For EEA nationals (all citizens of an EU/EEA/EFTA country) and their family members, other rules apply through the EEA Regulations. Read more about the family members who are covered by the registration requirement for EEA nationals, who must apply pursuant to the EEA Regulations and who must apply pursuant to the general regulations.

• How do you apply?
• What must be enclosed with the application?
• Do you wish to give someone power of attorney
• Interview with the person living in Norway 
• How long will it take to process your application?
• You can appeal the decision

How do you apply?

Check where to hand in your application

• If you are outside Norway you hand in your application at a Norwegian embassy or consulate. In some countries you will hand in the application at the Swedish or Danish embassy instead. Check here where to hand in the application.  
• If you are in Norway, you can apply from here if you have held another type of permit for the past nine months. You can also apply from Norway if you have skilled worker qualifications. You can use this guide (in Norwegian only) to see if you can apply for family immigration from Norway.  If not, you must apply from your home country.

Find out if you should apply online

You should register your application online if you apply from Norway or through a Norwegian embassy You cannot register your application online if you hand in the application at a Swedish or Danish embassy.

Register your application online here:

If you hand in the application at a Swedish or Danish embassy you must fill in a form on paper and hand it in at the embassy. You can find the form here. The form is also used for renewing a permit

What must you hand in with the application?

Both applicants who register their applications online and those who hand in a paper version need to hand in their passport and other necessary documentation.

• If you apply online, you will at the same time book an appointment for handing in your documents to the police or an embassy. You will not have to wait in line when you turn up for your appointment.
• If are not applying online you need to contact the embassy to find out when to hand in the documents along with the application form. 

When you have visited the embassy or police station and handed in your passport and other necessary documentation we will start to process your application.

In addition to the completed application form (online or paper version), you must enclose documentation

See the list of documentation you must enclose to a family immigration application.

Do you wish to give someone power of attorney?

If you want someone to have full access to your case, and be able to speak with the UDI on your behalf, you must give this person power of attorney. 

Without power of attorney nobody, not even the person you are applying for family immigration with, will be able to get detailed information about your case from the UDI.

Interview with the person living in Norway

If you apply for a family immigration permit as a spouse or cohabitant, the main rule is that the person living in Norway must have been interviewed by the police. This applies when the marriage or cohabitation is established abroad after the person living in Norway is already settled here. The scheme is introduced to clarify whether or not you have entered into the marriage or cohabitation voluntarily.

The documentation requirement does not apply if:

• you are married to the person living in Norway, and he or she was interviewed before you got married, or
• you are among those who do not need a visa to enter Norway, or
• the person living in Norway had turned 25 when the marriage was entered into, or
• the person living in Norway has been granted a residence permit as a skilled worker or a specialist, or
• you have lived together in an established cohabitation while both have held residence permits in Norway.

Exemptions can also be made from the interview requirement if special grounds so indicate.

Read more about the interview.

Case processing time

See the list of the Directorate of Immigration’s (UDI) expected case processing times here. To ensure that the case processing time is as short as possible, it is important that you fill in the application form carefully and that you enclose all the required documentation.

You can appeal the decision

Read more about how to appeal a decision here.

Further information

If you have more questions about this topic, contact your nearest Norwegian embassy or consulate, the nearest police district or the UDI’s Information Service.

Read the answers to the most frequentley asked questions about family immigration.