Seasonal work is work that can only be carried out during a limited part of the year, for example farming or forestry work. You can also be granted a seasonal work permit to replace an employee in connection with ordinary holidays.
What type of work can you carry out as a seasonal worker?
Seasonal work is work that can only be carried out during limited parts of the year due to climate variations, fluctuations in the availability of raw materials or other circumstances. Forestry, agriculture, the fish processing industry, plant nurseries and the restaurant and tourism industries are typical seasonal industries. Odd jobs such as carpentry, painting and other maintenance and restoration work are not considered seasonal work.
If you are to replace an employee in connection with holidays, this must be clearly stated in your application. There is no requirement as to when during the year holidays can be taken.
Who can be granted a residence permit as a seasonal worker?
There are no formal qualification requirements for a seasonal work permit, but you must have reached the age of 18 and have a concrete offer of employment. The offer of employment must contain a job description and state the number of working hours per week, your hourly wage and the duration of the offer of employment.
Working relationship requirements
- As a rule, the work concerned must be continuous full-time employment, but it can be divided between several employment offers from the same or different employers.
- The pay and working conditions must comply with the current collective agreement or pay scale for the industry. If no such collective wage agreement or pay scale exists, the pay and working conditions must not be poorer than is normal for the occupation and place concerned. You must be guaranteed a minimum hourly wage.
- The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) must consent to a permit being granted. NAV assesses, among other things, whether the position can be filled by domestic labour or labour from the EEA area. In applications for permits for seasonal work in the agriculture and forestry industries we no longer need this consent from NAV.
NAV has set down a yearly quota for 2 500 permits to seasonal work in the agriculture and forestry industries. In applications for permits for seasonal work in the agriculture and forestry industries we therefore no longer need this consent from NAV. For application for other types of seasonal work we require a consent to a permit from NAV, whether the need for labour can be met by workers from Norway or the EU/EEA-area. It is important that you enclose the consent from NAV with you application at the time of submission. This wil reduce the case processing time.
How to apply
As a rule, you submit the application form to the Norwegian embassy or consulate in your home country or in the country where you have held a residence permit for the past six months. The form used is both an application and an employment offer form. You will receive an answer to your application from the embassy or consulate or through the person you have authorised in Norway, if applicable.
You can also apply for a seasonal worker permit from Norway if you have legal residence here. You have legal residence if you are not subject to a visa requirement to enter Norway or if you hold a tourist visa or a permit in Norway or another Schengen country.
You cannot apply for a permit from Norway if you are staying in the country in connection with an application for asylum or are awaiting return to your home country following the rejection of your asylum application.
Your employer can apply on your behalf
Your employer can apply on your behalf if you authorise him/her in writing to do so. You must complete the authorisation section of the application form or submit the authorisation form. Your employer submits the application to the police in the place where the employer has his or her registered business address.
What must be enclosed with the application?
You must enclose the following with your application form:
If you enclose copies of documents with your application, you must present the original documents when you hand in your application.
Special rules for applications for work in agriculture and gardenry
Special simplified rules apply to those who apply for short-term seasonal work in agriculture or gardenry.
However, these simplified rules do not apply if you are staying abroad and need a visa to enter Norway.
How long will it take to process the application?
See the list of the UDI’s expected case processing times at www.udi.no/caseprocessingtime.
Residence permits during application processing
You may not start working until you have received your permit. However, the police may issue a residence permit during case processing if they expect your application to be granted. This will not be done automatically; you must ask the police for such a permit.
The content of the permit
You can be granted a residence permit for seasonal work for up to six months. The six months can be divided between several permits for one and the same or several different employers. If you want to change employers after your permit has been granted, you have to apply again.
The permit does not form the basis for a permanent residence permit or family immigration.
You cannot renew the permit
Seasonal work permits are not renewable.
However, if you have been granted a permit for less than six months, you can apply to extend the permit to cover a total of six months. The total period of residence cannot exceed six months during a twelve-month period. If you have had a residence permit as a seasonal worker for six months, you cannot be granted a new permit of this type until you have stayed outside Norway for six months.
You must apply for an extension before your current permit expires. Use the same application form as for first-time application and submit the application to your local police district. Renewal applications are subject to an application fee.
You can appeal a rejection
Read more about how to appeal a decision on www.udi.no/appeals.
Further information
If you have further questions about this topic, contact your nearest Norwegian embassy or consulate, the nearest police district or UDI's Information Service.
