Norway permanent residence permit

You must have lived continuously in Norway for the past three or five years on permits that form the basis for permanent residence and have met the conditions of those permits throughout. You need your own income of at least NOK 341,373 in the past year unless exempt, a pass in an oral Norwegian test at level A2 or higher, and a pass in a social studies test in a language you understand. Criminal convictions can extend the waiting time.

For applicants aged 18 to 67 who apply after 1 September 2025, completing courses is no longer enough: you must pass the oral Norwegian test at A2 and the social studies test. Exemptions exist, for example a grade of 2 or higher in Norwegian from school or adult education, at least 30 ECTS credits of Norwegian at university, meeting the Norwegian language requirement for higher education, or health and other weighty personal reasons.

Register the application on udi.no, pay the fee and book an appointment with the police, where you hand in the documents. Since 1 September 2025 every requirement except the income requirement must still be met when the police or UDI decide; a skilled worker, for instance, must still be in full-time work at that time. If you do not yet meet them, renew your current permit and wait.

Five years apply if your permit is based on an asylum application, derived refugee status, resettlement or strong humanitarian grounds, or on family immigration with someone in those groups. Three years apply to other permits, such as skilled work or family immigration with a Norwegian or Nordic citizen. Study, seasonal, job-seeker and intra-company permits do not count.

You may not have been without a valid permit for more than three months in total, and you may not have been abroad for more than seven months in three years or ten months in five years. Skilled workers may be abroad up to 15 months if at least eight were work travel for the employer. The period starts on the decision date if you were already in Norway, on the date you reported to the police if the permit was granted abroad, or on the asylum application date.

If your permit in the past year formed the basis for permanent residence, you can be exempt from the residence period after at least eight years in Norway with residence permits, eight years on Svalbard, or on particularly strong grounds of reasonableness. Spouses of Norwegians posted at a foreign service mission have a separate rule.

A refusal can be appealed within three weeks of receiving the letter. The appeal is free, in English or Norwegian, and should contain new information. UDI reconsiders the case and passes it to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) if the refusal stands.