Work permit

If you are an EEA national (citizen of an EU/EEA/EFTA country), you do not need to apply for a residence permit, but you must register in Norway. Consult the website of the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), which is the best source of correct and up-to-date information, on how to proceed. UDI has a very user-friendly digital service that should answer all your questions.

Normally, you will have to report to the police:

1. Fill in your details via the Application Portal and book an appointment with the police or a Service Centre for Foreign Workers.
2. Appear in person at the appointment and bring a passport or other valid identity document.

EEA nationals do not need a work permit. This also applies to family members who are themselves EEA nationals. Family members who are not EEA nationals must have a valid passport and must be able to document that they are a member of your household or that they are supported by you.

EEA nationals may apply for permanent residence after five years of continuous legal residence in Norway.

Usually a researcher applies for a work and residence permit as a skilled worker. Residence permits granted to skilled workers may form the basis for permanent residence in Norway. The term skilled worker covers the following categories:

• University college or university education.

  You must have completed a study programme or a degree or study programme. Examples include degrees in nursing or engineering, or Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees.

• Special qualifications.

  You must have gained expertise through professional experience of a certain duration, if relevant in combination with other training (courses and the like). If there is a formal vocational training programme in the field in question, your level of achievement must be approximately equivalent to the level of such a programme. Please note that, in principle, skilled worker permits are only granted on the basis of special qualifications in exceptional circumstances and that extensive documentation is required.

• Specialist training equivalent to upper-secondary education.

  You must have completed a vocational training programme for a specific occupation. This programme must as a minimum correspond to an upper secondary education, i.e. have a duration of at least three years. If you were educated abroad, you must have achieved the same level of expertise as you would have achieved had you been educated in Norway. Examples include vocational education for joiners, plumbers or auxiliary nurses.

• Craft certificate.

  If you completed a craft certificate abroad, you must have achieved the same level of expertise to qualify for a Norwegian craft certificate.

• Please see the webpages on skilled workers on UDI’s website for more information about how to apply.

• In order to apply for a residence permit as a skilled worker, consult UDI's website to learn more about the correct procedure for you. You will need to enter your nationality to get customised information.
• As a rule, you should submit your application to a Norwegian embassy or consulate in your home country or in the country where you have held a residence permit for the past six months. You may apply from Norway if you are a skilled worker and a legal resident of Norway. Please note that this does not apply to asylum seekers. If you apply from Norway, you must submit your application either to the local police station or at a Service Centre for Foreign Workers. Read more about applying for a work permit.
• Skilled workers who wish to come to Norway before they have been granted a residence permit can apply for an entry visa. You are eligible for such a visa if you are a skilled worker and have received a concrete offer of employment from an employer in Norway.
• The entry visa does not entitle you to work in Norway, but it does entitle you to stay in Norway while you wait for your application for a residence permit to be processed. Read more about entry visas for skilled workers.

You may be granted a residence permit in Norway as a researcher if you are going to carry out research at a university, research institute or similar institution and can finance the stay with your own funds or if you have a foreign employer and your salary is paid from outside of Norway. Please note that this permit does not give you the right to permanent residence in Norway. Read more about the criteria for obtaining this type of permit.