If you would like to immigrate to Norway, there are many different options available to you. However, you may be required to apply for a Norwegian visa or work permit before you can travel to Norway.
The options available to you, and whether or not you need to apply for a Norwegian visa/work permit, depends on a number of factors:
Your nationality
• a citizen of an EU/EEA country
• a citizen of a non-EU/EEA country
Your reasons for immigrating
• work immigration
• study permit
• family immigration
• visit and holidays
• au pair
• protection (asylum)
Who has to Apply for a Norwegian Visa or Work Permit?
If you are currently a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA area and you are looking to work in Norway, you will need to apply for a Norwegian visa or work permit prior to travelling to Norway.
Likewise, if you come from a country outside the EU/EEA and wish to study in Norway, you must apply for a residence permit for studies. This is also called a study permit.
All EU/EEA nationals are entitled to work, study and live in Norway. However, if you planning to stay in Norway for more than three months, you must register with the Norwegian police.
The registration is free and the Norwegian police will issue you with a registration certificate.
The registration certificate will allow you to be assigned a Norwegian national identity number and as well as being issued with a tax deduction card.
Applying for a Norwegian Visa or Work Permit
The Norwegian department of immigration, UDI, is responsible for processing all Norwegian visa and work permit applications.
UDI has a very informative and simple-to-use website. It takes you through the process of applying for a Norwegian visa or work permit step-by-step.
For more information on how to apply for a Norwegian visa or work permit, please go to the UDI website. Here is a link to the English version of the site: UDI.
Norwegian for Immigrants
Depending on your immigration status, you may have a right and an obligation to complete Norwegian language training of 600 hours. Of these, 50 hours must be instruction in social studies.
Any immigrants who want to apply for a permanent residence permit or Norwegian citizenship will need to document their Norwegian language skills.
The most common way of doing this is to sit Norskprøven (an official Norwegian language exam). You will need to pass both oral and written parts of Norskprøven at level A2 to meet the language requirements for a Norwegian residence permit or citizenship.
If you are not entitled to free Norwegian training, you will need to pay for the training yourself.
The Norskprøven can only be taken in Norway, however, you can study and prepare for the exam while still living in your home country. Once in Norway, you can put your name down for the exam.
If your immigration status requires you to take Norwegian lessons, you can apply for an exemption if you have passed with an A2 in both the oral and written parts.
