UK national or family member of a UK national with a permanent right of residence (varig oppholdsrett)

If you are a UK national with a permanent right of residence (varig oppholdsrett), or you are a family member of a UK national who has it and has been here for at least five consecutive years, you must apply for a permanent residence permit if you still want to live here.

You have a permanent right of residence (varig oppholdsrett) if you have had a right of residence according to EU/EEA regulations for at least five years.

If you came to Norway in the 1990s or before, see the information under "UK national who has a permanent residence permit (formerly called a settlement permit) or family member of a citizen with such a permit".

Requirements for the applicant

  • As a general rule, you must have lived in Norway continuously for at least five years. This means that you have not been abroad for more than six months during a year. The residence period is calculated from the day you met the requirements to have a right of residence in Norway.
  • You must have had a right of residence for the entire period you have lived here. This means that you must have been an employee, self-employed, a student, have had your own funds, or been here as a family member of such a person.
  • If you are a family member of a UK national, the UK national must meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit before you can apply.
  • For more extended stays abroad to be included in the total residence period, the stay must be due to pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, research stays, studies or vocational training, secondment, military, or civilian conscription. Such a stay can be up to 12 consecutive months.
  • You must meet the requirements by the time you apply. Residence time both before and after 31 December 2020 will be included in calculating five years of consecutive legal residence.
  • There are no requirements for courses in Norwegian and social studies to obtain a permanent residence permit according to the Brexit regulations.

How to apply

1. Gather the documents you need

You must document the situation you are in when you apply for residence. Which documents you must submit with your application depends on the situation that applies to you and whether you are already registered in Norway. Some just need to identify themselves, while others need to submit multiple documents. You will receive a personalised checklist after you have filled out the application form. Some examples of documents we may ask you to provide:

    • valid national ID card or passporT
    • documentation that you have had a right of residence for five consecutive years
    • if you have had different grounds for residence, you must provide documentation that shows all your grounds for residence
    • if you have been involuntarily unemployed, you must provide documentation showing this
    • if you have been incapacitated, you must provide documentation showing this
    • documentation showing the reason for the interruption in stay if you have been abroad for more than six months during a year

2. Fill in the application form

3. Submit documents and identify yourself at the police

The majority of applicants do not have to submit any documents. They only have to go to the police to identify themselves. Some applicants must submit documents. You must upload these documents digitally.

After you have submitted your application, you will receive a receipt by email with a summary of your application. If you are going to submit documents to your application, there will be a list of which documents you should submit in the summary. If you only have to identify yourself, it will be stated in the summary that you only need to submit identity documents. This means that you must present your passport or national ID card to the police.

If you need only to identify yourself

If your application summary shows that you should only submit identity documents, you should not do anything now. After a while, the police will send you an email confirming that they have opened a case. After the police have made a decision for the residence permit, you will receive a new email from the police asking you to book an appointment to identify yourself. You must not book an appointment until you are notified. The police's capacity varies, and how easy it is to find available appointments may depend on when you try to book.

If you have to submit documents to attach to your application
If the summary of your application shows that you have to submit documents, the police will send you an email a while after you applied, asking you to upload your documents online. This email also includes instructions on how to do so. You cannot submit documents before you receive this email. It may take some time before you receive an email from the police.

After uploading the documents, you will eventually receive a new email from the police asking you to book an appointment to identify yourself with the police. Do not book an appointment before you are notified.