Buying a property in Iceland and obtaining residence in this country
First of all, you should know that buying a property in Iceland will not directly lead to a residence permit in this country. As a general rule, non-EU citizens wishing to purchase a property in Iceland must have the approval of the Minister of Justice. The Icelandic Ministry of Justice has a wide range of civil actions, including human rights, personal rights monitoring, and Monitors immigrants. EU citizens intending to settle in Iceland, like a citizen born in Iceland, are allowed to buy property in this country without the permission of the Minister of Justice. Therefore, people who intend to buy a property in Iceland must first obtain a permanent residence in this country and then purchase the property.
In the Comments section, you can also ask your questions and answer them in a short time.
Topics reviewed in this article:
Buying a property in Iceland and people who are qualified to buy a property
Buying property in Iceland is possible for all Icelandic and foreigners residing in this country, but there are special rules for property rights in Iceland. The law states that non-EU citizens can purchase property in Iceland under an agreement with the Minister of Justice and own 100% of the property. Property rights in Iceland do not end with the property alone, and eligible individuals can easily enjoy the same property rights as an Icelandic person in all cases. Legal entities must meet certain conditions for ownership in Iceland, which we will discuss in the following:
- This person must be an Icelandic or a resident of Iceland.
- People who want to buy a property in Iceland through a partnership with Icelandic companies must have lived in this country for at least five consecutive years.
- Those who have the Icelandic Ministry of Justice’s permission are exempt from the conditions described in the above paragraphs. According to which they can have complete ownership of the property and have business activity in this country.
- Individuals who do not reside in Iceland will be required to purchase a property from an Icelandic representative in this country. The ownership of all property will go to the individual representative.
Buying a property in Iceland and its legal steps
We have explained the property law in Iceland. Therefore, the EU investors who intend to buy a property in Iceland will not need the Minister of Justice’s permission. Once people received the permit and found the most suitable property to buy, they can obtain all the necessary conditions, including possible rights and obligations related to the property, which can be done online by a representative. You can get all the situations that are related to the desired property by doing this. After final approval, investors can enter into a deal with the seller and buy the property based on the set price. The documents are kept in the jurisdiction until the buyer pays the full amount.
The following conditions apply to the registration of a contract that protects the rights of the buyer:
- The property must be registered with the necessary authorities, such as the district municipality.
- The property and land reference number must be included in the agreement.
- Its construction and planning conditions must be mentioned in the contract.
- The building number and land conditions should be mentioned in the contract regarding its quantities.
The cost of buying and renting a property in Iceland
There are different conditions for buying and renting a property in Iceland. Therefore, people can enter this country and choose the most suitable situation according to their status. We have put the prices for buying and renting a property in different sections in the table below.
| City | Purchase price of a property(krona) | Property rental price (krona) |
| Akureyri | Per square meters in the city center: 450,000.00 | One-bedroom apartment in the city center: 114,000.00 |
| Per square meter outside the city center: 360,000.00 | One-bedroom apartment outside the city: 95,000.00 | |
| Hafnarfjorour | Per square meters in the city center: 550,000.00 | One-bedroom apartment in the city center: 185,000.00 |
| Per square meter outside the city center: 390,000.00 | One-bedroom apartment outside the city: 162,000.00 | |
| Reykjavik | Per square meters in the city center: 586,458.52 | One-bedroom apartment in the city center: 199,736.84 |
| Per square meter outside the city center: 444,992.34 | One-bedroom apartment outside the city: 163,333.33 | |
| Keflavik | Per square meters in the city center: 255,000.00 | One-bedroom apartment in the city center: 157,500.00 |
| Per square meter outside the city center: 220,000.00 | One-bedroom apartment outside the city: 143,333.33 |
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!