The United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020. British citizens are no longer EU or EEA citizens.
Upon withdrawal, it was agreed to have a transitional period until 31 December 2020, with the possibility of extension. During this period, the United Kingdom will be treated as a member of the EU. A similar agreement was made between the United Kingdom and the EEA countries and Switzerland, which ensured that the transitional arrangement also applies to Norway.
This has consequences for British citizens and their family members who live in Norway or who want to immigrate to Norway. It also has consequences for Norwegian citizens who live in the UK and wish to return to Norway with their family members.
British citizens and their family members who have a right of residence before the transition period expires will still have the right to reside and work in Norway. According to the simplified regulations for EU/EEA citizens, they will also have the right to family immigration if the family relationship was established before the end of the transition period. This also applies to children born or adopted after the end of the transition period.
The same applies to Norwegian citizens and their family members who have acquired /EEA rights through living and working in the United Kingdom, as long as they return to Norway by the end of the transition period (before 31 December 2020).
For British citizens and their family members who wish to settle in Norway after the end of the transitional period, ordinary immigration regulations from countries outside the EU/EEA apply. The same applies to Norwegian citizens and their family members who have lived and worked in the United Kingdom and return to Norway after the transition period.
To show that you have a valid residence permit or right of residence in Norway, you should bring the registration certificate you received from the police when you registered. If you have family members in Norway who are not British citizens, they must bring the residence card they have received from the police.
Suppose you do not have access to your registration certificate or came to Norway before the registration scheme came into place. In that case, you can also bring a residence certificate from the tax authorities to show that you are resident in Norway. You can order a residence certificate from the tax authorities via Altinn. Note that it takes a few days to receive this, so order it well in advance.
If you are a seconded employee from a British company (service provider), you must have a residence permit to continue your assignment or take new assignments in Norway from 1 January 2021. You can stay in Norway until you are granted the residence permit, but can not work without a valid residence permit.
If you were employed or self-employed in Norway as of 31 December 2020, you can continue to live and work in Norway after 1 January 2021. You can do this until you are granted the new residence permit for British citizens and their family members. You must apply for the new permit by the end of 2021.
If you have a right of residence in Norway as of 31 December 2020, you can apply for the new residence permit. If you work abroad, you can, e.g., document that you have the right of residence in Norway as an EU / EEA citizen with your own funds. This assumes that you are covered by private health insurance. You must apply for the new permit by the end of 2021.
From 1 January 2021, you must have a residence permit to continue your assignment or take new assignments in Norway.
As of 1 January 2021, British citizens are no longer covered by the simplified regulations for EU/EEA citizens. Suppose you are an employee from a company in the United Kingdom who do assignments in Norway. In that case, you are not entitled to continue with your assignment in Norway from 1 January without having a residence permit. You must apply for a residence permit according to the regulations, and you cannot continue your assignment in Norway until you have been granted a residence permit. You can stay in Norway until you have received an answer to the application.
Residence permits that may be relevant to you:
See information about waiting time when applying for a residence permit to work.
Please note! Some persons do not need a residence permit in order to work offshore
This applies to you if you meet the following requirements:
As an employee of a company in an EU / EEA country other than the United Kingdom, you will not be affected by Brexit. This means that from 1 January 2021, you have the right to stay for up to three months without applying for a residence card. You also have the right to stay beyond three months as long as the work takes place as part of a service's performance according to the EU/EEA agreement, or the work necessary to establish a business in Norway.
Here you can read more about the conditions for staying as a service provider.
Yes, all UK citizens must submit their own applications. This also applies to minors.
If you entered Norway before 31 December 2020, you have exercised your right of residence under the EU/EEA agreement. The registration with the police is a formalization of this right and must usually be done within 90 days of you arriving in Norway. However, we know that there is a long wait to get to the police now. If you have a basis of residence in Norway, e.g., as an employee, student or family member of an EU/EEA citizen, you can stay in Norway even if it takes more than 90 days from entry until you get a meeting with the police. You can also work and study as usual during this period.
All citizens of EU/EEA countries who register an application in the UDI's application portal will receive a confirmation by email when the application has been registered. You can use this receipt as documentation on the date you registered your application. To document when you traveled to Norway, the application portal's receipt is not sufficient. Then you must submit a copy of airline tickets, an entry stamp in your passport or similar.
Yes, you must apply for a new residence permit, and you must apply by the end of 2021. If you receive a new residence permit, you will also be issued a residence card as documentation that you have a valid residence permit in Norway. You have the right to continue living in Norway until you have received the new residence permit.
Suppose you came to Norway for family immigration with a Norwegian citizen who had lived in the United Kingdom and you do not have an independent right of residence. In that case, you must apply for a residence card for family members of EU/EEA citizens.
Yes, you must apply for a new residence permit, and you must apply by the end of 2021. If you receive a new residence permit, you will also be issued a residence card as documentation that you have a valid residence permit in Norway. If you have a right of residence, you also have the right to remain in Norway until you have received the new residence permit.
Yes, you can. If you had the right of residence in Norway as of 31 December 2020, e.g., with your own funds or as a student, you still have the right of residence from 1 January 2021. Thus, you can change to another basis of residence and still be entitled to a new residence permit for British citizens and their family members. You must apply for the new permit by the end of 2021.
If you had a permanent right of residence as of 31 December 2020, you also have the right of residence in Norway after 1 January 2021. You must apply for a permanent residence permit and residence card to formalize this right. You have the right to remain in Norway until you have received the new residence permit. You must apply for the new permit by the end of 2021.
Unless you have resided outside Norway for more than two consecutive years, you will retain your old permit. However, you must order a residence card as proof that you have a legal residence permit in Norway.
It is currently not possible to order a residence card for British citizens and their family members with a permanent residence permit or settlement permit. We will update the information when it is possible to order.
If you have resided outside Norway for more than two consecutive years, the permit is no longer valid. Then you must apply for a new residence permit in Norway. If you stay in Norway as of 31 December, you can apply for a new type of residence permit for British citizens and their family members.
Temporary residence permit for British citizens and their family members entitles you to live and work in Norway for up to five years. The duration of the permit is stated on the residence card you receive. You can renew the permit. After you have been in Norway for five years, you can apply for a permanent residence permit.
Temporary residence permit for frontier workers and their family members gives you the right to work in Norway for up to one year. The duration of the permit is stated on the residence card you receive. The permit can be renewed but does not form the basis for a permanent residence permit.
A permanent residence permit for British citizens and their family members gives you a permanent permit to live and work in Norway. You will be issued a permanent residence card, and it is issued with a validity of five years at a time.
If the family relationship was established before 31 December 2020, your family members can apply for the new type of residence permit for British citizens and their family members. They must apply for the new permit by the end of 2021. This also applies to children born or adopted after 31 December 2020.
It is possible to apply for a residence permit from the home country or after arrival in Norway. Suppose your family members come from a country subject to a visa. In that case, they can apply for a Schengen visa according to the EU/EEA regulations to travel to Norway and submit the application from here. It must be documented that you have a right of residence in Norway.
Suppose the family relationship was not established as of 1 January 2021. In that case, your family members must apply for family immigration according to the ordinary regulations for citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA.
No, you can wait until you receive an answer to your application for citizenship. If the application is granted, you do not need to apply. If you are refused, you must apply for a new residence permit. If you have a permanent right of residence now, you must apply for a permanent residence permit.
If you have not received a response to your citizenship application by 31 August 2021 or your application has been refused, you must apply for the new residence permit. If you have a permanent right of residence, you must apply for a permanent residence permit.
Unfortunately, Brexit is not a sufficient reason for the police to prioritize your application over other applicants.
No. Neither the EU/EEA agreement nor the Immigration Act applies to Svalbard. Therefore, you do not need to apply for the new type of residence permit to stay in Svalbard.
Neither the EU/EEA agreement nor the Immigration Act applies to Svalbard. Thus, you have not earned rights according to EU/EEA regulations while you have lived in Svalbard. Therefore, you must apply for a residence permit in Norway according to the ordinary regulations for citizens of countries outside the EU/EEA.