• Where can you apply from?
• What must be enclosed with the application?
• Which family members are entitled to residence?
• What permit must the person you are applying for family immigration with have?
• Granting and rejection of applications
• Content and duration
• Documentation when travelling outside Norway
• Permanent right of residence 

Where can you apply from ?

You can choose whether to travel to Norway and apply from here or to hand in the application at an embassy in your country of residence.

While waiting for a decision on your application, you have the right to work in Norway, as long as you fulfill these requirements.

• You are a family member of an EEA national who lives in Norway and you have a genuine relationship.
• The EEA national must exercise their right of residence in Norway, which means that they must be an employee, self-employed, a service provider, have sufficient funds or be a student i  Norway.
• You must have a valid passport.  

If you have trouble obtaining a tax deduction card, you can get a letter from the UDI which explains your rights. You can show this to the Tax administration (Skatteetaten). Please contact the Information service if you would like us to send you such a letter.

Applying from Norway

• If you do not need a visa, you can travel into Norway straight away.
• If you need a visa, you hand in anapplication for a visitors visa (Schengen visa) at an embassy in the country where you are at the moment. You must hand in documentation of your relationship with the EEA national and documentation of the basis of their right of residence (meaning documentation that he or she is an employee, self-employed, a service provider, have sufficient funds or is a student in Norway). As a family member of an EEA national who have a right of residence in Norway you have, as a main rule, the right to a visa, a right to a prioritised processing of your application and you do not have to pay a fee. 

When you come to Norway you register your application for a residence card online. At the same time you book an appointment for handing in the enclosures/documentation to your application to the police.

Register your application online here:

It is only when you have handed in your passport and other necessary documentation to the police that the application has been formally submitted and we can start processing it.   

You may nominate a person in Norway to register an application on your behalf. However, you are responsible for the application and have to hand in the supporting documentation yourself.

Applying from abroad

1. If you wish to apply from your home country or another country where you are staying, you must fill out an application form. 
   Application form 
    
2. You personally hand in this form at an embassy/consulate together with your passport and necessary documentation. Please contact the embassy in advance to find out when you can hand in the application.  
 

 What must be enclosed with the application?

Checklists with information about what documents to hand in with your application.

Which family members are entitled to residence?

The UDI can also grant residence cards to other family members supported by the person living in Norway, or who are part of his/her household in the home country. This must be documented.

What permit must the person you are applying for family immigration with have?

If you are applying for family immigration with an EEA national who has right of residence or a registration certificate in Norway, you can be granted a residence card pursuant to the EEA regulations although you are not an EEA national.

If you apply for family immigration with a Norwegian national or an EEA national who holds a permit pursuant to the general regulations, you must as a rule apply for family immigration pursuant to the general regulations.

In some cases, you will nonetheless fall under the EEA regulations as a family member of a Norwegian national. This will apply if the Norwegian national has:

• established family life with you in another EU/EEA/EFTA country.
• exercised his/her right to free movement (been an employee, self-employed, service provider, had sufficient funds or student) there, and has
• returned to Norway with you.

As a family member, you can then choose which regulations will form the basis for your application.

If the person living in Norway is an EEA national, has a permanent residence permit (previously called settlement permit) and meets the requirements for being granted a permit pursuant to the EEA regulations (e.g. is living in Norway as an employee), you can also choose which regulations you wish to use.

• If you are not an EEA national, you can choose to apply for family immigration pursuant to the EEA regulations (apply for a residence card) or apply pursuant to the general regulations.
• If you are an EEA national, you can register through the registration requirement scheme or apply pursuant to the general regulations.

Nordic citizens do not need to register to stay in Norway. If you want to come to Norway to live here with a family member who is a Nordic citizen, you can

• get registration certificates if you are an EEA national

• apply for a residence card under the EEA regulations, if you are not an EEA national

• apply for family reunification (temporary residence permit) in accordance with the Immigration Act and regulations for third country nationals. 

It is required that the Nordic citizen living in Norway can provide documentation of the right of free movement (is employed , self-employed, a service provider, a student or has sufficient funds). If you require a visa to travel to Norway, you shall be given a visa. You can submit/register  your application for a visa to the nearest Norwegian embassy or consulate. 

Granting and rejection of applications

You will receive a decision on your application for a residence card from the police or the embassy.

Granted applications

If your application is granted, you will be notified by letter. The letter will explain that you must go to a police station to have your photo and fingerprints taken for your residence card.

Read more about how you get the card  

Rejected application

If you apply for a residence card while staying in Norway, and it turns out that you do not fulfill the legal requirements for a residence card, you can be rejected from Norway. This means that you must leave Norway. This will not have any consequences for you the next time you wish to travel to Norway.

The most common reason for a rejection of an application for a residence card is that the family member who is an EEA national does not exercise their right of free movement, meaning that they are not  employed , self-employed, a service provider, a student or has sufficient funds.

If you fulfill the criteria at a later date, you can apply again. 

Content and duration

A residence card will normally be valid for five years unless the person you are applying for family immigration with holds a right of residence that is shorter than this. The residence card will state how long you can legally stay in Norway.

In principle, the residence card entitles you to work and run a business anywhere in Norway, unless otherwise specified in the decision. Pursuant to Norwegian law, you must be over 15 years of age to take up employment.

Documentation when travelling outside Norway

If you have a Norwegian residence card and are going on holiday outside Norway, you must bring your residence card as well as your passport.

If you previously have received a document (A4 paper) as a proof of your right of residence in Norway, you should now go to the police to get a new plastic residence card with your photo on it.  If you do not have this card with you, you might face problems when you are crossing borders or for example are checking in at an airport. 

Visits to EU/EEA countries

• If you are visiting another EU/EEA country together with your family member who is an EEA national, you do not need a visa. The same applies if your family member who is an EEA national already is in the country you wish to travel to. For more information about border crossings, which documentation you need etc, please contact the embassy of the country you are going to visit in advance.
• If you are travelling to another EEA country without your family member who is an EEA national, you must apply for a Schengen visa (or a national visa for the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania or Ireland). The visa will be issued without cost, and your application will be given priority. In most cases you have a right to be given a visa. For more information, please contact the embassy of the country you are going to visit.
  

Visits to countries outside the EU/EEA

If you are going to travel outside the EU/EEA, you must contact the embassies of the countries you are visiting in order to find out if you will need an entry visa.

Permanent right of residence

After a period of five years’ continuous residence in Norway, family members of EEA nationals who are not EEA nationals themselves will be granted right of residence here. Read more about how to obtain permanent right of residence.

Case processing time

See the list of the UDI’s expected case processing times.

You can not appeal the decision

You can not appeal the decision when you have applied for a residence card, but you may apply again.

You can appeal the rejection decision (the decision that you must leave Norway).

Further questions?

If you have further questions about this topic, contact your nearest Norwegian embassy or consulate, the nearest police district or the UDI's Information Service for Applicants (OTS).