Note: This post was originally written by the r/norway mods over at Reddit, this is a copy of that post.
Important warning: Reddit is not an appropriate place to get accurate immigration information.
However, this is a common topic on this subreddit and to help direct people to the proper information, I have updated the previous post to address the most common questions. Please read the entire guide and use the links provided to see out answers to your specific questions. Any questions you may have that cannot be answered from this guide or the links provided cannot be answered by redditors on this sub and should therefore be directed to an appropriate immigration expert.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional; I neither work for UDI nor am I an immigration lawyer. I do have an interest in immigration law and have spent a lot of time studying and researching the rules and regulations. What follows is a rough guide only meant to serve as a starting point for the average redditor. With that said:
So You Want To Move To Norway…
Despite what movies might portray, moving abroad is not just a matter of packing bags and showing up. Immigration is usually a long, often expensive process and there are many criteria that you must meet to be legally resident in Norway. There are three general categories of permits that will allow you to remain in Norway beyond a regular tourist/visitor visa:
Temporary Residence Permit This is your first step. These permits are contingent on you/your reference person meeting certain requirements; are usually temporary; and will need to be renewed (usually yearly, some last longer). You must have this permit if you wish to remain in Norway beyond your visitor visa’s allowed time (ie: >90 days).
Permanent Residence Permit This can be applied for only if you have been legally living in Norway for three years (or more in some instances) with a residence permit that forms the basis of permanent residency; you meet the language requirements; pass a citizenship test; have an income over a certain threshold; and you have not been convicted of a criminal offence. This allows you to stay in Norway permanently (no need to renew. Edit: to clarify. Your PR card will expire, but you do not need to reapply for this type of permit. Renewing the card is akin to renewing your passport. The renewal period is every 2 years for non-EEA citizens and 10 years for EEA citizens).
Citizenship This is an optional step. You do not need to apply for citizenship; however, if you want to, you can qualify for Norwegian citizenship after a period of time (usually >7 years). This has many requirements, but the biggest is the language requirement. NB: While Norway has now allowed dual citizenship, your country of origin may not allow dual citizenship. NB: Norway does not do Citizenship based on heritage. One or both of your parents need to have citizenship (and not have given it up previously) in order for you to qualify for citizenship based on birth. There are a lot of complicated rules surrounding citizenship by birth. Use this to determine if you qualify for citizenship. NB: according to UDI’s website, Norway does not offer citizenship by investment (ie: having a lot of money to invest in exchange for residency or citizenship).
The remainder of this post will focus on the first residence permit (#1) since by the time you are ready for 2 or 3 you will be an immigration pro. How you qualify for immigration to Norway and how easy the process will be depends on a few factors
- Your citizenship (EEA/EU vs Third-Country National)
- Your education, qualifications, experience,
- If you have a job offer,
- Your relationship with a Norwegian national.
Immigration as an EU/EEA citizen:
If you are an EU/EEA citizen (or Swiss) you have the right to reside in Norway for 3 months without any other obligations; after 3 months you will need to demonstrate that you are meeting your treaty rights. Those treaty obligations are:
- Be employed (or registered as self-employed),
- Be a student,
- Be self-sufficient, or
- Be a job seeker actively seeking work with a decent chance at finding work.
NB: The last three require you to have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family and have comprehensive medical insurance for the duration of your stay.
Note: sufficient funds in this scenario can come from any source including a third-country national’s savings/income/other documented source (you may need to prove the sponsor has access to this money).
The right of residence for longer than three months also extends to the EEA/EU citizen’s immediate family (spouse/partner, children, other dependents), regardless of their nationality, so long as the EU/EEA citizen is meeting their treaty obligations and neither the citizen nor the family member is a threat to public policy, security, or health. All of this is explained in the Directive on Free Movement.
It is important to note that people immigrating under this route do not qualify for the benefits found in the Introduction Law, which include, among other things, the right to free language lessons.
Immigrating as a Third-Country National (not from EU/EEA).
I am using an applicant from the US as the default here. Your rules may vary slightly depending on your nationality.
Your options for moving are not as simple or easy as above. You should consult UDI (Norwegian Immigration Board) or the Norwegian Embassy in your country for the most up-to-date information for your specific nationality.
Generally speaking you need a reason to be in Norway. These reasons are:
- Family member of a Norwegian national
- Family member of an EEA/EU national
- A worker
- An undergraduate or graduate student which has been discussed before. NOTE: As of 2023 it will most likely no longer be free for international students (outside of the EEA/EU) to study in Norway. Norway is looking to adopt tuition fees for such international students. Prices will be likely determined by the universities. As more information becomes available, this post will update.
- Protection (Asylum seeker). I will not spend time on this; it has its own complicated rules and I highly doubt anyone seeking asylum will be spending their time on reddit. If you are, I really recommend seeking out an immigration lawyer to help you with your application.
Family immigration with a Norwegian National
These are most often spouses/cohabitants, but may also include children or parents under some circumstances.
The process for application is relatively straightforward with a little bit of reading on UDI’s website and some document gathering.
- You must pay the application fee,
- Document your identity (passport),
- Have a valid marriage licence/certificate,
- Have plans to live together in Norway,
- Not be in a marriage of convenience,
- You must both be over the age of 24,
- Your spouse/partner must make above a minimum income threshold per year pre-tax (this number frequently changes. Check UDI’s site). They will need to demonstrate they made a sufficient amount the year before you apply and demonstrate that they are likely to have the same amount the following year. They will need to provide contract of employment, pay slips, and a tax assessment notice. Additionally, they must not have received financial assistance from NAV in the last 12 months.
Note on income sources: under this route of family immigration, it is the onus of the sponsor to demonstrate that they make a sufficient income to support the family. This means that regardless of the financial situation, the sponsor must make the minimum income; the third-country national’s income/savings are not taken into consideration in the majority of cases.
There are other circumstances that may require additional documentation (ie: evidence of military service). Check UDI for all the documents you’ll need.
Family members who are granted residence based on this route will qualify for free language classes as part of the introduction act (link above).
NB: the rules may change if you have lived with the Norwegian citizen legally in another EEA/EU country. If this is the case, you may be allowed to choose between family immigration under Norwegian national law or residence card as a family member of an EU citizen (see above). Also see the differences between the two immigration schemes here.
If you are engaged to a Norwegian you can apply for a fiancé permit which will allow you to come into Norway for the purposes of getting married in Norway. You must be married within 6 months. After you are married you will have to apply for family immigration with your spouse (process described above). You can read about getting married in Norway here.
Only some people can apply from Norway. Others will have to apply from their home country via the embassy or consulate. Make sure you check with UDI to learn whether you need to apply from home.
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Important links
UDI – This is your first and last stop for immigration.
UDI Waiting Times – Constantly changing and are usually quite long.
Immigration Act - In case you want to really learn the laws. This is in Norwegian, but a translation tool will work well enough.
Norwegian Customs: Moving to Norway – Some items may be taxed if they are brought into Norway. Generally personal items are not taxed, however some may be. This applies to new items, food products, alcohol/tobacco, weapons, work-related equpiment, etc…Cars are also taxed on import.
Study in Norway for information about studying in Norway
Nokut - which allows you to check to see if your education satisfies the entry requirements
Bringing your pets to Norway – This link helps you learn which animals are allowed and which are not, including which dog breeds are banned, and the steps you’ll need to follow to import your pet including the vaccines and documents you’ll need to make sure your pet is accepted at the border.
If you are going to bring your pet, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you know the rules inside and out and that you make sure your pet is 100% compliant with the rules. If you arrive at the border without meeting the requirements your pet may be quarantined, returned to its point of departure, or euthanized (and you will incur those costs).
If you are flying with your pet, double check that your airline will accept pets in the cargo hold or if they’ll need to be shipped separately. Pets may only travel during certain times of the year (there are temperature restrictions that vary based on airline). Additionally, Third-Country Nationals (non EU/EEA) pets can only arrive at two airports in Norway (Oslo, Kirkenes – Tromsø allows pets travelling from Svalbard).
Altinn – an over view on how to start and operate a business in Norway. NB: Altinn is your dialogue with the business, private citizens, and government services such as tax returns/statements and other digital forms.
NAV – a good place to look for jobs; also the place to find services and benefits.
FINN – the classifieds section for the modern Norwegian. This is where you can look for jobs and buy or sell items/services.
New In Norway - A useful site to guide you through the process of moving to Norway and the first steps of getting settled in Norway.
IMDi – where you can find all the information on language classes and the introduction act. (Note: the Norwegian page is more comprehensive).
Directive on Free Movement – applicable for EEA/EU citizens/family members of EU/EEA citizens only. Very good for Norwegians to also know your rights to free movement in the EEA/EU!!
Statens Vegvesen – Norwegian Road Authority where you deal with all things related to your vehicle including licencing, EU control, registration, etc… Some countries have an agreement with Norway that will allow you to exchange your foreign licence (with or without a road test). For those countries that do not have such agreements, you will need to go through the same process as Norwegians to get your licence, which includes mandatory driver training through an accredited traffic school. If you can exchange your licence, you usually only have one year from the time you were granted your residence permit, so it is wise to do that as soon as possible.
Norwegian Tax Office – You will need to get in touch with these folks if you’re going to work in Norway.
Helse Norge - A place to see your health information including your patient journal, your electronic prescriptions, change your doctor, etc…
You can read about banking here and here. The pages are a little old, but it will get you started. Most common banks include Sparebank1, DNB, Handelsbanken Norway, Sbanken as well as many other smaller savings banks.
Once you get a bank account, you’ll need to get BankID which is critical to accessing many Norwegian services including Statens Vegvesen, Helse Norge, Altinn, etc… BankID serves as a digital signature.
The most popular telecom companies include Telenor, Telia, OneCall, TalkMore. You will need a person number (granted to you once you have a residence permit) in order to get any subscription based phone plan. EU phones will work in Norway and with the EU’s “roam like home” directive. Non-EU folks may need to get a pre-paid phone card (kontantkort) until you can get a subscription.
No matter where you are coming from, I recommend that anyone considering a move to another country look into culture shock. Lots of immigration attempts fail in part because a failure to recognize and address culture shock.
There was a good discussion about the difficulties of moving to Norway (or any other new country) that you can read here. You can learn about culture shock here, and here, and here, and also here.
While it may not be required for most applications, from experience, it is a good idea to get a certified copy of some important documents from back home. Getting certified (and potentially notarized) copies of diplomas/transcripts, your birth certificate, divorce proceedings, etc… will potentially save you a lot of time, money, and annoyance as trying to get these things while you are abroad is much, much harder.
Workers
There are many types of working permits. UDI’s webpage will outline all the possibilities available to you but the most common are skilled worker and seasonal worker.
Skilled workers are those who:
- Completed a vocational training programme of at least three years at upper secondary school level. NB: there must be a corresponding training programme in Norway.
- Completed a degree from a university or college (BA, BSc, BE, etc…)
- Special qualifications that you have obtained through long work experience, if relevant in combination with courses etc. A permit is only granted in such cases in exceptional circumstances. Your qualifications must be equivalent to those of someone who has completed vocational training.
Additionally, you must have received a concrete job offer from an employer in Norway, the job must normally be full-time (UDI will, at the time of writing, accept 80%), the job must have the same pay/conditions that is normal in Norway, and the job you are offered must require the qualifications as a skilled worker (and you must be qualified for the job).
If you do not fall into this category, you may qualify as a seasonal worker; however this route is considerably more difficult, usually temporary (<6 months), and your employer must prove that they cannot fill the position with a worker from Norway or the EEA/EU. You will need to be employed 100%, you will need a concrete job offer before you apply, and the job must be deemed season or holiday stand-in.
Those citizens who qualify as a skilled worker and who are coming from a country with a visa-free agreement with Norway you may be allowed to come to Norway as a skilled job seeker.
NB: You cannot work while you are searching for a job. This means that once you have a concrete job offer, you will need to apply for a residence permit as a worker and you cannot start working until your application has been approved.
It is very advantageous to have a grasp on the Norwegian language before you arrive. There are some fields which may accept a lower proficiency in Norwegian; however, these careers are few and far between and knowledge of the local language will help with both applying for jobs and acclimatizing to living in Norway.
Some international companies may post workers in Norway. You will still need a resident permit for workers; however, many companies will help with this process.
edit: New rules exist for UK citizens living in Norway. Formerly, UK citizens would be allowed to apply for residency under EEA/EU regulations. Post-Brexit, UK citizens are no longer allowed to apply for this immigration route. Certain citizens may be allowed to excise EEA treaty rights if they arrived and registered by a certain date. For more information, please see UDI’s Brexit Information page.