Norway's three main pillar industries are the oil industry, fisheries, and shipbuilding. In this country with a population of less than 5 million, the comfortable and leisurely lifestyle deeply attracts people from other countries. Today, we will discuss how to immigrate to Norway and obtain permanent residency.
Becoming a qualified applicant:
1. You must have stayed in Norway for the past three years and have held residence permits that form the basis for a permanent residence permit.
Regarding the type of visa, the UDI will specify when issuing your visa. If the email states "Tillatelsen kan danne grunnlag for bosettingstillatelse" (which means this type of visa can be used to apply for permanent residency), then you can apply for permanent residency after holding a valid visa for three years. The official has provided several valid visa types for applying for permanent residency:
residence permits for skilled workers
most types of family immigration permits
protection (asylum)
residence on grounds of strong humanitarian considerations (unless you have been granted a limited permit)
2. You must have resided in Norway continuously for the past three years.
This requires that during the three years, you must maintain a valid residence permit and apply for renewal before it expires; you must not have resided outside Norway for more than 7 months in total during the three years;
3. You must have completed tuition in the Norwegian language and social studies and meet the requirements that apply to you or be able to document that you have been granted an exemption by the municipality (applies if you are between the ages of 16 and 55).
This point pertains to language requirements, which require at least 550 hours of Norwegian language study at a designated school in Norway; or you can take an internal test in the community, and upon passing, you will receive a certificate.
After submitting your application to become a qualified applicant, the next step is to submit the application. After submitting the application materials, you must first fill out the online form and pay the fee on the UDI application website, which is currently 2100 Norwegian kroner. After receiving an email from the UDI, you can schedule an appointment at the police station to submit your materials. The list of required materials is as follows:
signed cover letter from the Application portal (or application form)
a copy of all used pages in all passports or other travel documents that you have held for the last three years.
list of time spent abroad.
UDI's checklist, filled out and signed
documentation that you have completed courses in Norwegian and social studies
After submitting the application, the remaining task is to wait patiently. The current official processing time is 10 months, but generally, it will not take that long, although it will not differ significantly. Additionally, it is important to note that after obtaining permanent residency, you need to renew it every two years; if you do not reside in Norway for two consecutive years, you will lose your permanent residency status, except for special work-related reasons.