Information about waiting times for families with children and adults who have applied for protection (asylum)
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If you plan to move to a private address
We recommend staying at the National Arrival Centre until the police and UDI have completed your registration and interviews. You risk having to wait for a longer time for an answer to your application if you move before completing your registration and before having follow-up conversations with the police and the interview with UDI. This is especially important to consider if you have travelled to Norway with children and have not yet had your asylum interview with UDI, since we give priority to families with children staying at the National Arrival Centre.
We are currently working on the following cases
There are many applicants who have been waiting a long time for an answer to their applications for protection. We know that it is difficult to wait. Consequently, we are now processing the applications that have been with us longest.
UDI still has close to 340 cases from 2022 that we have not finished processing. In many of these cases, the interview has already been conducted. We are giving priority to completing applications from 2022 and notifying the applicants of the decision. This applies both to those who are part of a family and to those who arrived alone.
UDI is also now working on processing applications from the first half of 2023. There are approximately 450 cases from this period. As a general rule, we process the oldest cases first. Many of the applicants in these cases are still waiting for an interview.
Applications from Syria
UDI has decided to wait before processing applications for protection submitted by Syrian citizens and stateless individuals from Syria. Many other European countries have done the same. This means that the waiting times will be longer for applicants from Syria.
Everyone will receive an answer to their applications for protection. We will be back with more information when we start processing applications from Syria again.
Why do some applicants receive an answer before others?
There are many people seeking protection. UDI cannot manage to process all these applications right away. Applications from certain groups of applicants need to be processed sooner than others. This includes:
- applications processed in accordance with the Dublin regulation, which most often entails that the applicants have to travel to a different European country to have their applications processed.
- those who, in UDI’s estimation, clearly do not need protection because they come from a safe country, for example.
- applications from families with children, and applications from children who arrived without parents or responsible adults.
It is also UDI’s aim to interview as many applicants as possible while they are at the National arrival centre. This is to help to reduce the waiting times in the long run. We interview applicants from prioritised groups first.
If you are not part any of these groups, it can take a long time before you are interviewed, and your application processed. This does not mean anything is wrong with your case, and we have not forgotten you.
How we process your case at UDI
What happens at the National arrival centre?
Anyone applying for protection in Norway must first register their application at the National arrival centre. The length of stay at the arrival centre is short because there must be room for newcomers. UDI’s goal is to interview most new applicants and process their applications while they are at the arrival centre. Since so many people have come in recent years to seek asylum, we have not managed to do so. Most applicants have to move to an ordinary asylum reception centre where they wait for their interviews and an answer to their applications.
Applicants have no choice or influence in the matter of whether they will be interviewed while at the National arrival centre. It all depends on how many people have applied for protection at the same time.
If you have to move into an ordinary reception centre before UDI can interview at the arrival centre, you should be prepared that it may take a long time before you are called in for your interview and before you receive an answer regarding your application for protection.
It makes no difference for your waiting time if the reception centre you live in is in one part of Norway or another. If you are staying in a private living accommodation, it is very important that you provide your address and other contact details so that UDI can reach you for your interview and with the answer regarding your application.
What happens with your case at UDI while you wait?
When an application for protection comes into UDI, it is placed in a queue until one of our case officers has time to process the case. This means that your case will not be handled by a specific case officer at UDI until you are called in for your interview. No cases are forgotten.
Why does it take so long to get an interview?
The asylum interview is necessary for UDI to be able to assess your application for protection. It is the most important opportunity you have to explain your reasons for why you need protection. UDI allocates a lot of time for asylum interviews and each case requires a good amount of planning and resources. As such, it takes us a long time to interview everyone who comes to Norway.
How long does it take to receive an answer after the interview?
In most cases, UDI is able to provide an answer fairly soon after an interview. Sometimes, however, we need more time to look into a case. We may need to look more closely at information in a case, or we might need to find out more about the situation in your home country before we can process your case. In such cases, it can take longer to receive an answer after an interview, but everyone will receive an answer.
Is there anything I need to remember to do?
If you have any identity documents that you have not given to the police, you need to hand them in as soon as possible.
- If you have original identity documents, you are to hand them in to your local police district.
- If you have copies and photos, you are to send these to UDI.
It is important that UDI have all the documents in your case before your interview takes place. In this way, you can help to avoid your case taking longer than necessary.
What information regarding waiting times can UDI give you?
There are many people who contact UDI to ask about the waiting time for their cases. We are not able to provide any other information about waiting times over the phone other than what is published on udi.no – that is, in this letter.
The people answering as part of UDI’s information service are the same people who process the cases. If we need more information from you to process your case, we will contact you.
In order to have time to process more cases, UDI’s information service is closed on Wednesdays.
UDI is working to cut down on the waiting times. We will provide applicants with regular updates on what we are working with and how far we have come.
Can my case be moved to the front of the queue?
Most applicants for protection want their case to be processed quickly. However, there must be highly exceptional reasons for your case to be moved ahead in the queue.
Information updates
This information on waiting times applies from 1 April 2025.
We will provide another update on 1 June 2025 or before if the situation changes significantly.
