What is a residence card?

A residence card is a plastic card in credit card format that proves that you have been granted a residence permit in Norway. The police will order a residence card for you.

If you have applied from Norway, it may be that you can get your residence card without meeting at the police station again. If this applies to you, the police will send you the residence card in the mail. This means that you do not have to book an appointment. Read below who must book an appointment.

What do you need to do to receive the card 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 card. If the card gets lost in the mail, it will take at least another ten business days before you can get a new one.
• You should not book trips abroad until you have received the new residence card.

Who must book an appointment to get a residence card?

• You who have applied from abroad.
• You who have an expired Norwegian alien's passport or travel document for refugees, which you have not already given to the police.
• If your application was submitted by another person with a power of attorney, you must book an appointment with the police yourself to get a residence card.
• If you have applied for a residence permit in accordance with the Brexit regulations, you will be notified to book an appointment after your application has been processed.
• If you have applied for protection for the first time with the police, the police will summon you to class. You do not have to book an appointment yourself.

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

How to book an appointment?

Booking an appointment in the Application Portal:

If you used the Application Portal to register your application, you can now log in here to book the appointment (external website).

Booking an appointment by phone:

If you did not use the Application Portal when you applied for a residence permit, you must instead call your local police district to book an appointment. You cannot call the UDI to book an appointment.

You must attend an appointment with the police to get a residence card, and you can book the appointment in the application portal. Some police districts have long waiting time and it can be difficult to find available appointments. If you cannot find any available appointments in the application portal, it means that all the appointments have been booked. The police will regularly make new appointments available, so please keep checking for available appointments. You will find answers to frequently asked questions regarding booking an appointment here (external website).

If you have been granted a residence permit that gives you the right to study or work, and you have booked an appointment with the police to order a residence card, you can start studying or working now even if you have not received a residence card yet.

If it is not possible to book an appointment with the police, you must contact UDI by phone or e-mail to report that you are in Norway and will start your studies or work. You still have to meet with the police to order a residence card when this becomes possible.

The above also applies to you if you are going to work as an au pair in Norway. 

You can read more about tax cards and D-numbers on the Tax Administration's website (external website).

When you meet at the police to order a residence card, we notify the Tax Administration that you have been granted a residence permit. The Tax Administration decides whether you will be given a d-number or a national identity number.

About two weeks after you met at the police, you will receive a letter from the Tax Administration with your national identity number or your d number.

If you have changed your address in Norway since you applied for a residence permit, you must inform the police about this when you meet there, so that the correct residence address is registered in the National Registry.

If you have questions about tax deduction cards because you are going to work in Norway, you will find information on the Tax Administration's website about how foreign citizens apply for tax deduction cards (external website).

If you received a d-number when you should have received a national identity number, you must contact the National Registry (external website).

• Your decision letter from the UDI states how long you permit is valid.
• If you wish to continue living in Norway, you must remember to renew the permit 2–3 months before it expires.
• If you do not renew your permit, you may experience problems travelling into and out of Norway, lose the right to work in Norway or have problems when you apply for a permanent residence permit or citizenship.

• The decision letter from the UDI will tell you whether the time you have this residence permit may be included if you later apply for a permanent residence permit.
• See information regarding the requirements for permanent residence permit.

You are entitled to different types of health care (external website) depending on your situation.

• You decision letter from the UDI states what type of work you can do and, if relevant, the employer you will be working for.
• If you change employer or position, you must normally apply for a new residence permit. You must be granted a new permit before you can start in the new job.

• After you have arrived in Norway and been issued your residence card, you can travel into and out of Norway for as long as your residence permit is valid.
• You must bring your passport and your residence card when you are travelling.
• You can visit the other Schengen countries up to 90 days.
• You can travel into and out of Norway for as long as the permit is valid, but you must live in Norway for at least a total of six months each year.

If you move from Norway before your residence permit has expired, you can notify us. The UDI can revoke (cancel) you permit from the date you leave Norway. This may be in your interest, because you then will be able to document to other Schengen-countries that you no longer have a residence permit in Norway. If you apply for a visitor’s visa to another Schengen country while you still hold a valid residence permit in Norway, you can risk not being granted a visitor’s visa.

This is how you notify us:

1. Write a letter and explain that you have moved from Norway. Ask the UDI to revoke the rest of your residence permit. Write the date you left Norway and your postal address abroad.

2. Remember to write your full name, and your DUF-number or your Norwegian national identity number

3. Sign the letter

4. Send the signed letter by mail or upload the letter to the UDI through the form for sending additional documents to the UDI (external website, opens in new window). 

In some cases, you may lose your residence permit.

Losing a permit means that the UDI has decided that the residence permit is no longer valid. It may mean that you are no longer allowed to live in Norway or that you will be granted a new residence permit, and your residence period in Norway will restart.

There may be different reasons why you lose your residence permit, for example, if you:

• do not receive the payment stated in your job offer
• live outside of Norway for more than a total of six months in one year
• work more than what is stated in your employment contract, or work less than what is stated in your employment contract

Here you will find more information about revoking a residence permit.