A residence permit is necessary for most types of work and stays over 90 days in a period of 180 days.
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.
You can find out through this document whether you need a work permit for the purpose you are going to carry out in Norway. Please note that all your purposes during the visit must be exempted to work without a work permit.
Applicants who don't need a visa to Norway and already hold a bachelor degree or have received a Fulbright grant or take part in certain exchange programmes, can apply for the residence permit after travelling to Norway.
If you don’t have a valid travel document and a valid residence card, you should not travel out of Norway. If you do, you might experience problems at the airport, when you try to enter another country, or when you try to travel back to Norway.
You should also not book any trips abroad until you have both a valid travel document and a valid residence card.
It is the residence card that documents that you have a residence permit in Norway. The police are responsible for border control. The UDI, VFS and the Consulate cannot answer questions about how Norway or other countries practice border control. Nor can we write confirmations that can be used for travel and which airlines or other countries' authorities will accept. It is not possible to issue a visa to applicants who do not require a visa to travel Schengen. All travels without a residence card will therefore be at your own risk.
Find out what type of residence permit you need, e.g. in connection with work, studies, family immigration or to stay in Norway as an au pair. You will find information on the different types of residence permit on UDI’s website.
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.
When applying for a residence permit please make sure that you have gathered all documents required according to the relevant checklist.
Missing documents may delay the application process.
Bring all the documents to your appointment with VFS.
If you want someone to help you 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. Only the person who needs the visa or someone with a written power of attorney will be given information about a specific case.
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.
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
The fee you should pay to apply for a residence permit depends on the type of permit.
Check the fees on the web page of the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration:
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).
Applications for a residence permit can be submitted in the country of which the applicant is a national or in the country in which the applicant has had a work permit or a residence permit the last six months.
Applicants who are citizens or residents of a country where there is no VFS application center receiving applications on behalf of Norway and therefore need to travel to a neighbouring country to submit the application, do not need to have an additional residence permit in the country where VFS is located.
You should be able to find an appointment within 3 working days. If you - and any other applicants applying together with you - cannot find an available appointment (together), please contact VFS. The Consulate cannot book the appointments.
You must submit your passport with the application.
Applications will not be processed before we have received the passport.
In the USA and Canada, VFS will send the passport to the Consulate General in New York together with the application.
Applicants with passports that do not require a visa to travel to Schengen, will get their passport returned immediately after the Consulate has registered the application.
If a visa is required, the Consulate will keep the passport until the application has been processed.
Applicants may request that the passport be returned during the processing, but in such cases, the applicant must pay a second courier fee to return the passport to the Consulate General in New York when a visa is to be issued.
From the Dominican Republic, VFS will send the passport to the Consulate General in New York together with the application for residents of the Dominican Republic.
Applicants in the Caribbean who require their passport to return to their country of residence should inform VFS about this when handing over their passport together with the application. The applicant must in such cases pay both for a courier to the Consulate General in New York after returning to their country of residence for the residence process to be started and another fee to return the passport to the applicant.
Applicants with passports that do not require a visa to travel to Schengen, will get their passport returned immediately after the Consulate has registered the application.
If a visa is required, the Consulate will keep the passport until the application has been processed.
Applicants may request that the passport be returned during the processing, but in such cases, the applicant must pay both a courier fee to return the passport to the Consulate General in New York when a visa is to be issued and a courier fee back to the applicant.
Applicants in need of a visa who know at the time of submission that they need the passport back sooner than the visa or residence permit processing time, should notify VFS staff about the date they need their passport back.
Applicants who did not inform VFS about the early return of their passport, should send an e-mail to the visa section to get the passport returned before the processing is finalized.
In South America, VFS will send the passport together with application to the Consulate General in New York when a visa is required.
If no visa is required, VFS will give the passport to the local Norwegian foreign service mission and return it to the applicant after the passport has been checked.
Applicants in South America who require a visa to travel to Schengen, but need their passport to return to their country of residence, if different from the country where the VFS application center, should inform VFS about this when handing over their passport together with the application. The passport will then be returned after checking by the local Norwegian foreign service mission and not sent to the Consulate General in New York. The applicant must in such cases pay for a return courier to the Consulate General in New York after returning to their country of residence for the visa to be issued.
The Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York will notify you when your application has been processed.
You will be contacted through the e-mail address that was used when registering the application, so remember to check this e-mail inbox (also the spam filter). If this e-mail does not belong to you, you must give a power of attorney
If you have given the power of attorney to someone to handle the application on your behalf, they will be informed about the outcome and should forward this information to you.
If your application has been rejected, you will receive a written explanation as to why it was rejected. You can appeal the decision and the refusal letter will inform about the procedure to appeal.
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.