If you work as a service provider or a business starter in an enterprise that has been established in another EEA country, you may have right of residence in Norway pursuant to the EEA regulations although you are not an EEA national. If you are going to spend more than three months in Norway, you must apply for a residence card within three months of entering Norway at the latest.
How to apply for a residence card
If you are going to spend less than three months in Norway to work, you do not need to apply for a residence card.
You can apply for a residence card through a Norwegian foreign service mission, the police where you live or at the
service centre for foreign workers. When you have submitted a complete application with all the necessary signatures and enclosures, the police will issue a receipt. The receipt serves only as confirmation that you have submitted an application and confers no rights.
You will receive an answer to your application within six months at the latest of the date on which the receipt was issued. The police will issue you with a residence card if they are in no doubt that you meet the requirements. If they are in doubt, they will forward the application to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) for processing. You cannot appeal if the police decide that you do not meet the requirements for a residence card.
There is no fee for being issued a residence card.
The duration of the residence card
The duration of the card depends on the documented duration of the assignment or business start-up period. The card is issued for a maximum of one year at a time and can be renewed.
Requirements for service providers
- You must be a seconded employee from an enterprise that is established in an EEA country other than Norway. You must be part of the permanent work force of the enterprise.
- You must be seconded as part of the service provision.
- The service provision shall be for a limited period of time.
- You must have legal residence in the EEA country in which your employer is established.
Requirements for business starters
- You must work in an enterprise that is established in an EEA country other than Norway.
- You must have legal residence in the EEA country in which the enterprise is established.
- You must have a senior position in the enterprise or have special expertise that is crucial to the establishment of the enterprise in Norway.
What documentation must be enclosed with the application?
Service provider
- A contract between the foreign enterprise and the Norwegian client, providing information on the duration of the service provision. In some cases, a letter from the Norwegian client is sufficient, stating that you have an assignment of limited duration in Norway.
- Your employment contract with the foreign enterprise (not hired labour).
- Documentation that you have residence permit or are registered in the EEA country in which your employer is established. This documentation must also establish that you have the right to return to this EEA country after the stay in Norway.
- Copy of your passport,
Business starter
- Documentation that you work in the enterprise.
- Documentation that you have a management position, or that you have special is necessary for the enterprise to be established in Norway. You can provide documentation on your work experience or education, alternatively a letter from the management in the enterprise may be enclosed.
- Documentation that you have residence permit or are registered in the EEA country in which the enterprise is established. This documentation must also establish that you have the right to return to this EEA country after the stay in Norway.
- Copy of your passport.
Rights conferred by the permit
The residence card will have the same duration as the documented period of your assignment in Norway, or the period of time it will take to establish the business in Norway.
This permit does not form a basis for permanent right of residence or family immigration.
You cannot appeal the decision
You cannot appeal the decision when you have applied for a residence card, but you can apply again.
Further information
