Norway family visit visa and the nine-month parent permit

UDI publishes how it weighs each type of visit. Parents visiting their children, or children visiting parents, are normally granted a visa, and so are visits to a spouse or cohabitant, where the length of the relationship and the contact you have had are considered. Visits to a brother or sister can be granted when you have strong ties to your home country; age and a special occasion such as a wedding help.

Visits to other relatives such as grandparents, aunts or cousins, and to a girlfriend or boyfriend, are normally not granted unless your ties at home are strong; for partners the relationship must also be established, meaning you have been together for a long time and met several times. A funeral or another special reason improves the chances.

Besides the general checklist, you need an invitation stating the length of stay, how you are related, the inviting person’s ID and Norwegian personal identification number, the date and a signature; the closest relative should be the one who invites. Family ties are proven with official civil status records.

If you cannot cover your costs yourself, the host must guarantee them with UDI’s sponsorship and invitation form. The host can sign it digitally with Norwegian electronic ID, which produces a four-word sponsor code for your application, or use the paper version. A sponsor is only needed when your own means are not enough.

Apply between six months and 15 days before travel. The Norwegian mission decides within 15 calendar days, or up to 45 days if UDI takes over. Do not buy tickets before the visa is granted.

A parent may apply for a residence permit to visit a child in Norway for up to nine months. The child (the reference person) must live in Norway and hold a permanent residence permit or a permit that can lead to one, must have a home, and must have earned at least NOK 436,957 a year before tax, with similar income last year; a spouse or cohabitant can provide a financial guarantee instead. You must return home afterwards, and after an earlier such permit at least one year must have passed since you left Norway.

The fee is NOK 11,900. You can hand in this application in Norway while your visitor visa is still valid, but the nine months are then counted from the date you entered Norway or another Schengen country. If the child is in Norway under the EU/EEA rules, this permit is not available; use a normal visitor visa instead.

Refusals are reasoned in writing and can be appealed free of charge within the deadline in the letter, in English or Norwegian, preferably with new documents. The mission reviews the appeal first and passes it to UDI if it does not change its decision.