If you have children living in Norway, you can be granted a residence permit that is valid for up to nine months to visit them.
The content of the permit
This permit entitles you as a parent to visit your children living in Norway for up to nine months. The permit does not entitle you to work in Norway, and you must return to your home country when the residence permit expires. You can travel into and out of Norway for as long as the permit is valid.
The permit cannot be renewed/extended, this also applies to permits that have been given for a shorter period of time than nine months.
After you have stayed outside Norway for at least one year, you may be granted a new nine-month permit. If you have visited Norway in the meantime (for example on a visa), the one-year period is extended by a period equal to the duration of the visit.
Requirements of the child living in Norway
The child living in Norway must be a Norwegian or Nordic citizen, hold a permanent residence permit (settlement permit) or a residence permit that forms the basis for a permanent residence permit. The permit is not dependent on the child’s age, which means that you can be granted a parental permit to visit children both over and under the age of 18.
How to apply
Before you apply, you need to find out if you can apply while you are staying in Norway, or if you need to apply from your home country.
You also need to find out whether you must fill out the application form online, or if you need to hand in a paper form.
Where do you apply from?
- 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 are in the country legally (you are for example here on a visa). If not, you must apply from your home country.
You cannot apply from Norway if you are here as an asylum seeker or are waiting to leave Norway after your application for asylum has been rejected.
If you apply after you arrived in Norway, the nine months are counted from the day you entered the Schengen area.
Find out if you must register your application online
You must 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.
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.
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 it has been formally submitted and we will start to process your application.
A contact in Norway may help you to register the application online, but you will still be responsible for it, and you must hand in the documentation..
In addition to the completed application form (online or paper version), you must enclose documentation
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.
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.
