You can be granted a residence permit as a working guest in agriculture if you wish to learn about Norwegian agriculture and Norwegian culture. You must be supplied by an approved organisation.
Who are eligible for a residence permit as a working guest in agriculture?
In order to be eligible for a residence permit as a working guest, your stay must be organised by one of the two following approved organisations:
It must be probable that you will return to your home country at the end of your stay, and circumstances in your home country must also indicate that you will be able to return.
Employment relationship requirements
- You must take part in the day-to-day work on a farm, alternatively at a nursery, as part of the family on the farm.
- The work must help you to learn about Norwegian agriculture and culture. Unvaried harvest work does not meet this requirement.
Nor may you carry out major maintenance work, construction of new buildings or similar. If your employers engage in ‘combination farming’, for example farming combined with running a campsite, you may only carry out normal farm work.
- As a rule, the work in question involves full-time employment for one employer. If you have two employers, you must work full-time for each of them and the periods of work for each employer must be continuous. You cannot work more than 35 hours per week. You are entitled to at least one and a half continuous day off per week.
- The minimum pay is NOK 600 per week after tax, and you must be guaranteed board, lodging and return travel.
- Your employer cannot employ more than three working guests at the same time.
How to 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 your home country or the country where you have held a residence permit for the last six months. 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 must be in Norway legally, and you cannot be an asylum seeker.
Learn more about who can apply from Norway
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.
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:
If you have enclosed copies of documents with your application, you must present the original documents when you hand in your application.
Your employer may apply on your behalf
Your employer can also apply for a residence permit on your behalf if you authorise him/her in writing. To do so, you must complete the authorisation section of the application formor submit an authorisation form. Your employer submits the application to the police in the place where the employer has his/her registered business address.
How long will it take to process the application?
See the list of the UDI’s at expected case processing times here.
Residence card to document your permit
If your application is granted, you must get yourself a residence card. This is a proof that you have the right to live in Norway. You will receive a letter which informs you that you must visit the police to have your fingerprints and photo taken. About ten days later the card will be sent to you by post.
Read more about residence cards
Residence permits during application processing
You can ask the police to issue you a residence permit while your application is being processed. The police can grant this if you are entitled to apply from Norway, and if they believe that your application is likely to be granted.
The content of the permit
- You can only be granted a residence permit as a working guest once.
- The permit is granted for a maximum of three months.
- You can have up to two employers.
- You cannot change employers during your stay.
- The permit is linked with one employer at a time, alternatively two employers. You cannot change employer(s), as this will be considered an application for renewal. If you have two employers, each of the employment relationships must concern full-time work. The period of work for each employer must be continuous, and you must enclose employment contracts documenting this from both your employers. You cannot go back and forth between two employers, for example by working one week for each of them. The employment contract must also state during which period of time you will be working for each of them.
- The permit does not form the basis for a permanent residence permit or family immigration.
Can you renew the permit?
The permit is not renewable. However, if you have been granted a permit for less than three months, you can apply to extend the permit to cover a total of three months. You can apply to extend the permit to work for the same employer(s). You must apply for an extension while the permit you hold is still valid. You use the same application form as for first-time application.
You can appeal the decision
Read more about how to appeal a decision here.
Further information
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.
