Hello, new guy here.

The crooks being arrested meme is all nice sounding but as always, the truth is far more complex.

Why do you want to move to Iceland? What are your means of financial support? You do know you need a visa to live here as an American, right?

If you have insight on the truth and its complexity, please share it.
I am not sure about moving any place, I have a couple years to study, and think it over. We are going to sell this place no matter what. If we stay, we are going to upgrade our living arrangements with a nicer home. If we go out of the country we will use that capital to get ourselves established. My wife is in the medical industry and I am a handy man. I also hold a degree in Heating, cooling, and refrigeration, as well as a background in auto mechanics, both Gas and Diesel.

I understand the visa will be needed. I have yet to see what is needed to get one. I have done very little research on that so far. What I do know, is that I did not see the USA on the list of counties that need a visa, or do not need a visa. So do they not allow people form the USA to move to IL? At this point I would just have to guess they do? I have also thought about Sweden. My main goal is to see the world. I move around a lot but only in the USA. I have been from one side of the country to the other. I am now in the middle of it and in the mountains. I just dont feel like this is where I want to live and die. I want something else. I will be 33 this year and time is passing me by. Thanks for your time.

sounds to me like you've got a lot to learn about the expat life. As an American, many countries will require a residence visa if you want to live there. Iceland and Sweden both do.

you can read more here for moving to Iceland:

http://utl.is/

here for moving to sweden:
http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/start_en.html

life in these scandinavian countries is pretty good, so they don't let just anyone come and settle. You've got to prove you'll be supporting yourself and that you have a tie to the country.

Thanks again for the help. When you say "tie to the country". Do you think I would have to have a job lined up first then? I dont have any relatives in the area. This is part of why I am here. Your wonderful for taking the time to help me. Will look at the links you provided.

Hi, New Guy!
It is my understanding that you can stay for 6 months while looking for work, but you can't get a residence permit. From what I remember,in order to get a residence permit before coming you have to have a job lined up and you have to have insurance in place (purchased by yourself or an employer) for the first 6 months.
Hope this helps

Carole

hi,

that rule about six months stay does NOT apply to Americans, only to EEA citizens. Americans are limited by the Schengen agreement when staying in Iceland without a visa. That means you have 90 days out of any 180 day period that can be spent in Iceland or any other Schengen country. Once you've used those up you have to leave, and they do pay attention to this. I know someone who overstayed by a few days and ended up stuck in the UK as a result. There is no job-seeker visa type.

The residence permit based on work requires a work visa as well. You either have to be doing a job that there are not enough people to fulfill at the moment (keeping in mind it's you against all the migrant workers from eastern europe who don't need a work visa) or you have to be a specialist that is doing a job that is hard to fill from these visa-free worker populations.

it's all explained on that link above.

There are basically three ways for a US citizen to legally reside in Iceland.

1. Marry an Icelandic citizen (who has been a citizen for at least 5 years). Since you are already married, this is probably not for you.

2. Enrol in an Icelandic university. This is temporary, but you can legally live here (and work a little) if you are a student at one of the universities.

3. Get a job. This is easier said than done, and as a non EU citizen you will need to be highly skilled, and have skills that are "in demand", for example computer programming. Technically Americans are only supposed to get jobs that nobody else in the EU wants/can do. In reality, it's not so strict, but you'll have to have a strong professional background and probably good Icelandic. If there are a lot of Icelanders that can do the job that you want, you won't get it.

As a non-European you are definitely not allowed to "just move to Iceland" (or any other European country). I am lucky enough to be an EU citizen, so for me it was very simple, but Americans cannot easily move to Europe.

P.S. When you say "People speak multiple languages"... Most Icelanders do speak English, yes, but you should absolutely not consider moving to Iceland unless you intend to learn Icelandic. For one thing, it's rude to move to a country and make no effort to learn the language. It is the key to Icelandic society and you will be an outsider without language skills. I know of a lot of people who live here and deal with feelings of isolation and loneliness because of their poor Icelandic, which stops them successfully integrating into Icelandic society. I would absolutely start learning the language BEFORE moving here.
It is also necessary for most lines of work. For example, you definitely wouldn't be able to be an auto-mechanic here without speaking Icelandic. The vast majority of your customers would be Icelandic and would expect, rightfully so, transactions and discussions to be carried out in Icelandic.

Okay,thanks for so much help everyone. I have no issue with learning the language. I would like it more to be honest. But if I am not going or have little to no chance of using it then its not so imp. It does seem like it would be hard to become a citizen but then to take into account that I would have to move my family and risk it all with what seems like a good chance of being deported has become a worry. It does not sound very responsible. I will stay optimistic though. This is one of two places I have been considering and both have the same rules. Thanks again.