Departure formalities
Before moving from the Faroe Islands, there are several formalities and arrangements that you need to deal with.
If you move from the Faroe Islands to another Nordic country, you must report the relocation to the municipality where you will be living.
You will only be registered as having left the Faroe Islands once the municipality to which you are moving has informed the municipality which you are leaving.
If you move from a Faroese municipality to a country outside the Nordic region, you must notify your Faroese municipality before you leave.
If you move abroad for less than six months, you can retain your registered address in the Faroe Islands unless you rent out or lend your house or flat.
It is advisable to keep information about your Faroese ID-number in case you will be in touch with Faroese authorities later on.
Read more:
A Non-Nordic resident in the Faroe Islands will lose his residence and work permit if he leaves the Faroe Islands for an extended period of time, or if he no longer maintains a residence in the Faroe Islands. This applies also for foreign residents with a permanent residence permit.
A Non-Nordic resident with a temporary residence and work permit in the Faroe Islands can spend up to 6 continuous months outside the Faroe Islands without losing his residence and work permit. Time spent in Greenland or Denmark is seen as time spent outside the Faroe Islands.
Read more:
You can keep your Faroese bank account and internet bank after leaving the Faroe Islands. It is important to keep the bank account open for approximately one year in case you receive reimbursements for e.g. tax or deregistration fees.
Normally, you cannot keep your Visa debit card if you no longer receive salary in the Faroe Islands. The bank may let you keep your Mastercard debit card for some time after you have left the country.
If you have a mortgage loan in the bank, you can keep the loan as long as you pay your debts. If you sell your house, you will have to pay back the loan.
If you have a car loan in the bank, you will have to pay back the loan when you deregister your car.
You will receive a pre-printed tax return for the previous year in March after having left the Faroe Islands. If the pre-printed information is incorrect, you will have to file a tax return.
Excess tax, if any, will be paid outto your Faroese bank account.
It is important that you inform the Faroese Tax Office if you change your address after having left the Faroe Islands.
Employees with an employment contract will get unused holidays paid out as salary when they leave their job.
Hourly-paid employees get 12 percent of their wages earned from April 1st to March 31st, paid out as holiday pay on May 2nd.
Overtime work is paid by the hour, and employees with a fixed salary will have holiday pay for overtime work paid out on May 2nd.
Foreigners who have holiday pay due must keep their Faroese bank account until they have received their pay.
If you want to take your Faroese registered car with you when you leave the Faroe Islands, you will have to deregister it.
When derigstering the car, you are entitled to a refund on part of the paid registration duty. The amount will be transfered to your Faroese bank
Nordic citizens who are moving from the Faroe Islands to another Nordic country can have their membership of the Faroese Unemployment Scheme transfered to an unemployment scheme in the country they are moving to.
In order to get transfered to an unemployment scheme in another Nordic country, you will have to obtain a certificate from the Faroese Unemployment Scheme proving your membership three weeks before you leave. The certificate and pay slips from your employer must be handed over to the unemployment scheme in the country you are moving to within 8 weeks after your membership of the Faroese Unemployment Scheme has expired.
In order to get benefit from the unemployment scheme in the country you are moving to, you must be able to document that you have been employed for a certain period of time. The length of the period varies from country to country.
If a parent moves from the Faroe Islands to another Nordic country while being on paid leave from the Parental Leave Fund, she or he can receive payments from the fund until the end of the parental leave period. The parents can choose to receive payments from the parental fund in the country they are moving to instead.