Yes, the Government has introduced mandatory testing at the border for people who have resided in an area with a quarantine obligation (external website) (only available in Norwegian).

Persons who have resided in an area with a quarantine obligation during the last 14 days before arrival in Norway must test for Covid-19 at the border crossing point in Norway. The test must be antigen rapid test or PCR test.

Some exceptions to the requirement in the case have been mentioned on the Government's website.

This requirement applies in addition to the requirement for a negative test before entry to Norway for specific groups and the requirements for quarantine hotels and quarantine after entry.

Because of control considerations and test capacity, the Government has closed some border crossing points. In the article on the Government's page, you will find an overview of open border crossing points (external website).

The UDI does not know more than what is stated in the article on regjeringen.no. You will find updated information about the test requirement after entry on helsenorge.no (external website) when more details are ready.

Travelers from countries with a quarantine duty must present a negative Covid-19 test certificate when they arrive in Norway. You can see the list of red countries here (external website) The approved test method is PCR or Rapid antigen test. For people arriving by plane, the test can be taken within 24 hours before the first flight's scheduled departure time. The flight can be a direct flight to Norway or a continuous flight journey to Norway with stopovers at other airports. The certificate must be in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, English, French, or German.

The requirement for a negative test does not apply to:

• Children under the age of 12 years
• Persons who are critical to society, which is necessary to be able to maintain proper operation of critical social functions or take care of the basic needs of the population
• Persons in transit
• Persons who regularly come to Norway from Sweden or Finland to work or study
• Persons who have permanent residency at Svalbard and who can document it with a transcript from Svalbard population register or show a confirmation/work contract for persons residing in Barentsburg
• Persons seeking protection (asylum) in Norway or have a residence permit as a resettlement refugee (quota refugee)
• Persons with a family immigration permit
• Spouse, cohabitant or relatives in direct ascending or descending line to EU/EEA citizens who will settle in Norway, presuming the EU/EEA citizen is also exempt from the requirement for testing
• Persons who can present a diplomatic or service passport
• Spouses, cohabitants or children of diplomats at Norwegian foreign service missions
• Persons who have been invited by the Norwegian authorities to participate in international negotiations, or who are part of delegations that come to Norway in accordance with Norway's international obligations
• Persons who carry out freight and passenger transport as paid work, or who are on their way to or from such an assignment
• Persons with a valid aviation certificate
• Persons with a valid identity card for seafarers
• Persons who by approved laboratory method can document that they have had covid-19 during the last six months

The requirement applies even if you have been issued a visa before 8 November, if entry occurs after 8 November at 24:00.

Information from the health authorities is available in 16 languages here (external website).

The Government has decided that everyone who travels on unnecessary leisure trips abroad must stay in quarantine hotels when returning to Norway (external website).

From 23 February, the Government has introduced stricter rules about where you can stay during the quarantine period. The practice of letting persons who come to Norway for purposes other than work can carry out quarantine at another suitable place of residence has been significantly narrowed down. The main rule is that this group must stay in quarantine hotels. Persons who are granted an exemption from the entry restrictions for special reasons will still be able to obtain an exemption from a stay at a quarantine hotel if they can present confirmation that they have another suitable place to stay during the quarantine period.

From 9 May at 12 PM, everyone who has traveled outside the EEA/Schengen area must stay in a quarantine hotel. This also applies to people who have been on necessary trips. Here you can read more about the rules (external website).

The UDI cannot answer questions about quarantine. The health authorities are responsible for quarantine rules and quarantine hotels. You must familiarize yourself with the current regulations for quarantine and quarantine hotels on helsenorge.no (external website).

Information from the health authorities is available in 16 languages here (external website).

The Norwegian authorities do not issue personal confirmations that it is tolerated that you stay in Norway beyond your visa period.

Yes, you do. During the period when the corona situation made it difficult to return to your home country, the UDI has not expelled or deported foreign citizens who stayed in Norway beyond their departure deadline in their permit or visa. From 15 September 2020, stays after the departure deadline may result in rejection of entry or expulsion.

If you have applied for a renewal of your permit or a residence permit on new grounds, before your permit expired, you can stay in Norway to await the response of your application.

As a main rule, everyone who has an expired departure date must travel home now. The airlines are required to follow infection control rules and are responsible for ensuring that infection control is well taken care of on your return journey.

Suppose you have such a severe health condition that it is medically indefensible to complete the actual trip out of Norway. In that case, it will not have consequences for you that you stay in Norway after your departure deadline. You can not apply to stay longer in Norway.

When you leave Norway, we will consider whether you had reasons to stay after your departure deadline. You must document that it is medically indefensible to travel out of Norway with a written medical certificate issued in Norway.

Yes, you can apply for renewal if you have or have recently had a permit as a seasonal worker and are still in Norway.

You can have your permit renewed for seasonal work in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fishing and the fishing industry, but no longer than 30 September 2021.

It is your employer who must apply for this permit for you. You must give your employer a power of attorney/authorization.

Here you can read more about how your employer should apply to renew your residence permit.

Here you can read more about the provision (external website).

Yes, if you are stuck in Norway due to entry restrictions in your home country and cancelled flights due to covid-19, you can get an exemption from the six-month rule if you apply for renewal of your residence permit as a seasonal worker.

This temporary residence permit is for you who are from a country where there are major and relatively long-term obstacles to returning to your home country. This applies to the following countries: Angola, Botswana, India, Cambodia, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Myanmar and Vietnam.

You can get a residence permit for up to 6 months, but no longer than 30 September 2021.

It is your employer who must apply for this permit for you. You must give your employer a power of attorney.

Read how your employer must apply on our webpage «Seasonal workers who are not able to return to their home country».

No, you do not have to travel back even if you submitted your application after your legal stay expired, if it is due to the corona situation and your application was registered before 15 September 2020. Then you can stay in Norway and await your appointment or electronic submission if requested by police. It is a prerequisite that you select the first available appointment or submit the documents as soon as the police request it, and that you have delivered all the documents on the checklist.

Suppose your legal residence has expired, and your application has been registered after 15 September 2020. In that case, we cannot confirm that you can wait legally in Norway for your application to be submitted or await a response to your application. When assessing the application, we will look at whether there are substantial grounds for reasonableness that mean that your application should still be considered. For example, if it is not possible to travel to your home country now. If it is possible to travel and there are no other substantial grounds for reasonableness, the application may be formally rejected, and your stay after 15 September 2020 has been illegal. This may form the basis for considering expulsion.

We recommend that you follow the travel advice of Norwegian health authorities. You should travel as soon as advisable. If your immigrant's passport is no longer valid when traveling, you can apply for a new immigrant's passport. It is important that you, as far as possible, document and explain the reason why you did not travel during the period when the immigrant's passport was valid. You must also pay a new fee when you apply. 

There are no changes to the regulations due to the corona situation. This means that the rules regarding the requirement to support yourself and not receive social assistance still apply.

The same exceptions to the requirement to provide for themselves and not receive social assistance also still apply. See information about the exceptions.

If you cannot be exempted from the requirement to provide for yourself, we may still accept:

• financial assistance from NAV (økonomisk sosialhjelp) which you have received for a short period of time to cover additional expenses which you do not normally have. By "short period of time" we normally mean between one and three months.
• financial assistance from NAV (økonomisk sosialhjelp) while you were waiting for sickness benefit, pregnancy benefit, parental benefit, retirement pension, unemployment benefit, work assessment allowance or support for single parents.
• housing allowance from Husbanken

If you did not receive social assistance when you applied for permanent residence and all other conditions were met, it does not matter if you receive social assistance before we process your application.

Unemployment benefits can be included in the requirement to support yourself. If you get paid enough to meet the minimum requirement, being temporarily laid off (permittert) will not affect your application.

If you had enough income when you applied for permanent residence and all other conditions were met, it does not matter if you lose income before we process your application.

See information about the requirement to financially support yourself.

Information about being laid off at nav.no (external website).

I have planned to apply
If you have a temporary residence permit that is about to expire and are not given final exams in Norwegian and social sciences to meet the conditions for applying for a permanent residence permit, you must apply for the renewal of your temporary residence permit. 

I have applied
If you have applied for a permanent residence permit, you must sign up to take a test as soon as you have the opportunity. Once you have passed the test, you must submit documentation to the UDI.

Regarding the requirement for the income the reference person had last year (the year before you apply and until we make a decision for the application), unemployment benefits are counted as income.

Regarding the requirement for the income the reference person has now, and which he/she probably has for at least one year ahead (future income), unemployment benefits are not counted as income.

Regarding the requirement that the reference person may not have received financial social assistance from NAV, it does not matter that he/she has received unemployment benefits. Unemployment benefits are not social assistance.

We do not make exceptions from the income requirements, even if the loss of income is related to the outbreak of Covid-19. This applies even if the application was submitted before the outbreak of Covid-19.

If the reference person no longer has income, the income requirements are not met. You must send updated income (external website) if the reference person finds a new job.

According to the regulations, we will assess whether there are strong human considerations that enable us to make exceptions from the requirements for income.

For renewal applications, we will make a specific assessment of whether there will be consequences for the permit in cases where it turns out that the requirement for future income has not been met in the period for which the permit was granted.

See updated information on the income requirement.

You can apply for family immigration permit renewal as "other family member".  

You must register the application on the Application Portal at least 7 days before your fiancé permit expires.  

Procedures on the Application Portal:  

• Log in to the Application Portal, select "Want to renew", then "Family Immigration".   (external website)
• Under " What kind of family member are you (the applicant)?", Select "Other family members".  
• Under the question "Please explain your relation to the reference person", give a reason why you did not have the opportunity to marry before your fiancé permit expires.  
• Pay the fee of NOK 2,600.  
• Book an appointment to deliver documents to the police when possible. Submit documents if you are told by the police.  

Although UDI has previously granted you a fiancé permit to get married, you are responsible for checking with the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) if you need new and updated documents from your home country to be able to marry in Norway, for example, if you need an updated certificate of no Impediment to marriage. See the information about marrying in Norway (external website).

You should get married as soon as the marriage authority is available.  

If you get married before UDI finalizes your application, you must let us know and send the marriage certificate to us. Then we will be able to process your application as a spouse application. 

To get a permanent residence permit, it is usually a requirement that you have not stayed outside Norway for more than seven months in total during the last three years.

Please note! If the requirement of five years of residence applies to you, you cannot have stayed outside Norway for more than ten months in total during the last five years.

Yes, if you are a resident of Svalbard, you can travel to mainland Norway now. This applies if you are going from Svalbard directly to the Norwegian mainland and if you are going from abroad to the Norwegian mainland. 

A "permanent resident" of Svalbard is a person who is validly entered in the population register for Svalbard. When traveling to Norway, you can document this by a print from the register. For people living in Barentsburg, being a resident of Svalbard is evident by documenting your work.

Visa requirements for nationals from countries outside the EU/EEA apply as usual.

Her you will find information and regulation about infection control and the corona situation in Norway at Helsenorge (external website). 

If you have a valid residence permit as a self-employed person, you do not need to report to UDI or the police if you have lost all or part of your income.

You can stay in Norway as long as your residence permit is valid.

We do not know what significance it will have on an application for renewal of your residence permit, or an application for a permanent residence permit if you have lost all or part of your income. We will update this answer as soon as we have more information.

It will not have any consequences for you to work reduced, as long as you continue to work in a position that is at least 80%. You do not need to report this to UDI or the police.

Pay and working conditions must not be under the Norwegian standards, the position must provide a salary of at least NOK 246 246 annually before tax, and you must fulfill the other requirements for your residence permit as a skilled worker.

You can later apply for a renewal of your residence permit or for a permanent residence permit.

If you have a valid residence permit as a skilled worker with an employer in Norway, you do not need to report to the UDI or the police if you are fully or partially laid off. We do not revoke the residence permit based on being laid off.

You can stay in Norway as long as your residence permit is valid.

Can I get a permanent residence permit later, even if I have been or have been laid off?

If you were laid off before 31 October 2020
If you were laid off in the period 12 March 2020 to 31 October and later want to apply for permanent residence, the time you were laid off will not count in your period of residence when you apply for a permanent residence permit. However, being laid off in this period will not break the period of continuous residence. This means that if, for example, you are laid off for three months in the period mentioned above, then you must have a total of three years and three months with permits that form the basis for permanent residence before you meet the requirements.

If you have been or are laid off after 31 October 2020
If you have been laid off as of 1 November 2020, you will no longer meet your permit's requirements as a skilled employee.

One of the conditions for obtaining a permanent residence permit is that you have had a continuous residence in Norway for the past three years with permits that form the basis for a permanent residence permit. You must meet the requirements for your residence permit for the entire period. For example, if you are a skilled worker, you must have had a job and income as assumed throughout the period.

You can read more about the conditions for a permanent residence permit here.

Even if you are laid off, which affects your basis for later applying for permanent residence, you can still stay in Norway according to what is stated above in this answer.

If you lose your job

If you have a residence permit as a skilled worker with an employer in Norway and lose your job, you must report to the police where you live within seven days.

If the police where you live do not receive inquiries now, it is enough that you contact the police when they again receive inquiries (external website).

You can stay in Norway to apply for a new job for up to six months. Your residence permit must still be valid throughout this period.

If you then get a new job

• If you who have a residence permit as a skilled worker with an employer in Norway then get a new job but are going to work in the same type of position as before, you do not need to apply for a new residence permit. You usually have to report to the police where you live within seven days after you begin the new job. If the police where you live are not receiving inquiries now, you can contact the police when they receive inquiries again (external website).
• If you get a new job where you will have a different type of position, you must apply for a new residence permit. You cannot start in another type of position until you have obtained a new residence permit.

Can I get a permanent residence permit later, even if I have lost my job?

If you have a residence permit as a skilled worker and have lost your job, you will no longer meet your permit's requirements as a skilled worker.

A condition for obtaining a permanent residence permit is that you must have had a continuous residence in Norway for the past three years with permits that form the basis for a permanent residence permit. You must meet the requirements for your residence permit throughout this period. For example, if you are a skilled worker, you must have had a job and income as assumed throughout the period.

You can read more about the conditions for a permanent residence permit here.

Even if you have lost your job and this affects your basis for later applying for permanent residence, you can still stay in Norway according to what is stated above in this answer.

If you have a residence permit as a skilled worker with an employer in Norway and get a new job but will work in the same type of position as before, you do not need to apply for a new residence permit.

If you get a new job where you will have a different type of position than before, you must apply for a new residence permit. You cannot start to work in a different kind of job until you have been granted a new residence permit.

If your residence permit expires soon and you are still laid off, you cannot get a new permit as a skilled worker in Norway. The exception rule that applied until 31 October 2020 no longer applies.

You must leave Norway before your residence permit expires.

Suppose you had a residence permit as a skilled worker who has been laid off according to the exception rule that was valid until 31 October 2020 and need information about the permit you had. In that case, you will find information in your decision letter or general information about the permit you had.

If you are delayed in your studies due to the coronavirus outbreak, we will take this into account when we process your renewal application.

It is important that you explain the reason for the delay and document this in your application.

To renew your residence permit to study in Norway, you must show that you have sufficient means to cover your living expenses.

We know that many students have lost their part-time jobs because of the corona situation and thus also lost part of their income source to cover the cost of living and studying in Norway. To give you some extra time to find a new job or to raise enough funds to meet the requirement, we will wait to process your application until 1 October. Note that this only applies if you meet all other requirements for a renewed study permit.

If you find a new job or get enough funds by 1 October, you must send us documentation. If you are unable to document that you have sufficient funds by 1 October, your application will be rejected. The departure deadline for leaving Norway will normally be within 4 weeks, but the exact departure deadline will be stated in the letter you receive from the UDI. You can choose to appeal the decision and ask to remain in Norway while the appeal is being processed.

It is still important that you register a renewal application online and pay the fee well in advance before your current permit expires.

The police will contact you by phone or e-mail (external website) if your appointment is cancelled. The UDI cannot assist you with this or answer questions related to this.

Unfortunately, UDI cannot assist you in getting an appointment with the police.

• Most of you must book an appointment in the application portal
  Most people book their appointment with the police through the application portal. The police have limited service because of the corona situation, and many people try to get an appointment, so finding available appointments may be difficult. The police are making new appointments available regularly, so you have to keep trying.
  
  If there is no booking button visible on the receipt page when you are logged into the application portal, it is currently impossible to book appointments at the police station where you have sent your application. Then you must check again later for available appointments. 

• If you have received an email
  If you have received an email from the police, follow the information you have received by email.

You can find information about police services on their website (external website). 

You cannot contact the UDI to get an appointment from the police. If you call us, you will get the same information as given above.

Suppose you have a residence permit that can be renewed (information on this can be found in your decision letter), and you have not been able to book an appointment with the police before the expiry of the permit. In that case, you can document legal residence yourself.

If you have registered an application for renewal or permanent residence permit online within seven calendar days before your current permit expires, you have the same rights as your current permit, even if you have not yet met with the police.

You can document this to public offices or employers by showing your residence card and your decision letter together with the receipt of the application received online.

Your residence card shows the date your residence permit expires. The receipt reference number shows the time when the application was registered. The first four digits of the number show the year the application was registered. The next four digits show the date (YYYYMMDD). For example, the receipt number beginning with 20200815 shows that you registered the application on 15 August 2020.

How can you find the receipt for a registered application online?
To see the receipt, you must log in to the application portal (external website), go to the overview of your applications, select the relevant application and press the button at the bottom of the page that leads to the receipt.

You can not contact the UDI for a confirmation
The UDI will not see when you have registered the application online in our computer systems and can not confirm that you still have the same rights as for your current permit. You must follow the description above to document legal residence until you get an appointment with the police. 

You must meet with the police to get your residence card. You must try to find an available appointment in the application portal. It can be challenging to find an appointment because the police have limited offers due to the corona situation. The police make new appointments available regularly, so make sure to check frequently. You can find further information on the police´s website (external website).

If you have been granted a residence permit that gives you the right to work, and you have booked an appointment with the police to order a residence card, you can start working now even if you have not received a residence card yet.

If it is not possible to book an appointment with the police, you must contact UDI by phone or e-mail to report that you are in Norway and start working. You still have to meet with the police to order a residence card when this becomes possible.

The above also applies to you if you are going to work as an au pair in Norway. 

You can read more about tax cards and D-numbers on the Tax Administration's website (external website).

UDI is now processing applications for foreign passports for individual travel. If you had applied for a foreign travel passport for a journey that has been canceled because of the corona situation, you can notify us by sending us a letter. Then we will close your case.

Although UDI will process travel visa applications and foreigners passport now, you must expect that the waiting time to get your application processed will be longer than we have previously informed. Even if you get a decision letter from UDI, you still have to wait for the travel document until you can get an appointment with the police. Since the police have limited service, it may take time.

If you apply for a new travel document because your old one is damaged, UDI may need to examine it. Then the waiting time to get a reply to your application may be longer than we estimate. This is because the National ID Center has limited capacity due to the corona situation (external website) (content in link is in Norwegian).

If you have got a positive answer on your application for Nowegian citizenship in 2020 and have been requested to get the decision letter at the police, you do not need to do this. UDI will send you the decision letter during July 2020.

Follow the information you will receive in the new letter. When you get this letter you can apply for a Norwegian passport. 

You can read more about this here.

It is the tax administration that issues D number, National identity number and tax cards. If you have any questions about this you must contact the tax administration. (external website, opens in new window)

I have applied for protection and am waiting to be called in for an interview. 

• Information on change in waiting times in English (pdf, 53 kB).
• Information on change in waiting times at Tigrinja (pdf, 48 kB).
• Information on change in waiting times in Turkish (pdf, 85 kB).
• Information on change in waiting times in Arabic (pdf, 148 kB).

Information about what will happen with the interview now in Norwegian. 

We do not know the impact this will have on waiting times for applications we are processing, but it will likely lead to longer waiting times for some cases.

We update the waiting times for the different case types regularly.

If you were to submit an application from abroad, you must contact the embassy to which the application should be sent. If you were to submit the application from Norway, you must contact the police office where you were to submit the application. In both cases, you will be able to get a refund.