Employing someone who wishes to move to Norway

  • Foreign nationals who are going to work in Norway normally need a residence permit. You can read more about different types of residence permits for work and about who does not need a residence permit.
  • In order for a worker to be able to apply for a residence permit for work purposes, you must make him or her a concrete offer of employment. You can normally do this by filling in UDI's employment offer form (pdf, 1,6 MB).
  • Regarding applications for residence permits for skilled workers and seasonal workers, an employer may apply on the worker's behalf. In such case, you must have written authorisation from the worker. More information is available on the pages covering the various residence permits.
  • You will find an overview of case processing times here. For applications for a residence permit as a skilled worker, the following applies: Due to a large number of applications received, as well as challenges with the control of educational documents in applications that concern work at a vocational level, it may take longer to process such applications. This includes, for example, applications related to work as a cook, car mechanic, carpenter, painter, bricklayer and hairdresser.
  • Regarding applications for residence permits for skilled workers, an employer may also apply on behalf of the employee’s spouse/cohabitant and children. In such case, you must have written authorisation from the family members. If you hand in the applications for the employee and the family members at the same time, they will also receive the answer to their applications at the same time. 
  • Employees cannot start working until a residence permit has been granted. In some cases, however, employees may start working before the application has been considered, provided that they have received confirmation from the police (the early employment scheme).

If the worker is granted a residence permit, it will have an expiry date. Most residence permits are renewable. Workers must apply for renewal no later than one month before the permit expires in order to retain all their rights. We recommend applying two to three months before the permit expires.