How to Obtain Norway Work Visa, Fees and Processing time

This content details a step by step guide to apply for Norway work visa or permit, eligibilities, requirements, fees and also processing time.

Norway is one of the biggest Scandinavian countries that are part of the European Union achieving very great standard of living. They’ve very low employment rate, lot of job opportunities and looking forward to hire foreign citizens to fill up the vacant positions.

Benefits of working in Norway

There are lot of great benefits of working in Norway and some of the reasons you should consider getting a job in Norway includes;

1. They’ve very good job market with low employment rate
2. Although, the standard of living in Norway is high, they’re being considered as the happiest country in the world. However, on an average, they pay much higher salaries compared to other countries.
3. There’s no assigned minimum wage in Norway, but to give you a clue on what a low pay job looks like in Norway, an instance is McDonald’s pays their employee an average of $18 per hour.
4. The employers in Norway treat their foreign employees with respect. So, you’re likely to have a great boss in Norway.

There are lot more benefits, but you can find out yourself once you start your job in Norway. For now, I’ll quickly brief you through the process on how to get a Norway work visa or work permit.

Before I precede, foreigner that is a permanent residence or EU-citizens won’t need to apply for residence permit for work. As an EU/EEA national, you’re entitled to work in Norway, all you need to do is register with the police within three months of arriving to Norway and you’re good to go.

This article is for every foreign national outside EU/EEA nations. So, as a non-EU/EEA national, you may need to apply for residence permit for work before you can start working in Norway. Simply follow the below steps to understand the process.

Steps to get Norway Work Visa

1. Firstly, find a job in Norway and obtain a concrete employment offer. Your employer can get you a concrete employment offer by filling the UDI’s employment offer form.
2. After that, you apply for a residence permit for skilled or seasonal worker. Also, your employer can help your obtain this permit. Application can be done at a Service centre for foreign workers or embassy/consulate.
3. Once your application is reviewed and approved, you can then begin work in Norway.

Norway work visa processing time

As a skilled or seasonal worker applying for a work residence permit for the first time, either through a service centre for foreign workers or through an embassy/Consulate. The average processing time after your application is submitted is 15days. However, it can take as long as 4 weeks to be processed in some cases.

Norway work visa fees

When you hand in your application in a Visa application centre, there are service fees to be paid for your application to be processed. The Norway residence permit fee for workers is NOK 6,300 which is approximately $681.

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Document Requirements and Eligibilities

1. An original photocopy of a valid Passport
2. Passport-styled photograph
3. Evidence of clean criminal records
4. Medical certificate
5. Birth certificate if applicable
6. Marriage certificate if applicable
7. Receipt of application fee
8. Proof of employment
9. Details of CV for employment

Jobs in Norway that don’t require residence permit for workers

There are various jobs in Norway that don’t require foreign nationals to apply for residence permit for work and most of this jobs allow people to work in Norway for less than three months. These jobs include;

1. Researchers and Lecturers
2. Employees of International companies
3. Commercial and business travellers
4. Medical practitioners
5. Medical practitioners
6. Religious preachers
7. Athletes and their accompanying support network
8. Journalists and photographers
9. Flight crew members on aircrafts in international traffic
10. Staff on foreign trains, busses or trucks in international traffic
11. Crews on board laid-up ships
12. Tour guides

If your job falls into any of the above type of jobs, then you don’t need to apply for a residence permit for workers.

Read also: How to Apply for Norway Permanent Residence

I believe at this junction, you’ve understood the process and steps involved in getting Norway work visa. If you’ve any question relating to Norway work visa, please feel free to let me know visa comment section.