I have already written about getting a visa in Norway and getting a residence permit (family immigration) in Norway. Now I am going to share the information the UDI in Oslo has for getting a settlement permit.

As I have said before (when I posted about getting a visa in Norway and getting a residence permit/family immigration), all of this information is taken from pamphlets that I picked up at UDI. They also have a website with a lot of useful information, but I found the pamphlets to be much clearer and easier to understand. So I am putting that information here so everyone can have both resources to use to help you getting permits to visit Norway.

But if you are looking for more information on related subjects, check out these posts:

• Getting A Visa To Norway
• Getting A Residence Permit (Family Immigration) In Norway
• Getting A Residence Permit For EU/EEA/EFTA Nationals In Norway
• Work Permits In Norway

SETTLEMENT PERMIT-

A settlement permit (a permanent residence permit) confers the right to live and work in Norway permanently. This permit is not time-restricted and therefore does not need to be renewed.

You may obtain a settlement permit once you have lived in Norway for three years consecutively with a residence or work permit issued with a view to permanent residence in the country and which constitutes the grounds for a settlement permit. This applies to persons who have been granted asylum, residence on humanitarian or protection grounds, family reunification of a work permit as a skilled worker/specialist. The permit will always indicate whether or not it constitutes the grounds fro settlement.

For your settlement permit application to be granted, the terms for the permit you have when you apply for the settlement permit must continue to be met.

If you are a national of an EU/EEA country and wish to apply for a settlement permit, you must satisfy the same requirements. Thus if you wish to apply for a settlement permit, you must have a permit that constitutes the grounds for a settlement permit (a work or residence permit pursuant to the EU/EEA/EFTA regulations does not constitute the grounds for a settlement permit).

Once you have been granted a settlement permit, you cannot lose it, even if the grounds for the original permit no longer pertain, for example due to unemployment or divorce.

What documents do I need to apply for a settlement permit?

• Application form with photograph (a passport sized photograph)
• Copy of passport (also of previous passports if you have had more than one passport while you have had a permit to work or reside in Norway)
• Overview of any trips taken abroad during the last three years

When you apply for a settlement permit you will receive automatic notification in the mail that the immigration authorities have received your application. This notification includes information about case processing times.

If you leave Norway after having been granted a settlement permit, you must ensure that you have a valid sticker in your passport. This sticker is confirmation that you have a settlement permit and it can only be renewed by the police. You go to the police station for a renewal, no application is required.

The general rule is that you will lose your settlement permit if you live abroad for more than two years consecutively, or more than two years in total during a period of four years. In exceptional cases you may apply to maintain the permit if you will be living abroad for more than two years. You must apply for this well before the two first years abroad have passed.

With some exceptions, it is required that persons granted their initial work or residence permit after September 1, 2005 must complete Norwegian language instruction. As a general rule this requirement does not apply to persons who were granted their initial permit before this date

When and where should I apply?

You apply for a settlement permit to the police in Norway no later than one month before your residence or work permit expires. If your application is submitted on time, you have the right to continued residence on the same terms as before until your application has been decided.

What requirements must I meet?

You must as a general rule have lived in Norway for three consecutive years with a valid residence permit or work permit without limitations. The permit must constitute the grounds for a settlement permit. Note that under certain circumstances more than three years of residence may be required, for example if you have been sentenced for a criminal offence.

Consecutive means that you must have had the same permit for all three years and that the terms under the permit must have been met during the entire period. Nor can you have had periods without a permit (”slip-ups”) which together exceed three months during the three-year period. Such slip-ups are counted from the expiration date of a permit until the application for renewal is submitted.

You also cannot have been abroad for more than seven months over the course of the last three years. Certain groups of applicant may stay abroad for up to 15 months without losing the right to being granted a settlement permit. This applies to persons with a work permit as a skilled worker and to persons who have a permit based on a professors’s post or other academic position (permit granted pursuant to section 3 second paragraph a or d of the Immigration Regulations). It is a requirement in these cases that private trips do not exceed seven months and that other trips are on assignment for the employer.

With some exceptions, it is required that persons granted their initial work or residence permit after September 1, 2005 must complete Norwegian language instruction. As a general rule this requirement does not apply to persons who were granted their initial permit before this date. This requirement only applies to applicants who must complete obligatory Norwegian language instruction pursuant to the rules in the Act relating to the Introductory Programme.

Can I lose my settlement permit?

Even though a settlement permit entitles you to stay in Norway permanently, it is a requirement that you actually live in the country. If you live abroad for two or more years within a four-year period, you will lose your permit. In some cases, you may apply for an exemption to this rule if you have a good reason for living abroad for an extended period of time.

All of the preceding information came from pamphlets that I picked up at Oslo’s Norwegian Directorate of Immigration

For more information on visiting or moving to Norway, check out:

• Norway - Getting A Visa
• Norway - Getting A Residence Permit/Family Immigration
• Norway - Getting A Residence Permit For EU/EEA/EFTA Nationals
• Norway - Work Permits