My child is travelling from Palestine, Israel or Lebanon with the assistance of Norwegian authorities, but is dependent on me while travelling. I am a foreign citizen without a residence permit in Norway. May I travel together with the child?
Yes, UDI has been asked to grant a national visa to a foreign parent without a residence permit in Norway who travels together with a Norwegian child under the age of 2, and on whom the child is dependent in order to ensure life and health during the departure from Palestine, Israel and Lebanon, see instructions from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security [in Norwegian only] (external website).
This applies if:
- A Norwegian child under the age of 2 is dependent on a foreign parent to ensure life and health during the trip, and
- The child is travelling out of Palestine, Israel and Lebanon in connection with assisted departure under the auspices of Norwegian authorities as a result of the situation following Hamas's attack on Israel 7 October 2023.
The responsible foreign station or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends personal information (name, date of birth, gender, place of birth and current family relationship) to UDI.
As a general rule, it is a requirement that your identity and family relationship to a Norwegian citizen must be documented.
Depending on the situation, in cases where there is insufficient documentation of identity and/or family relationship, UDI/the police can assess whether the person's information about identity and family relationship is considered probable. In such an assessment, UDI will take into account information registered in Norway and any other information previously provided by family members in Norway.
Persons who have been expelled from Norway for reasons of fundamental national interests are not issued a national visa according to the instructions. The same applies if similar serious cirumstances speak against it, even if the person has not been expelled, and if the person has been expelled on the basis of a conviction and UDI finds no reason to lift the entry ban. If the expulsion is due to a breach of the Immigration Act, when assessing whether the entry ban shoulde be lifted, emphasis must be placed on the child's need to be with her/his parents in the current situation.
National visas cannot be issued to Norwegian citizens. This means that national visas cannot be issued to persons who are granted assisted departure on the basis of an assumption that they are Norwegian citizens. This applies even if the person lacks Norwegian travel documents.
The instructions apply only to persons who have made use of the offer of assisted departure under the auspices of the Norwegian authorities out of Israel, Palestine and Lebanon as a result of the situation in the region following Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The instructions do not include persons who have left Israel, Palestine or Lebanon on their own/without the assistance of Norwegian authorities, and who are, for example, currently in neighboring countries to Palestine, Israel and Lebanon.