Work migrants make a positive contribution to the development of the Norwegian society. Norwegian authorities want to facilitate skilled foreign workers to be able work in Norway.

There are major differences in the length of time a work permit is valid. The permits with the shortest validity are only valid for a few months, generally the same length of time as the employment contract. The work permits with the longest validity can be valid for as long as five years. Because of this the statistics presented here include both the number of valid permits at the beginning of each month and the number of permits granted within a specific period of time.