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Hallo , I am living part time now in Reykjavik . I had really good service getting a bank account and Kennitala through Islandsbanki. You can contact them by phone or e-mail and they will give you the info and requirements to open an Icelandic bank account for foreigners and they will send in an app. for the Kennitala once the account is opened . The bank account took about two weeks including mailing original info from the US and than about two more weeks for the Kennitala .

Finding a rental in one week might be a challenge unless you already have a place in mind or know someone,I know the rental market in Reykjavik is a tough one , I ended up buying an apartment because I am in Iceland regularly and could not find any reasonable  places to rent.  Rent now has risen just in the last several months and there is a line of people always looking for available places. Every time I am in Iceland  numerous people ask if I am renting my place but my days as a landlord are over .

unless rules have changed drastically, the bank generally doesn't apply for your kennitala. It's done by your employer.

Mine took about a month to get but I've heard stories of it taking up to six months. That was someone who was in a small town not accustomed to dealing with immigrants though! In Reykjavik it should be shorter.

As Mkay said though, finding a place to rent in a week is optimistic, but if you are reading through rental sites regularly and calling the instant a new listing appears, you might be lucky. Given that most rentals are on a small scale (i.e. no rental agencies), you should be able to work something out with the landlord if you don't have a kennitala on day 1. They already know most of the digits in it anyway.

Thanks for the info. I won't be living in Reykjavik but in Keflavik. I already have had some contacts to help me find a rental place. I'm not really worried about that yet. I'm more worried about not being able to buy a car right away as the rental costs are so high and I really need a car for work.

What happens if you do have a Kennitala but it’s not active and would like to apply for jobs before heading back  , is there anyway to activate it from the USA ?

@Sothar

how do you know your kennitala is not active? I haven't lived in Iceland for about a decade and mine is still active.

I have tried to register with the app Alfred to find a job also with Audkenni  and the number is not recognized