If the reference person has achieved 60 credits or more the last year

If you, as reference person, have achieved at least 60 credits, or taken a full-time study programme at a technical college, in the last tax year or study year, you must have a total income of at least 

. It must be probable that you are going to continue having this income for at least another year. You may later be asked to document that you had this income the first year your family member was in Norway.

Your income can for example come from student loans, grants, income from employment or a combination of these.

There is no requirement that you had any income last year.

If you are going to continue your studies, and the applicant has a job offer in Norway, the applicant’s income can be included in order to meet the requirement.

Examples of what counts as achieving 60 credits the last year:

• You took 60 credits in 2023.
• You finished your studies in the summer of 2023, and took 60 credits in the last year of your studies (autumn 2022 + spring 2023).
• You took a full-time study programme at a technical college in 2023.
• You took a full-time study programme at a technical college in the last academic year (autumn 2022 + spring 2023) and finished your study programme at the technical college in the summer of 2023.

If the reference person has achieved less than 60 credits the last year

If you, as reference person, have not studied full time in the last tax year or academic year, there are other requirements for your income.

Examples of what counts as achieving less than 60 credits the last year:

• You took 50 credits in 2023.
• You took 30 credits in 2023 and worked part time.
• You took a part-time study programme at a technical college in 2023.

If your study programme gives you an uneven amount of achieved credits per academic year, we can consider if you on average achieve 60 credits per year or not.

As reference person, you must have a total income of at least 

. It must be probable that you are going to continue having this income for at least another year. You may later be asked to document that you had this income the first year your family member was in Norway.

In addition, there are requirements for your income last year. 

You must have had a total income of at least 

.

This must be income that your employer has reported to the Tax Administration and that corresponds to what is stated in your payslips. When your tax settlement is ready for the last year, it must show an income of at least the amount shown above. If we do not have the information about your income from last year, the previous year will apply.

Please note, as of 1 October 2021, there was a change in the regulations that affected the requirement. If you have received introduction benefits after 1 January 2021 it will not count as part of your income, and it will be deducted from the total income in your tax settlement.

Types of income counting towards the reference person’s future income

• income from employment
• sickness benefit, pregnancy benefit, parental support, disability benefit or retirement pension from the National Insurance Scheme (folketrygden)
• other permanent pensions or periodical benefits (insurance payments or similar)
• loans or grants received in connection with studies
• If the applicant is already in lawful employment in Norway, the applicant's income can be included in order to meet the requirement.

As reference person, you can have one or more of the above types of income.

Types of income not counting towards the reference person’s future income

• financial assistance from NAV (økonomisk sosialhjelp)
• housing support
• unemployment benefit and work assessment allowance (Arbeidsavklarings­penger (AAP))
• any benefits you receive because you have children
• lump sum grant in connection with birth
• own funds (money in an account)