In general, refugees from Ukraine are to register at the National Arrival Centre. It is also possible to register in a few other locations in Norway if they have sufficient capacity at the time to register you there. If you contact the local police, they can help you with transportation so that you can register your application.

If you have fled the war in Ukraine and applied for protection in Norway, it is the immigration authorities who decide whether your application is to be included in a group assessment or whether it is to be assessed individually. Applications that are assessed as part of the group assessment may grant you collective protection, while applications that are assessed individually may grant you protection (asylum) on ordinary terms.

If you are staying in Eastern Norway and want to apply for protection, please contact the police for help with transportation to the National Arrival Centre so that you can register there.

If you wish to apply for protection, and you do not live in Eastern Norway, you can contact the police to arrange a time and place to register your application. Most asylum seekers are to register at the National Arrival Centre. The police can assist you with transport.

The police website provides instructions for applying for collective protection as a Ukrainian national (eksternt nettsted).

There is limited capacity for registering asylum seekers outside Øst Police District. If there is not enough capacity for you to be registered where you are, you will be transported to the National Arrival Centre to be registered there.

If you need a place to stay, you will be offered accommodation with a bed and food. If they have the capacity for you to be registered in the region where you are currently staying, you will be allowed remain there until you are registered with the police. If there is not enough capacity, you will be transported to the National Arrival Centre.

The National Arrival Centre is the primary location for registering applications for protection in Norway. A number of organisations and others are present at the centre to help to make sure that your needs are met. The National Arrival Centre is able to provide a complete package of services that you will not find in other locations:

• Waiting times are short, and the National Police Immigration Service will carry out thorough registration interviews with you.
• You will be issued a package of clothing and footwear.
• You will be tested for tuberculosis and given other urgent medical care needed.
• You will meet with Caritas, who will inform you of your rights and obligations.
• The centre operator makes arrangements for your stay at the centre and for your future asylum placement (for example, if you have close family in Norway, if you have your car or pet(s) with you, or if you have other special requirements).
• Counsellors from UDI are available to answer your questions at the centre.
• Most refugees from Ukraine stay at the centre for a short periode of time.

• have an interview with the police
• provide fingerprints and a photo
• hand over your passport and other ID documents to the police
• be tested for tuberculosis

• 3 meals a day. Children will receive fruit and yoghurt in between the main meals
• Food appropriate for babies/children
• Package of clothing and footwear
• Personal hygiene items
• Toilet and shower access
• Access to a washing machine for clothes
• 24-hour workforce (personnel is available at all times)
• Access to healthcare when needed
• Access to a small exercise room used for training or table tennis
• Dedicated areas for children to watch cartoons, draw, do crafts or play with toys
• Volunteer organisations come almost every day to set up handicraft activities for children and adults, and Norwegian language training for those who choose to participate

Although the centre is surrounded by fences, you are free to exit and reenter as you wish; you will not be locked inside the National Arrival Centre.

Read more about the different activities you will go through at the arrival centre. 

When you apply for protection, you will go through multiple steps as part of the registration process. You will stay at the National Arrival Centre until you have completed several registration activities. Normally, you will stay at the National Arrival Centre for a short period of time. The registration activities are part of the process of applying for protection.

Examples of registration activities:

• registering your application   
• establishing your identity

Read more about the different activities you will go through at the arrival centre.   

You do not need to be at the National Arrival Centre all the time. You are free to leave when you want, but you must be back by 11:00 p.m. We recommend that you stay there until you have completed all the necessary activities. If you leave the National Arrival Centre before the finishing the process, the entire application process might come to a halt. It may then take longer for you to receive an answer to your application.

It is voluntary to stay at the National Arrival Centre and in asylum reception centres. If you already have somewhere you can stay, you may choose to live there. We do recommend that you stay at the National Arrival Centre until you have completed the following activities:

• Registration of application 
• Identification of identity
• Tuberculosis test

If you leave the National Arrival Centre before completing the process, the application process might come to a halt. It may then take longer for you to receive an answer to your application.

If you choose to stay in private housing

If you stay in private housing, you may apply for alternative to reception centre (eksternt nettsted). 

You are entitled to health care from a doctor or hospital and the right to receive certain types of medication. If you need medical attention, you can contact a doctor where you live. If you have children, they have the right to go to school. 

Applications for protection are all treated the same regardless of where registration took place. Where your application was registered plays no role when it comes to the decision on your case and any offers you receive for asylum reception centre placement and settlement.

If you register in any other location than Øst Police District, and your case requires further investigation, you will be transported to the National Arrival Centre to be registered there.

If you have brought your pet from abroad, your pet must be checked at the border by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority must control all pets that come to Norway to minimise the risk of spreading deadly diseases, such as rabies, to humans and other animals in Norway.

As of 1 July 2023, pets brought into Norway from Ukraine are subject to the standard requirements regarding microchipping, rabies vaccination, blood testing, tapeworm treatment and health certificates.

You can read more about bringing pets from abroad on the Norwegian Food Safety Authority's website (external website).

If your pet was not checked at the border when you arrived, you must immediately contact the Norwegian Food Safety Authority by telephone: +47 22 40 00 00. They will also help you with a temporary home for your pet until you are settled in a place where your pet can live with you.

Here you can find information in English and Ukrainian about financial help from the Norwegian Society for Protection of Animals (pdf, 2,3 MB).

As a clear main rule, you are as the pet owner responsible for your own pets.

The vast majority of animals coming to Norway from Ukraine do not arrive in accordance with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority's guidelines and must therefore be quarantined.

It could happen that your pet clears quarantine before you leave the reception centre. In such case, your pet may stay with you at the centre for a short period if the centre allows it. Certain reception centres have made preparations for pets to be accommodated at the centre. It is the decision of the reception centre itself whether or not to allow animals in.

You will find information on how to register with the local police here (external website). There is limited capacity for registering applications from asylum seekers outside Øst Police District. If there is not enough capacity for you to be registered where you are, you will be transported to the National Arrival Centre to be registered there.

The police will electronically collect information about you and register your fingerprints. When talking to the police, they will register you as an asylum seeker. If you have a passport or other identity documents, you are to give them to the police for scanning.

Once you have submitted your ID documents to the police, the police will send your application to UDI. You will receive a confirmation by e-mail when UDI has received your application.

In certain cases, some additional investigation by the police or UDI may be required. If this applies to you, the local police may send your application to the National Police Immigration Service (NPIS) or to UDI for this purpose. We will notify you if the NPIS or UDI needs to talk to you.

The local police where you live will not be able to register your application if you: 

• do not have ID documents, or 
• hold multiple citizenships, or 
• have a residence permit in another country, or
• have a residence permit as a refugee in Ukraine, or 
• are younger than 18 and applying alone (without your parents) 

If any of the above criteria apply, your application must be registered at the National Arrival Centre. Local police will conduct a short preliminary registration and help you with transportation to the National Arrival Centre so that you can register your application there. 

If you have not been to a tuberculosis examination yet, you must do so. This may not happen while you wait to be registered.

If you live in emergency accommodation, you will be told where and when the tuberculosis examination will be carried out.

If you live privately, you can contact the municipal health service for information on how to take the tuberculosis examination.

If you need a place to stay, you can tell the police when you register your application. The police will contact UDI, which finds a place in emergency accommodation for you.

Once you have received a d-number, you can get health services if you need them.