel was a surprisingly small part of the final expenses), you'll definitely not need 7k per month.

mr90210• 3 years ago

Now ask yourself: Wouldn’t people that fit such profile move to a more comfortable and yet cheaper country? Spain literally weaving its hand.

markdown3• 3 years ago

Practically everything has to be shipped/flown in.

That's no excuse. Burgers in Fiji cost a quarter of that, and everything is shipped in from far further than it does to Iceland.

q7xvh97o2pDhNrh• 3 years ago

a small completely unremarkable burger at a fast food place will be around $20-25. It will not make you full.

Sounds like they've captured the authentic San Francisco experience.

MrDresden3• 3 years ago

Local tech worker in Iceland, and this is the going rate for a midrange software worker.

Wages here have grown ~25% (for the whole country) over the last ~4 years (if my memory from the reporting on this is correct).

Everything has to be imported, and what little that isn't is heavily reliant on imported goods.

Living here is mightily expensive.

Ofcourse you could live more frugally, and obviously most here do. Tech workers here are in the top income bracket like in most other places.

Not sure why digital nomad visas should have lower restrictions though. We want foreigners that come here and spend their money. No need to make it easier for the frugal tourist to come here for longer.

seanhunter2• 3 years ago

Show monthly income of 1000000 ISK. Over 7k USD. Why?

I'm not familiar with the reasoning for Iceland specifically but in another country (Switzerland) I was in the position of having to apply for long-term work visas for myself and some of my employees. There they justified the high income requirement because they wanted to know you weren't going to bring in cheap foreign labour and thereby undercut local wages. So you had to show that the wages were high in absolute terms and that you weren't paying less than the national average.

dagurp2• 3 years ago

Expect to spend a third of that on rent

oneeyedpigeon3• 3 years ago

But this is for remote work — undercutting local wages shouldn't be an issue.

mytailorisrich2• 3 years ago

They want to attract high value individuals because they are doing this to benefit their country and economy while limiting the number of people, not to make foreigners happy.

Edit: apparently the average income in Iceland is close to $6k per month so 7k is not even "high value", it's just making sure only people who earn at least an average income qualify, which makes sense.

sidewndr463• 3 years ago

Why would a tiny exclusive island ever want anyone other than high income individuals to move there?

If it weren't the fact that US cities cannot restrict the free migration of individuals, almost all of them would ban anyone moving there who didn't make above the average income for the area. Hawaii's last Republic governor tried every possible step to kick out the Marshallese, which is fucking hilarious considering how few of them there are globally.

If it wasn't for the US constitution you'd have giant slums in the interstitial space between cities, with a few zones stylized after the Jewish Autonomous Oblast here and there as well.

grumple• 3 years ago

This is simply not accurate. The US was historically and is currently built by accepting poor immigrants. As the famous poem by Emma Lazarus says, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".

The US is and always has been a place where the poorest can make something for themselves. No matter what rhetoric you spout, this is still demonstrably true: 40 million Americans are first generation immigrants. Another 40 million second generation.

So when I, as an American, see these heavy restrictions, it highlights a couple things for me:

1) Just how different US immigration culture is from anywhere else. And how despite all the anti-US rhetoric, all the political nonsense, we are still the most welcoming place in the world for immigrants, and it isn't even close.

2) How unwilling other nations are to provide opportunities for people outside their borders. I want to go a little further and say these nations don't have much interest in being a part of the world if they can't exploit it.

epolanski2• 3 years ago

Iceland isn't tiny.

yodsanklai3• 3 years ago

Not all nomads work remotely for FAANG.

Also FAANG aren't particularly flexible for nomad work.

huhtenberg3• 3 years ago

Why?

They give you a visa in exchange for the money you will spend in the country. That's it.

opportune• 3 years ago

The goal is to get self sufficient people (who will stimulate the economy through consumption and not incur costs on the government), not buskers or low-impact nomads.

I know tech salaries outside the US can be much lower, but the requirements Iceland is putting up are basically enough (pre tax) for almost any tech employee in the US. Not just FAANGs. Not sure if Iceland is counting gross vs net pay but even if so, it’s enough for a very large portion of us tech employees still

Aeolun4• 3 years ago

almost any tech employee in the US

And almost nowhere else. Hell, it’d be too high for most tech workers in Europe.

_pigpen__2• 3 years ago

Perhaps the calculation is how much they anticipate you contributing to the local economy. They’re not doing this for altruistic reasons.

oneeyedpigeon3• 3 years ago

Yeah, this is what disqualifies me, although together with my partner, I could possibly make it work. I wonder what accommodation prices are like in Iceland.

yieldcrv• 3 years ago

They want rich people spending locally and bringing their rich network, what answer did you want?

webinvest• 3 years ago

Iceland is the 3rd most expensive country in the world to live in. Just look at the prices in ISK for the websites of businesses in Reykjavik, one of the only cities there with cellular data service, and convert it to your local currency.

Your money will stretch 3x-5x further in Europe unless you plan to build yourself an igloo and catch fish lol. Europe isn’t known for being cheap either.

RomanPushkin• 3 years ago

I don't know why these countries do everything to _not_ attract human capital - limitation of 180 days means no-go for me. Maybe I would love to explore a new country for a couple of years, and settle down there with my salary component of ~200k instead of SFBA. But I need my kids to stay at least 1 year in their schools, and 2 years if they like it. And the way to become a resident.

It's so easy for them just to attract high-skilled labor everyone is fighting for. But nope, they pretty much say: "We know you're skilled because we have requirement of 90k/year, but we don't want skilled workers to be able to stay here, because go somewhere else". Well, ok, Iceland..

Algemarin5• 3 years ago

But nope, they pretty much say: "We know you're skilled because we have requirement of 90k/year, but we don't want skilled workers to be able to stay here, because go somewhere else". Well, ok, Iceland..

Correct. It's not a difficult concept to grasp, especially as they are being very overt about it. They don't want foreigners settling into their country. They want foreigners coming in for a short time, pumping money into it, then buggering off.

dopeboy• 3 years ago

One reason might be that it hurts native high skilled labor, a demographic that probably votes often.

epolanski2• 3 years ago

Because Iceland is part of Schengen, and you need a job in Schengen for long stays.

I don't think in US it would be different.

momirlan• 3 years ago

one of the most expensive countries in the universe, unfortunately.

bengalister• 3 years ago

The limit to 6 months is pretty disappointing. Also the 1,000,000 ISK monthly salary for workers in the Schengen area is pretty restrictive, except for Switzerland, Norway, not that many people earn that level of salary.

itslennysfault2• 3 years ago

You can stay 90 days on a visitor visa and just leave for a weekend every 90 days and start the clock over. When I was on my last stint as a "digital nomad" I did this a couple times over in a couple different countries. There really isn't any way to get "caught". Your host country doesn't care because you're importing money and spending it there. The country where you have your job doesn't care because you're still paying income tax there. Only catch is you have to keep a residency in your country of origin. Also, of course, your employer needs to be cool with it, but truthfully if you're remote anyways they can't really tell where you live as long as you're online during the expected hours. Although for me I thought it better to be honest/transparent.

All of the above assumes US country of origin, but I'm sure it'd work the same with many countries.

matthews2• 3 years ago

You can stay 90 days on a visitor visa and just leave for a weekend every 90 days and start the clock over.

In what country is this the case? For countries in the Schengen area, the rule is 90 days out of any 180 day period.

connectsnk• 3 years ago

I am afraid I will get downvoted for this heavily. But in my experience Iceland (just like its name) is a desert with no vegetation and consequently has minimum biodiversity.

No matter what is the carrot being hung, I would not wish to be in this land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_f90pXw5sQ

darknavi• 3 years ago

I think it's really just a matter of opinion.

Would I like to live there forever? No way. Would I work remotely there for 3-6 months to explore a unique,bio diverse island? Hell yea!

Reubachi• 3 years ago

As OP said, iceland is about as un biodiverse as it gets. I've been a few times and it's as close to the moon as possible. That said it is beautiful and kind of feels like....you're on a giant desert island surrounded by mountains that's very cold, and very expensive.

paul79865• 3 years ago

Have you visited it's such a cool/unique place and it's really not crazy cold there (20 to 45 F in the winter on average). The wind is intense, but the cold is not like something like Fairbanks, Alaska.

Things I love about Iceland compared to the US

- Almost zero crime

- Police, I only saw three cars in nine days

- No one can carry a gun

- All citizens (free healthcare) well paid compared to US

- Hot water from a faucet comes directly from the ground

- Geothermal govt run bathhouses in each neighborhood for after work socializing.

- Hike to an active volcano or to a hot river to bathe in

- Beautiful outdoor scenery

- The Northern Lights

One negative is it's expensive i.e. a large pizza from a pizzeria here in the states will run you $12 to $15 while there it's $21 to $25.

haliskerbas• 3 years ago

where in the states? In LA, NY or SF, the Iceland price seems pretty on par for a large pizza

runarberg3• 3 years ago

Note that it is not this rosie in reality. Iceland has issues like any other places:

- There are still crimes, particularly against women during the nightlife which isn’t investigated and reported in crime statistics.

- Police just acquired permission from the minister of justice to carry stun guns. There are recent cases of racial profiling which are particularly worrysom

- Gun laws are increasingly un-enforced and gun crimes are on the rise. Iceland has one of the largest per capita gun ownership in Europe.

- The healthcare system is increasingly underfunded, wait lists for healthcare are getting longer. A recent immigration bill denies health care to asylum seekers.

- Hot water is a plenty so this is mostly true.

- The swimming pools are amazing places to socialize and still relatively cheap... So this is also true

- The volcano has stopped erupting, this last one was indeed very approachable. More likely volcanoes form way in the highlands and are not approachable unless you can charter a plain or a helicopter.

- The outdoor scenery is relative. I much more favor the trees in the pacific north west where I live now over the mossy lava-fields where I grew up.

- The northern lights are cool but light pollution is a problem in and around the city or any town and village.

micromacrofoot• 3 years ago

Do you normally decide where to travel based on the destinations biodiversity?

Quarrelsome• 3 years ago

But in my experience Iceland (just like its name) is a desert with no vegetation and consequently has minimum biodiversity.

Yes, although don't let the bus out from Keflavik fool you, the south west tip of the island is lava flats and it does look a bit like the moon. The rest of the country is a lot more interesting than that.

However you _never_ go to Iceland for the biodiversity, same way you don't go to Bangladesh for the diarrhoea. You go for the pristine wilderness, the ice and glaciers, the volcanism, the aurora borealis, the perma-day in the summer, the people (they're amazing!), the partying, the new year celebration (most households fire a firework at 00:00) or the language which is as close to ancient norse as you can get.

Also what is unique to Iceland is its size and culture, it is very Anglosphere, and a curious blend of European and American in culture (due to the legacy of the US base) Reykjavik has elements of both city and village life in a single spot and its an interesting test bed for services or products as a consequence.

seanhunter2• 3 years ago

I could not disagree more. I absolutely love Iceland and would love to return. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. My experience was beautiful scenery (with plenty of vegetation), stunning glaciers and hot springs etc, and very friendly and welcoming people.

atoav• 3 years ago

But very high beer prices.

grecy• 3 years ago

No matter what is the carrot being hung, I would not wish to be in this land

Which is the incredible thing about this life. You are free to decide not do participate in things you don't want to participate in.

Of course, there are about 10 billion things you don't want to, and that's cool!

mikkelam• 3 years ago

The funny thing is. Iceland used to have a lot more vegetation and trees. They were simply cut down for the population of humans to thrive. However there are some projects that are already having success in trying to bring forestation back to iceland such as shown in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-r2EetCtO0

beardedman• 3 years ago

...long term visa for high earning remote workers...

xwdv2• 3 years ago

We shipped our 4x4 to Iceland and went off roading for several months while working remotely. Truly an incredible lifetime experience that I would recommend to anyone if they love nature. Unfortunately I have never really been able to see the beauty of my urban surroundings again ever since spending all that time in Iceland.

runarberg3• 3 years ago

Please don’t do that.

Icelandic flora is very vulnerable and driving off roads will cause sever damage that will last for decades. It is highly illegal to drive off roads except for glaciers and beaches. In fact there is a huge social stigma against off road driving. Tourists that get caught regularly get ridiculed on national television, and rightly so.

xwdv2• 3 years ago

We’re not “tourists”, we’re expeditionists, and Iceland has incredible off-road trails to see. Ridiculous.

biftek• 3 years ago

I assumed he meant driving on the F roads

mytailorisrich2• 3 years ago

I believe Iceland is in the EEA, which means EU, Norwegian, and Swiss citizens have free movement and can move there unrestricted.

alexanderchr• 3 years ago

Not unrestricted, but easily. You only have to prove that you’re self sufficient.

zahma• 3 years ago

You'd damn sure better be earning well over 7,000 USD a month. Iceland is so expensive, and I'd imagine those prices have gone up with inflation. Even the locals have a secondary pricelist. It's a nice place to visit, but I'm not sure the cost is worth the living.

yodsanklai3• 3 years ago

Cost of living is way too high, it's not a great place for nomad workers.

rurp• 3 years ago

I was expecting a long term visa to be for longer than 90 (or 180) days. Iceland doesn't seem like the easiest place to zip in and out of, and folks moving there to work will probably want to stay for a while.

soferio2• 3 years ago

Would this work for Australians given the you-don’t-need-a-Schengen-visa requirement?

soferio2• 3 years ago

Is schooling in English in Iceland? Are there international schools?

Aeolun4• 3 years ago

Holy crap, that’s some income barrier

BrentOzar• 3 years ago

Late to the comments here, but I was literally the first guy to use this program when Iceland unveiled it in 2021. I moved there in January 2021, and lived there for 9 months. I was interviewed by the NY Times and NBC about it.

I wrote about my experiences here: https://ozar.me/tag/iceland/

I see a lot of people saying Iceland is expensive - well, if you're coming from California, it's not that bad. I'd say it's comparable, aside from the gas/diesel prices.

If you have any questions about the process or living in Iceland, I'd be glad to help. Email's on my profile.

Iceland long term visa for remote workers

Related Stories