Questions and answers

• How will I receive a reply to my application?

  Once your application has been considered, you will receive a letter in the post. If you have authorised someone to represent you in connection with your case, or if you have a lawyer, this person will be notified and must then inform you. 

• How will I get my travel document if I applied before 16 April 2021?

  1. If you have been granted protection (asylum) for the first time and issued a travel document, the police will inform you when you can come and pick up your travel document and residence card.
     If you have applied to renew it, you must book an appointment with the police in advance. If you filled in and sent your application electronically, you can now log in to book an appointment. If you did not fill in an electronic application form when you applied for a residence permit, you must instead call your local police district to book an appointment. You cannot call UDI to book an appointment.
  2. At the police station, you have to sign and have your fingerprints and photo taken. Children under the age of three must bring a passport photo.
  3. The police will order the refugee travel document for you and you will receive it by mail. When you are at the police station, you can ask how long it will take before you get your travel document. 
  4. Your travel document must be renewed. You must remember to apply for renewal well in advance of the old one expiring. Please see our updated guide to waiting times for applications. If your travel document is damaged, you must also renew it. Your travel document normally expires on the same date as your residence permit. You have to hand in two applications: one to renew your residence permit and another one to renew your travel document.
  5. If you have a residence permit that is limited due to doubt about identity, you can apply for a new residence permit as soon as you have the ID documents UDI has asked for. You do not need to wait until your travel document is about to expire.

• How will I get my travel document if I applied on 16 April 2021 or later?

  Some applicants can get their travel document without meeting with the police again. If this applies to you, the police will send you the travel document in the mail, and you do not need to book an appointment. Read below who must meet with the police to get a travel document. 

  I have applied for protection (asylum) for the first time and have been granted protection and travel documents

  If you have applied for asylum for the first time with the police, the police will contact you and give you an appointment. You must meet with the police, but you do not have to book an appointment yourself. 

  I have applied for a renewal of my travel document, or I have applied for derived refugee status

  You must book an appointment if you have a Norwegian alien's passport or travel document for refugees that has expired and that you have not already given to the police. 

  You should not book an appointment if you handed in your old travel document to the police when you applied. You also do not need to book an appointment if you have applied for derived refugee status and receive a travel document for the first time. The police will send the travel document to you in the mail. 

  At the police, you must take a picture and give fingerprints. 

  What do you need to do to receive the travel document in the mail? 

  • Register as a new mail recipient in Norway (external website)at Posten, if you have not already done so. 
  • Check that you are registered with the correct postal address at Posten (external website), if you are already registered as a postal recipient. The site requires login with BankID or MinID.
  • Make sure you have your name on the mailbox, otherwise you will not receive the travel document.  
  • If the travel document gets lost in the mail, you must fill in a report that your passport is lost and send it to the police. If your travel document has been stolen, you must report it to the police. If you lose your travel document, you will not automatically receive a new one. You must then apply to renew the travel document.
  • You should not book trips abroad until you have received the new residence card. 

  How to book an appointment? 

  Booking an appointment 

  If you filled in and sent your application electronically, you can now log in to book the appointment. 

  Booking an appointment by phone 

  If you did not fill in an electronic application form when you applied, you must instead call your local police district to book an appointment. You cannot call UDI to book an appointment. 

• My child has been granted a travel document. Can the child attend the appointment at the police station alone?

  Children under the age of 18 must attend together with their parents who have parental responsibility, or with a representative/guardian. 

• What can I use my travel document for?

  • With your travel document, you can normally travel to all countries except to your home country. However, there may also be other countries that you cannot to travel to. This will be stated in your passport.
  • If you want to travel to your home country, you must apply for an immigrant's passport for a single journey instead.
  • You must always check if you need a visa to enter the country you plan to visit and whether the country will accept your travel document. You can ask the country's embassy whether you will need a visa if you have a "Norwegian travel document for refugees".

• You are responsible for keeping your travel document safe

  You must take care of your travel document so that no one else can get hold of it. You must always know where your travel document is. The travel document is personal, and only you can use it.

  It is illegal to give or lend your travel document to someone else.

• I have lost my travel document. What should I do?

  If you have lost your travel document, you must report it to the police. Contact your local police station. 

• Can my travel document be confiscated/taken away from me?

  If the travel document is misused, or if other considerations so require, the Norwegian authorities may confiscate the travel document.

  What happens if I obtain a passport from my home country?

  • If you receive a travel document from your home country, you must return the Norwegian travel document.
  • Obtaining a passport from your home country may indicate to the Norwegian authorities that you no longer require protection in Norway. UDI will therefore assess whether your refugee status should be revoked and the rights associated with that status withdrawn. 

  What happens if I travel to my home country using a refugee travel document?

  • You risk being stopped at the border and denied entry. 
  • If UDI is notified that you have used your travel document in your home country, we may consider revoking your travel document.
  • By visiting your home country, you show the Norwegian authorities that you may no longer need protection in Norway. UDI will then assess whether your refugee status should be revoked, along with the rights that come with it.

  What happens if I contact the embassy of my home country?

  • If you contact the embassy of your home country, you are showing the Norwegian authorities that you may no longer need protection from the authorities in your home country. Therefore, UDI will consider whether to revoke your refugee status and the rights that come with it.