Residence permit

For nationals of other countries:

Nationals of EU/EEA countries do not need a residence permit to stay or work in Norway. However, all nationals of EU/EEA countries who want to stay for longer than three months must register with the police.
Nationals of non-EU/EEA countries who want to work in Norway or to stay for longer than 90 days need a residence permit.

The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) normally processes applications for a residence permit.

Please be aware: If you have a non-biometric passport, and your residence permit has been approved, you need a D-visa to enter the Schengen-area. However, if you hold a biometric passport, you do not need to a D-visa.

Important information for those applying for entry visa, waiting for a decision on an application for family immigration (so-called D-visa).

For information concerning residence permits for internships in Norway see here.

Before you apply

Gather the necessary documentation

You must gather all the documents in the relevant checklist on UDI’s website. Some of the documents must be provided by your contact person in Norway; others you will have to obtain yourself.

If you want someone to act on your behalf in connection with your application, you must authorise this person to do so. Please visit the UDI website for more information and the relevant form: Power of Attorney.

The checklist gives an overview of the documents you need to hand in to start the application process.

Please follow the links below, and read the information carefully. When you come to the Visa Application Centre, you must bring all the original supporting documents and a certified copy of each document if you want to keep the original.

The copies must be A4, with no staples, no stickers, no torn pages. If you wish to submit photos, these also have to be submitted as A4-copies. The Embassy can only scan documents in A4-size.

Please be aware that the Visa Application Centre and the Embassy do not return documents that you have submitted with your application.

Check lists (PDF)

Please be aware that “Proof of the existence of family relations” should be submitted in all family immigration cases, even if it is not listed in the checklist from UDI.

Voluntary work through the Erasmus+ program

Although voluntary work through the Erasmus+ program is not defined as “work”, you still need a work permit in Norway before you can start the assignment. The applicant or another person has to register the application for a work permit in the Application Portal Norway, pay the fee, and book an appointment at the Visa Application Centre for submitting the application with the supporting documents. Click here for the check list showing which documents the applicant needs to submit. The case processing time in the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is 4 weeks.

Once the decision has been taken by the UDI, the Embassy will send the passport with the visa or rejection letter (in case there is no power of attorney) to the Visa Application Centre. The applicant can track the application at the web page of the Visa Application Centre, and will be informed when the passport is returned to the Visa Application Centre. The Visa Application Centre also has a courier service which the applicant can order when submitting the application.

Once you have been informed the case is granted, you must book an appointment with the police in Norway in order to get a Residence Card. See information on UDI's website on how to do this. Please be aware that you cannot start your assignment in Norway before you have been to the police to get a Residence Card.

Please be aware: if you hold a biometric passport you do not need to apply for an entry visa. However, if you have a non-biometric passport you have to apply for an entry visa.

The Embassy does not recommend that you apply for an entry visa in order to wait in Norway for the work permit to be decided. The reason is that you cannot start the assignment before the work permit has been granted and you have been to the police to get a Residence Card.

Online registration and payment

Before you can hand in your passport and other documentation at a VFS application centre or a Norwegian diplomatic or consular mission, you must register your application online and pay the fee. If this is the first time you are registering an application in the portal, you will need to create a user account first.

Once you have completed the application form online and paid the fee, you will receive confirmation by email with a copy of your application summary, a signature letter (cover letter) and payment receipt attached. You need to print the signature letter, sign it, and submit it together with the other required documentation.

Go to online application

Once you have registered, you will receive confirmation by email, with a cover letter attached. The cover letter will confirm that you have filled in the application form and paid the fee. You need to print this letter and submit it together with the other required documentation.

Application fees

Information regarding fees (UDI)

Please note that you pay the fee when registering the application in the portal.

Service fee at the Visa Application Centre

In Ukraine applications are received by the external service provider VFS global, which charges a service fee.

Information regarding fees (VFS)

Please note that the sponsor or another person also can register the application on behalf of the applicant.

Certain additional services offered by VFS are not included in the service fee. Please note that these services are optional.

The cover letter must be signed by the applicant. Cover letter for minor children must be signed by one of their parents or a legal guardian. An application without a cover letter cannot be submitted.

Handing in the documents

You must bring your passport and all the documents listed in the checklist with you. You will find the relevant checklist when you register your application online. You can also find it on www.udi.no/en (checklists).

We will contact you if we need more information.

Visa Application Centre

If you are ukrainian citizen or you have residence permit in Ukraine you must hand in your application at one of the following VFS centers in Ukraine:

VFS Kyiv, VFS Odessa, VFS Lviv, VFS Kharkiv or VFS Dnipro

When submitting your application, please meet in person at the VFS Visa Application Centre, which receives applications on behalf of the Embassy. VFS will then forward your application to the Norwegian Embassy in Ankara. You do not need to book an appointment.

Please find the contact information and opening hours on the following website.

Processing time

Result

Applicants who applied at the Visa Application Centre

If you have a Power of attorney, the Power of attorney is obliged to inform you about the decision.

If the case is granted, the Embassy will print the visa and send the passport to the Visa Application Centre. The applicant can track the application at the web page of the Visa Application Centre, and will be informed when the passport is returned to the Visa Application Centre. The Visa Application Centre also has a courier service which the applicant can order when submitting the application.

Once you have been informed that the case is granted, you must book an appointment with the police in Norway in order to get a Residence Card. See information on UDI's website on how to do this. Please be aware that you cannot begin to work in Norway before you have been to the police to get a Residence Card.

If you do not have a Power of attorney and the case is rejected, the Embassy will send the rejection letter together with the passport to the Visa Application Centre.

Early employment start

Normally, work immigrants from countries outside the EU/EEA cannot start working until they have been granted a residence permit and been to the police to get a Residence Card. However, if they are skilled workers, they can start working if they have received a confirmation from the police (early employment start). Usually the employer submits the application for a work permit on behalf of the applicant at the police in Norway, and asks for an early employment start. The police will offer a preliminary confirmation of early employment start.

The confirmation from the police is submitted by the applicant at the Embassy, and the Embassy issues an entry visa. You do not need an appointment at the Embassy, but you need to bring your passport and a photography. You must present the passport to the police no later than seven days after the arrival in Norway. The police can then give a confirmation that you can work for this employer until your application for a residence permit has been decided.

On arrival

When you cross the border into the Schengen area, you will have to present:

your passport with the entry visa sticker (if you need an entry visa)
documentation showing the purpose of your stay

Once you know when you will be arriving in Norway, you need to make an appointment with the police in order to obtain a residence card. You must pre-book this appointment, normally through the Application Portal, and the appointment has to be either during the first seven days you are in Norway, or the first available appointment you can find.

More information on residence cards, including how to book an appointment