Have applied Family immigration
When you have submitted an application for family immigration, you may be summoned for an interview. You normally have to wait in your home country until the UDI has finished processing your application.
Questions and answers
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How long do you have to wait for an answer to your application?
Please go to our guide to waiting time in family immigration cases.
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What happens to your application while you wait?
- Once you have submitted all the application documents to the police or the embassy, your application will be forwarded to the UDI. When the UDI receives your application, you will be notified by email or SMS.
- The application is now waiting to be processed by the UDI. Every month you will receive an email or SMS with information about what is happening with your case. Once a month we will also update the information in our guide to case processing times in family immigration cases.
- In connection with some applications for family immigration, we will request an interview with the reference person and/or the applicant in order to obtain more information. If this applies to you, we will notify you by email or SMS, and you will receive a summons to an interview from the police or the embassy.
- In connection with some applications for family immigration, we will request DNA analysis. If this applies to you, we will summon you for testing at an embassy or the police.
- The UDI's case officers consider the cases in the order in which they are received. When your application is at the front of the queue, a case officer will consider your application and make a decision.
- When the UDI has made a decision, you will be notified by the police, the UDI or the embassy. If you have given someone power-of-attorney, this person will always be notified, and must notify you.
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Who is summoned for an interview?
- In connection with some applications for family immigration, we will request an interview with the reference person and/or the applicant in order to obtain more information.
- This applies to
- all applications where the applicant has established a relationship with a Norwegian under the age of 25, or with a person under the age of 25 who already lives in Norway
- most applications where the applicant is either stateless or from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, or from a country in Africa (with the exception of South Africa).
- a number of applications where the applicant is from Kosovo, China, Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Vietnam or Sri Lanka.
- a few other applications
- If this applies to you, we will notify you by email or SMS, and you will receive a summons to an interview with information about when and where the interview will take place.
- If you are in Norway, you will go to the police for the interview. You can find information on the police website about how long you must normally wait for the interview (external website).
- If you are abroad, the interview will normally be at the same place as where you handed in your application. In some countries you will be interviewed when you hand in the application.
- During the interview, you will be asked about your relationship, among other things.
- If you do not speak Norwegian, you must bring someone along who can interpret for you.
- After the interview, the police send your case back to the UDI. You will be notified by email or SMS when the UDI has received the case.
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Who can be summoned for a DNA test?
- In some countries, it is difficult to obtain birth certificates and other documents that are accepted by the Norwegian authorities. In some cases, the UDI will therefore ask for a DNA analysis of the applicant and the reference person. We do this so that you can document that you are related.
- These countries are Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and all African countries south of the Sahara (except South Africa).
- If this applies to you, we will summon you for testing. If you are in Norway, you will go to the police to take the test. If you are abroad, you will normally take the test at the Norwegian embassy in the country where you handed in the application.
- How long it will take before you are summoned, depends on the embassy's and the police's capacity.
- You do not have to pay anything for the test, but you must cover your travel and accommodation expenses.
- The DNA test is carried out by comparing spit samples taken from the mouth of each of the family members. The test will show whether you are related. If the test shows that you are not related, you will be able to give a statement. When the UDI processes the application, we will take this statement into consideration.
- You decide yourself whether you wish to take this test. If you do not want to take the test, you can hand in a statement explaining why. If you say no, it will be more difficult for us to know whether you are related, and we will most likely reject your application.
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Can your case be moved to the front of the queue?
Many people want to have an answer to their application quickly. However, very special circumstances are required for your case to be moved to the front of the queue.
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How to submit new documentation
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Who can travel to Norway before their application has been decided?
Most people have to apply via an embassy and wait for an answer in their home country. However, some people can submit an application in Norway or travel to Norway while waiting for their application to be processed.
This applies to you if
- you are an EU/EEA national, or
- you are the family member of an EU/EEA national and you have applied through the residence card scheme, or
- you do not need a visa to visit Norway and you belong to one of these groups:
- you apply for family immigration with your spouse, cohabitant or parent (children need the approval of both parents)
- you are the mother or father of a child who is a Norwegian citizen, if the child is living with you on a permanent basis
- you are a skilled worker who can apply from Norway
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Who can be granted an entry visa (D-visa) before they have received an answer to their application?
Persons who need a visa to visit Norway can in some cases be issued an entry visa, so that they can travel to Norway before they apply or while they are waiting for an answer.
You can apply for this kind of visa if you belong to one of the following groups
- spouses of Norwegian citizens who are living in Norway or plan to settle here, and their joint children
- spouses of Nordic nationals who have lived in Norway for the past three years, and their joint children
- spouses of foreign nationals with a permanent residence permit (settlement permit) and their joint children
- spouses of foreign nationals with a residence permit as skilled workers with an employer in Norway and their joint children
- spouses of foreign nationals who have an individual permit to work in a group, and their joint children
Requirements for entry visas
To be granted an entry visa, it must be probable that your application for family immigration will be granted. Among other things, this means that you must meet all the requirements for a family immigration permit and you must have submitted all the documents on the checklist.
How to apply for an entry visa
- Submit an application for a visitor's visa, but write in the application that you wish to be granted an entry visa (D visa).
- If you haven't already submitted your application for family immigration, you must now submit all the documents on the relevant checklist for family immigration. You must also submit the reference person's three last pay slips and their last tax settlement.
- The embassy will consider your application for an entry visa. If your application is rejected, you can submit a written appeal to the embassy. The embassy will consider your application again. If they do not grant it, they will send it to the UDI. The UDI will consider the application again, and either reject it or grant it.
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What you have to do if you move before your application is processed?
You are registered in the National Registry
You have to report your new address to the National Registry (external website) as soon as you know you will be moving. The UDI automatically receives your new address from the registry.
You are in Norway, but not registered in the National Registry
If you are in Norway, and you move before your application has been processed, you must notify the police that you are moving no later than one week after you have moved. You can notify the police where you are moving to, or where you lived before.
You are abroad
If you are abroad, and you move before the UDI has processed your application, you must notify the embassy or consulate you applied to. If you fail to do this, you risk not receiving the answer to your application.
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