mycardiganromance asked: I'm from the US but my dream is to move to Iceland one day. How easy is it for someone to become a citizen? I'm trying to learn the language but I'll probably never be fluent. Is it hard to adjust?
To become a citizen you must live in Iceland for 7 years, marry an Icelander or convince the parliament to speed it up for you. You can get a permanent residence permit earlier (4 years) by fulfilling various requirements, including 150 hrs of Icelandic courses or passing an Icelandic language test.
If you are coming to work you need to be “essential” in some way. I think its basically if you can find work, you can get a work permit.
If you are coming to study, all you need to do is be accepted by a school or university. I’m pretty sure you are allowed to work alongside your studies.
Everything is easier if you come from a European Economic Union country and there are nearly no restrictions if you are a citizen of a Nordic country.
You can read all about immigration and visas on the website of the Directorate of Immigration. It’s a pretty clear and understandable website, but there are some broken links probably because they recently moved immigration roles between ministries.
Icelandic is tough to learn, not only because the language is complicated, but also because everybody in Iceland speaks English. It probably is hard in the long term to live there without being able to at least read Icelandic, but plenty of people live there for many years without speaking Icelandic.
Good luck!
