In order to welcome you we have compiled information about your new hometown.
Get to know the town’s walking and cycling paths, activities and swimming pools but children under 18 get free access to pools.
Here you can find information about resources for children and families provided by the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður
Children and youth in Hafnarfjörður have access to good education, after-school activities and recreation activities.
Practical information about buses, waste collection, street cleaning, traffic, animal control and more.
Hafnarfjörður hopes to secure financial and social security for all residents. Find out what support is available.
Enjoy culture in Bæjarbíó cultural house, at various museums or attend exciting events.
You can stay at great hotels, hostels or at a family friendly campsite in town.
You can find a lot of outdoors activities and various recreations in Hafnarfjörður.
Check-out upcoming events, or register a new one.
Search for employees or available jobs in town.
Hafnarfjörður Town council consists of 11 municipal representatives. All town council meetings are broadcast live.
Here you can find the town's fees for children, sports and activities and support services.
Contact us with ideas, suggestions, problems or emergencies.
Automatic translation by Google Translate. We cannot guarantee that it is accurate.
After receiving refugee status, you will no longer be provided with housing for asylum seekers or other service provided for asylum seekers. Immigration gives 8 weeks from the day you receive your status to leave apartment intended for asylum seekers.
The Multi-Cultural Center of Iceland is the first stop after receiving refugee status. They will invite you to an interview and introduce you to useful information about living in Iceland and offer you to take part in a project called Coordinated reception. There are five municipalities taking part in Coordinated reception (Samræmd Móttaka), Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær, Reykjavík, Árborg and Akureyri. On this link are more information about Coordinated reception: Samræmd móttaka flóttafólks – Fjölmenningarsetur (mcc.is). Hopefully more municipalities will take part soon.
It is important to open bank account as soon as possible after receiving refugee status. It should be enough to present the ID card from Immigration to open bank account but there can be different requirements between banks.
It is very important to put in priority to find an apartment to rent.
When you receive your refugee status you have the same right and obligations as other citizens of Iceland, this includes the right to social service. You will get social service from the municipality you are living in.
From the date you get your social security number (kennitala) you are automatically health insured and can get all the health service you need from the nearest health clinic. More about health service here below.
If you are paired with the municipality Hafnarfjörður or have your legal address in Hafnarfjörður our social service is in Strandgata 6, here is our webpage Hafnarfjörður (hafnarfjordur.is). The service center is open from 8:00-16:00 on Mondays to Thursdays and on Fridays from 08:00-14:00. The phone number is 585-5500 and the e-mail is hof@hafnarfjordur.is.
People that have little or no income, have their legal address in Hafnarfjörður, no other means of income (employment benefits, pension funds or other), actively seeking employment if not disabled or other valid reasons and are 18 years old and older.
Financial assistance is a considered as temporary solution until an individual can support for himself. That means that an individual that is getting financial assistance is required to be actively searching for a job and required to take a job that is offered. If an individual declines a job or activity that is offered by the social service or the Directorate of Labor, it can affect the financial assistance. There is authorization in the social service rules to deduct financial assistance after declining a job or activity 50%. That includes declining going to courses, seminars, or other activity. Also, an individual that is receiving financial assistance does not have the right to get financial assistance for the days they spend abroad.
The financial assistance is calculated according to the rules and regulation that governs this field and will change over time. For the year 2022 financial assistance each month is:
Please note that while you are staying in housing provided by the authorities (Immigration or the Ministry) you get 50% of 206.752 kr (103.376 kr).
Social service in Hafnarfjörður has a special department for refugees the first two years from their legal domicile registration. The department is called: A support division for refugees and applicants for international protection. If you still need financial support after those two years your case is moved to the general consulting department here in Hafnarfjörður.
Here is a link on the social service rules: Reglur um fjárhagsaðstoð hjá Hafnarfjarðarkaupstað. (hafnarfjordur.is)
Here is a link on the guidelines for refugees: Leiðbeinandi reglur fyrir sveitarfélög um móttökuþjónustu og aðstoð við félagslega þátttöku flóttafólks (stjornarradid.is)
Housing
Here is a list of places you can look for apartments:
www.heimavellir.is
www.bland.is
www.al.is
www.leiga.is
www.leiguskjol.is
There are also Facebook pages that you can see advertisements on housing available to rent that are called for example: til leigu, til leigu í Hafnarfirði eða til leigu á höfuðborgarsvæðinu.
Security deposit is is a guarantee amount that the landlords require to secure that the apartment is returned in the same and good condition. The amount of security deposit is often 1 to 3 months of rent. Hafnarfjörður helps refugees regarding security deposit by providing guarantee. The highest amount according to our rules is 600.000 kr. If there comes up damages, then we pay the amount for the repairs to the landlord, and you can get a loan from the social service to pay back with installments. To process guarantee for an apartment we need to get a copy of a legalized lease contract and then we make papers to confirm the guarantee with you and the landlord. You can send a copy of signed lease contract to hof@hafnarfjordur.is.
Everybody that rents an apartment and have legalized rental contract is eligible for housing benefits. The amount varies according to your income and is recalculated every three months depending on your income.
You apply for housing benefits at Húsbót, HMS. You can apply online at www.husbot.is by signing in with electronic ID or Icekey (Íslykill) or you can apply at their office in Borgartún 21. These benefits are paid from the state and are called general housing benefits.
You can also apply for additional housing benefits for low-income households through the social service. These benefits are paid from the municipality and are called special housing benefits.
In total the general and special housing benefits can be around 80.000 kr. Housing benefits are paid afterwards each month.
You can rent any type of housing, but you might not get housing benefits unless it is an apartment. The rental contract must be registered at Sýslumaðurinn á Höfuðborgarsvæðinu to be able to apply and receive housing benefits. Sýslumaðurinn is located in Hlíðasmári 1 in Kópavogur and you have to pay a fee to register the contract.
People have the right to go to any clinic, but it is advisable to turn to a clinic closest to the person´s home. Health care centers are first and foremost considered community service providers for resident who live in the municipality or neighborhood. Healthcare centers provide all general health care service and treatment for minor injuries and ailments. These centers should be the first stop for treatment unless you need emergency health service.
There are two health centers in Hafnarfjörður:
In addition to general medical service, the clinics provide maternity care, infant and child health care, school health care and home nursing.
Children under the age of eighteen are not charged appointment fees at health care clinics for fees for house calls from doctors.
The healthcare centers offer late afternoon standby service for a few hours after general service period ends.
For further information about the service of the health centers in Hafnarfjörður and the greater capitol area you can find it on their website on this link:
Services of the health care centres | Heilsugæslan (heilsugaeslan.is)
The Multicultural Centre also has healthcare information, and you can also find information about pharmacies by clicking the link below. The information is available in many languages:
Healthcare centres and pharmacies – Fjölmenningarsetur (mcc.is)
Læknavaktin in Reykjavík at Austurver, Háaleitisbraut 68, operates outside working hours on working days, weekends, and all public holidays. Phone-service is available 24 hours a day all year. Tel: 1700 and 1770. You can find further information on Illness – seeking medical assistance | Ísland.is (island.is) or on the website of Læknavaktin (laeknavaktin.is) but the website is in Icelandic. Læknavaktin is open from from 17:00-23:30 on working days and 9:00-23:30 on the weekends.
For all information about Covid-19 visit the official Icelandic website from the link www.covid.is. The website is available in many languages.
There are four pharmacies in Hafnarfjörður:
Apótek Hafnarfjarðar, Selhella 13, 221 Hafnarfirði: Apótek Hafnarfjarðar – Já.is
Lyfja Setbergi, Staðarbergi 2-4, 221 Hafnarfirði: Lyfja Setbergi – Já.is
Apótekarinn, Hólshrauni 1b (inside the grocery store Fjarðarkaup), 220 Hafnarfirði: Apótekarinn – Já.is (ja.is)
Lyf og Heilsa Firði, Fjarðargötu 13-15 (inside the shopping mall Fjörður), 220 Hafnarfirði: Lyf og heilsa Firði – Já.is (ja.is)
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