Travelling abroad: You need a valid residence card
If you have applied for an immigrant’s passport, travel document or a new residence permit and have not received an answer yet, your application cannot be moved to the front of the queue even though you have made plans.
Please remember this if you are planning a trip abroad
When travelling abroad, please bring:
- a valid passport/immigrant’s passport/refugee travel document, and
- a valid residence card
For Nordic citizens and citizens of EU/EEA countries, separate rules apply (external website). You will find separate information for family members of EU/EEA citizens further down on this page.
If you don’t have a valid passport/immigrant’s passport/refugee travel document and a valid residence card, you should not travel out of Norway. If you do, you might experience problems at the airport, when you try to enter another country, or when you try to travel back to Norway.
You should also not book any trips abroad until you have both a valid passport/immigrant’s passport/refugee travel document and a valid residence card. Unfortunately, your application cannot be moved to the front of the queue even though you have planned and paid for a trip.
It is the residence card that documents that you have a residence permit in Norway. The police are responsible for border control. The UDI cannot answer questions about how Norway or other countries practice border control. Nor can we write confirmations that can be used for travel and which airlines or other countries' authorities will accept. All travels without a residence card will therefore be at your own risk.
Information for you who are waiting for an answer to your application
Our normal waiting times apply. We update the information about waiting times every month.
Very special circumstances are required for your case to be moved to the front of the queue. Unfortunately, your application cannot be moved to the front of the queue even though you have made plans to travel.
Information for you who have been granted a residence permit
If you have been granted a residence permit and are staying in Norway, you in most cases must book an appointment at your local police district to order your residence card (external website). Please note that normally it will take 20 days from when you meet at the police until you receive your residence card by post. You may also have to wait for a long time before you get an appointment with the police.
If you applied for a residence permit after 16 April 2021 and gave your fingerprints and a photograph of your face when you handed in the application, the card will, in many cases, be sent to you by post without you having to meet at the police station again.
If you have been granted a residence permit, you are abroad and need a visa to enter Norway, the embassy responsible for your case will issue an entry visa. It varies from country to country how long it takes before the embassy or VFS application centre contacts you, and you get your entry visa to Norway.
Information for EU/EEA citizens and their family members waiting for a residence card
Suppose you are a family member of an EU / EEA citizen and have an application for a residence card / permanent residence card for processing. In that case, you should not leave Norway when you do not have a valid residence card.
Travelling from Norway without a valid residence card may have problems entering and stopping in other countries. You must also expect to spend a long time at the border control in Norway when you return. UDI cannot answer questions about how border control practises in Norway or other countries. Nor can we write confirmations that can be used for travel and which airlines or other countries' authorities will undoubtedly accept. All travel without a residence card will therefore be at your own risk.
If you are from a country subject to a visa and do not have a valid residence card in Norway, you must have a visitor's visa (Schengen visa) to return to Norway. When applying for a visitor's visa, you must submit documentation of your family relationship to the EU/EEA citizen and that they are an employee, self-employed, service provider, sufficient funds or a student in Norway. You are basically entitled to a visa, entitled to priority processing of the visa application and do not have to pay a fee. You must check the visa waiting times at the relevant foreign service mission on their website. Here you will find more information about visitor visas.
There must be extraordinary circumstances in your case for the application for a residence card to take the lead in the queue. Unfortunately, your application can not go ahead of the queue even if you have planned and paid for a trip