I have applied for protection and am waiting to be called in for an interview. What will happen to the interview now?

On waiting time:

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).

Yes, you can get a renewed permit if you are going to do seasonal work in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fishing or the fishing industry. You can work for the same employer as before, but you can also work for a new employer.

A new temporary regulation has been introduced, which is valid until 31.12.2020.

This provision allows you who are here for seasonal work and who want to work with seasonal work beyond 6 months, can apply for a renewed seasonal work permit.

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

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

We do not know now 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 come back with more information when we know something more.

Currently, we do not know what impact this will have.

We will publish more information when we know more.

You might have rights to unemployment benefit. Read more at nav.no (external website).

With regards to the requirement for the income you had last year (the year before you apply), unemployment benefit is counted as income.

With regards to the requirement for the income you have now, and which you are likely to have for at least a year to come (future income), unemployment benefit is not counted as income. Therefore, if you receive unemployment benefit when we process the application, the application may be rejected. The UDI cannot give an exemption to this requirement even if you have been laid off temporarily due to the corona situation. We will post information here if the rules regarding this change.

With regards to the requirement that you cannot have received financial assistance from NAV (økonomisk sosialhjelp), it does not matter that you have received unemployment benefit. Unemployment benefit is not financial assistance from NAV.

See updated information about the income requirement.

Please stay updated at nav.no (external website).

Unemployment benefit can be counted towards the requirement to support yourself. Therefore, as long as you get paid enough to meet the minimum requirement, the fact that you have been 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 at the same time, it does not matter if you lose income before we process your application.

See up-to-date information on the requirement to financially support yourself.

Please stay updated at nav.no (external website).

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

Pay and working conditions must not be worse than is usual in Norway, the employment rate must provide a salary of at least NOK 246 246 in the year 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 are laid off

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 laid off.

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

We do not know now what significance this could have on an application for renewal of your residence permit, or an application for a permanent residence permit, if your residence permit expires while you are on leave. We will come back with more information when we know something more.

If you lose your job

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

If the Police are not open for any appointments , it is enough that you contact the police when this is possible again. You can then 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, but you have to report to the police where you live within seven days of that you start in the new job. If the Police are not open for any appointments , it is enough that you contact the police when this is possible again..
• 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 in another type of position until you have been granted a new residence permit.

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

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

You may stay on the same terms if you register an application for renewal or permanent residence permit and pay a fee no later than seven calendar days before the permit expires.

You must try to get a new appointment once the Police opens their administrative services again.

March 20, 2020

You must try to leave as quickly as possible, but it will not have any consequences for you if you unable to leave Norway before your residence permit expires as the situation is now.

You also do not need to notify the UDI, or the police, that you will not be able to leave Norway before the residence permit expires.

You must check whether your plane is leaving as scheduled or not. If your plane is cancelled, you must try to book a new flight. 

If you have registered an application for renewal or permanent residence permit and paid the fee on time (within seven days before the permit expires), then you can continue to work as before even if you are now not able to meet with the police. You must try to get a new appointment when it again becomes possible to meet with the police.

If you are going to apply for a renewal of a permit which you were given after applying for protection, you cannot register your application electronically on our application portal. However, you can still continue to work under the same conditions until you are able to meet with the police. You need to call the police to get a new appointment when it becomes possible to meet with the police again.

You can follow the police website for more information on when it will again be possible to meet (external website).

Your application can unfortunately not be moved to the front of the queue (prioritized) even though there are important reasons why you need to travel. The reason for this is that it is necessary to meet with the police in order to be issued a residence card and/or travel document.

The police offices will be closed until 13 April 2020. 

We will make a new assessment when the police offices open again. You need a valid travel document and residence card in order to travel. 

If you have been in quarantine and do not show any signs of illness, you can continue to be in Norway for the period your visa is valid.

You must try to leave as quickly as possible, but it will not have any consequences for you if you unable to leave Norway before your visa expires as the situation is now.

You also do not need to notify the UDI, or the police, that you will not be able to leave Norway before the visa expires.

Updated March 20, 2020

You must try to leave as quickly as possible, but it will not have any consequences for you if you unable to leave Norway before your visa expires as the situation is now.

You also do not need to notify the UDI, or the police, that you will not be able to leave Norway before the visa expires.

If you came to Norway before March 16 at 08:00

Some applicants can submit an application for a residence permit in Norway while they are here on a visa-free visit or on a visitor's visa. If you are in this group, you usually need to both register your application in the Application Portal and meet with the police to submit the application documents to the police before the 90-day visa-free period or your visitor's visa expires.

Since it is now not possible to attend an appointment with the police, you can continue to stay in Norway even if you have attended your appointment with the police. It is important that you register your application in the Application Portal before the 90-day visa-free period or your visitor visa expires. You must book yourself an appointment in the Application Portal and meet with the police as soon as possible. You can then continue to stay in Norway until you have received an answer to your application.

You can check if you are in the group that can apply for a residence permit in Norway while here on a visa-free visit or on a visitor's visa, or if you have to submit the application from abroad, by selecting the type of application and proceed to information on how to apply.

If you came to Norway after March 16 at 08:00

It is not yet clear what rules will apply to people who came to Norway after March 16 at 08:00 and who are unable to hand in the application documents to the police before the 90-day visa-free period or your visitor's visa expires. The UDI is working to get this resolved as quickly as possible.

Because of the corona situation, and to reduce the transmission of the virus, the police will keep closed until 13 April 2020. Unfortunately, you can not go to your appointment with the police if you had an appointment before 13 April 2020.

We do not know when the police will open again and when you will get a new appointment. 

Follow the police's websites for more updated information.  (external website)

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.

There is no other way to get a residence card other than attending an appointment with the police. Follow the police website (external website) for information on when the police offices will open.

Because it is now not possible to meet with the police to order a residence card, it will not have any consequences for you if you start working before you have met with the police. The condition for this is that you have obtained a residence permit that gives you the right to work and that you have booked an appointment with the police to order a residence card (either via the Application portal or otherwise).

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

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

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.

UDI will wait to process applications for immigrants' passports for single journeys since the police have closed their offices. If you have applied for an immigrant passport for a single journey, you must expect that the waiting time for getting your application will be longer than we have previously informed you.

The UDI will continue to process applications for regular travel documents. Even if you get a decision from the UDI, you still have to wait to get the travel document until the police offices open and you can get an appointment with them.

Currently, we do not know the impact this will have on waiting times for applications we are processing, but it is likely that it will lead to longer waiting time for some cases. Here, you can find updated information on waiting times for the various applications.

For asylum applications: It is very likely that the waiting time will be longer than what we have stated in most cases.