Finally! Permanent Residence!
When you are in between countries you are in limbo. You can only live year by year as that is all you are approved to do until you get a permanent residency permit. After three years on a temporary residency permit I have finally been upgraded to permanent.
It certainly hasn’t been an easy road for me. I’ve gone through the initial application process twice. After two years of living in Norway we went to London for a year and then returned. I had to start the application process again because I stayed over 9 months outside of Norway. After lost papers (UDI lost them), interviews and waiting, waiting, waiting (you shouldn’t leave the country when you are being processed so holidays at this time is definitely out), I have paid my dues and now reside in Norway permanently. (This also means I just can’t return back to Australia if I want to. I will need to go through another application process to get back in the country.) So Norway is now officially my home.
After the initial application, the following ones are a breeze, providing your circumstances don’t change and you gave correct information at your first application. This last time it took just two months from handing in my application to getting the stamp in my passport. There are a couple of reasons why my application processing time for a permanent permit based on family reunification was so quick:
1. It was the third time I applied and therefore it was more about procedure than sorting through information.
2. My documents were filled out correctly.
3. My application was uncomplicated. I haven’t changed status since my initial application, I am not a refugee and I come from an agreeable country. Therefore the local police station was able to handle my case. If an application is complicated it will most certainly be handled by UDI in Oslo which has a long waiting list on top of all the extra information transfers and communications.
4. I live in a small city that doesn’t have many applications.
5. I am married to a Norwegian. This makes things easier as Norwegians have more rights than non-Norwegians, especially when it comes to immigration.
6. I have Norwegian children. While residing in Norway I have created a life and family here which is a strong humanitarian addition to my application.
7. I have no convictions and no criminal activity.
8. I have fulfilled my Norwegian language requirement.
And softer additions that would help if my application was questionable:
9. I work and therefore don’t drain the social system.
10. I am well educated and have specialist skills.
11. I am a participant of society.
Going through all the application processes to live in Norway can be annoying to say the least but rather than thinking that it is a process that judges your value, think of it as a time to test Norway to see if it is good enough for you. Learn everything you can about Norway, live the culture and become involved in society. This way when it comes time to apply for that permanent residency permit you will be going into it with a thorough understanding of the country that will become your life.
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The Tyholt Tower is the second biggest tourist attraction in Trondheim.
In Norway, there are still Lefse recipes around from the 1630s! This is supposedly the traditional and original Hardanger recipe used:
Knowing what will keep your baby warm in Norway is common knowledge passed down from mother to mother…
The Bunad with molded wool, embroidered cuffs and silver stitching is still not complete without its silverwork.
Lathari beach is the only beach in Alta.
I read your blog for more than two years and want to say than you are true Norway resident, no doubt. Congratulations!
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from L-Jay:
Tusen takk! It is very nice to hear
It sounds like they’ve beefed up the process a bit. I did not have to interview. I just sent in my paperwork and waited about four weeks. But then, there was no language requirement five years ago. Lucky me.
However…a minor point. I think the speed of the pass/fail decision on your application had little to do with having Norwegian children, contributing to society, etc.
My own application was lightning fast and I got the distinct impression while at the police station and while talking to other people that it was because I am an westerner with skin as white as driven snow. I did not have children (still don’t, thankfully) and was quite upfront with them about being a career housewife.
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from L-Jay:
My first application was during the old requirements and they changed them when I was in London. I reapplied with the new requirements so I’d be in one of the first groups of people to go through with the new requirements (for language, etc).
Having Norwegian children, born in Norway to a Norwegian spouse, is a major help in getting residency. (Not that I needed it.) It establishes that I have strong grounds to stay in Norway, which is something that can support asylum seeker cases, as well as other things such as employment and social integration. UDI will not break up a ‘Norwegian’ family. (Unless, of course, a marriage and family has been created dishonorably.) But I did have to hand in to immigration a declaration signed by two people stating that my marriage and relationship with Moose is the real deal.
The country where I came from is certainly a major help. It is supposed that people from English-speaking Western countries are entering Norway honorably. Unfortunately, honorable people from places like Pakistan and Somalia are judged by the state of their country and religion. Applications for these people, I presume, would take longer because of the extended investigation into their past and associates. An Australian is a ‘low risk’ compared to a Pakistani. It is a shame that things are like this but it is the ‘high risk’ countries themselves that have created this discrimination for their people by their and a few of their people’s conduct. People are still fighting the mentality of ‘A few rotten eggs spoils the whole barrel’ but I think this will always be the case now especially with terrorism.
Side note: How do Norwegians react when you say you are a career housewife? When I was a stay at home mum (and proud of it) Norwegians would double take at me. One time a nurse said ‘isn’t that something only immigrants do?’ This made me realise two things: that Norwegians think that immigrants are from 2nd or 3rd world countries, usually with dark skin; and Norwegians say what they do in life via education, not by what they actually do. Even though I was a stay at home mum and hadn’t worked for over two years the nurse wrote down that I was an arts producer…lol.
I definitely felt looked down on when I told people in Norway that I was a stay-at-home Mum. They really seemed to struggle with the idea that I was neither working or studying by my own intention! I felt like I suddenly wasn’t interesting or worthy somehow
I really had to remind myself why I chose to do it, and that it’s a perfectly honorable choice which in no way reflects on my level of intelligence (still convincing myself, haha).
Think I’m doubling up on posts and may have said this before on one of your posts about childcare .. sorry, haha! Congrats on the residency!!
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from L-Jay:
I think in Norway it is a double standard. Norway prides itself on being one of the first countries to grasp equal rights for women but the ‘equal rights’ means women are expected to work and not stay home and look after their children. It is almost seen as primitive and abusive if the woman stays at home. What equal rights should really mean is that you have the same opportunities as others but the freedom to choose which ones to take. Both men and women should be valued in their choices of either being a stay at home parent or a working parent. (Though, personally I think the joy of having children is raising them – you can’t raise them if you go to work all day, you have to pay someone else to raise them instead. I think it is a shame that Norway doesn’t encourage families to look after their own. People are too quick to put their kids in childcare or their parents in nursing homes. Farfar is 85, blind and needs two walking sticks to shuffle along but he is a treasure that we love to be with. There will certainly be no nursing home for him. On the other hand, one of my children has just started childcare but this will be a topic posted shortly.)
I usually point out that equal rights means an equal right to choose one’s path and the freedom to do so. Then I point out that I would have to marry a wealthy husband in order to be able to stay home in the US. Norway’s egalitarian society means that I am able to stay at home in the course of living a ‘normal’ life with a husband earning a military salary. And that they should realize that this is a mark of how well they’ve balanced things and the general affluence here. It’s at this point their mouth snaps shut.
At one point, my husband and I calculated how much it would cost us for me to enter the workforce (language training, work clothes, transport, etc). It was an eyebrow raiser. Given the average salary for someone with my meager qualifications we found that my staying home was quite a bit easier on the wallet.
Generally, I have not had much negative response when I reveal that I’m a career housewife. I think the one person who’s a bit put out with me over it is my otherwise wonderful doctor (who is coincidentally an Aussie). I usually frame it in terms of a joke: my having worked three jobs simultaneously while at university and thus being entitled to retire by now. Also, based on observation, I think there is probably a certain leeway granted to military wives.
What does blow their minds and I occasionally get a little flak for is not having children. They usually assume I’m staying home with kids and get a bit confused when I tell them “oh goodness, no”. I’m not sure how they think it’s their business.
I do think perhaps you might have just run into a snobby (or stupid) nurse. I can count four or five households with Norwegian stay at home mums within a rock-hucking radius of our front door. However, that may well be skewed by the fact that there is a school and barnehage within 400m of our home.
When I was going through the residency process, nobody ever mentioned citizenship to me. This might have to do with my nationality. I’ve run into a few other Americans and (so far) all them seem to view living here as a carnival ride that they will eventually get off of and go home. I would seriously consider obtaining Norwegian citizenship, but with things the way they are…I would probably never be able to easily travel to the US again. And I would never pass the language proficiency requirement.
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from L-Jay:
The language requirement is a killer for me too. But I also think that my Australian citizenship could give more opportunities to my children when they get older, like immigration. At one point there were many Australian entertainers getting American citizenship for living and tax purposes but I don’t think they need to these days. I think giving up your citizenship is a big deal. However, it would make it easier for me to live in other EU countries. When we lived in London the only reason I could live there was because Moose was a member of the EEA. Me being a citizen of the Commonwealth meant nothing! So I could only ride on Moose’s Norwegian citizenship to get in the UK. Crazy…lol.
Congratulations, did you now have to renounce your Australian citizenship or is permanent residence slightly different?
I’m studying pharmacy at the moment (from Australia) and hoping to eventually get permanent residence in Norway. The main problem, of course, is the language. In this particular job you need to be able to communicate really effectively so I have to become very proficient in Norwegian, haha. Oh well.
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from L-Jay:
Permanent Residency means I can stay in Norway indefinitely while still retaining my Australian citizenship. But at every encounter of getting this permit the authorities were quick to remind me about getting Norwegian citizenship…lol. Norway really wants immigrants to become Norwegian citizens. The problem is they require me to give up my Australian citizenship. They only allow duel citizenship now in extreme cases. (And the country that you give up usually sees it as a betrayal and can make your life difficult.)
I think being educated in pharmacy some employers will overlook the language. Some could employ you with a condition to attend a Norwegian language course. Our dog’s vet is Norwegian but she studied abroad and now finds it hard to convert all the tech-lingo into Norwegian. She would much rather to speak to me in English…lol.
That’s an interesting point, in a way I suppose it’s good that they want people to, I suppose, integrate with the country, but it’s probably a lot for people to give up their citizenship. I think I’d be willing, but it wouldn’t be an easy decision to make, especially since most of my family would still be in other countries!
I’m hoping that something like that happens, becoming fluent in Norwegian is so difficult… hopefully anyone I talk to will be better at English than I am at Norwegian hahaha… otherwise there could be a lot of confusion
Congratulations, brilliant news! I have thoroughly enjoyed following you on your Norwegian adventure- the highs, lows and everything in between. No more jumping application hoops, enjoy the Norwegian winter time
interesting site and very educative……i came to norway as a student from an african country,,,,i have lived here legally on student visa purposes for 5 years now and have 3 more years to complete my studies… my husband joined me here and we have 2 kids al born in norway. can i apply to stay here permanently because of long residency that is 8 years in norway and my kids strong ties to norway.
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from L-Jay:
You have to follow what it says on your visa and student residency status. If it says you have to return home after studies then you will have to return home first before applying for special consideration. However, people who have a Masters + sometimes have an opportunity to stay in Norway for a year to get employment and work experience but this is limited and on a visa specific basis.
UDI says:
Came across your blog from other link.
Congrats on the permanent residence. I suppose obtaining one in Norway is easier than the country where I live, but congrats nevertheless!
Is it true that in Norway, stay at home mums get paid? Am I right in assuming that the mother has to be a Norwegian citizen? Just out of curiosity, how much do they get?
I wish Australia had a pension for mothers who stay at home because it is probably the toughest job to raise a family especially juggling it with work. I think in the end, the kids suffer when both parents work 40 hour working weeks.
I’m only 24 so I have a long way yet to worry about raising a family, but it would be nice knowing that your future is supported/subsidised by the government. And I don’t mean as a hand out, but more of a helping hand.
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from L-Jay:
The Australian government does give support to mother’s staying at home but only if the other parent doesn’t earn enough over the poverty threshold. Of course, single parents get support and single stay-a-home parents (it is called a single parent pension).
Norway does not pay stay-at-home mums. In fact, it is expected that women start working again after nine months. It is expected that children are put into childcare. For the nine months at home mothers only get maternity leave pay and can only get that if they have been an employee and paid national health insurance (tax) for at least a year. If you own your own business you are on your own. Norway does pay a small amount for the child only to stay-at-home mums but it is a tenth of an average wage and is only paid for two years – from ages 1-3. You cannot live off it – or even support yourself with food on it. Norway is certainly not the place to come to if you want to be supported having kids.
You should read:
http://mylittlenorway.com/2010/04/do-you-really-want-to-live-in-norway/
Hello i found your website very usefull!
I am an indian who has done my ITI fitter course and have 4 years experince , Can u please let me knw wat are my chances to get a job in norway.
wow..congrats…i have a question..what is the common language used there?iam planning to work.
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from L-Jay:
Norwegian.
Hei L-Jay!
My story goes a little like this- I quit my job in Aus and left on a 10 month trip around Europe. I met a Norwegian and bam, my life is going in a completely different path than I had set for myself. So when searching for Norwegian language lessons online your site came up and I have to say, it’s been a god sent. I’ve had a lot of difficulty in understanding the UDI website in regards to immigration and visas for young people (I will be 25 at the time of applying for a visa to go back to live in Oslo) and know that my only real option at this point is the working holiday visa as I do not hold a bachelors degree or equivelant. I have over 3 years specific work experience in real estate however I can’t seem to get any clarification on whether that will work in my favour??
Unfortunately the WHV does not constitute grounds for permenant residency and therefore, if I lived with my partner for 2 years on this visa I could then apply for a cohabitant visa and only then could I start to accumulate the 3 years needed for permenant residency. I have all the drive and determination to make this work though and reading your blogs have been extremely helpful- have you ever considered a job in immigration?!? After arguing with a woman from the UDI after I was given incorrect information, I said I could do the job better. But alas, I’d need to be a citizen to work for the state! Haha. Keep up the good work and keep the lessons and posts coming. I love my skype lessons with Fredi and he thinks your website is great too!
Tusen takk!!
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from L-Jay:
I must say, the easiest way to get a residency permit in Norway is through marriage. But that is a big step and if the marriage situation changes in the first three years of residency – meaning separation or divorce – then your residency will be canceled. But yes, there is the option of a working holiday – Australians are allowed to do it if they are under 30. However, you need to change jobs every three months (if I’m right) and so finding work can be hard if you don’t travel all over the country.
Real estate would be a hard job to get as Norwegians need to trust you when buying a house and it would be very hard to trust a foreigner who doesn’t speak Norwegian – maybe you can look for an international real estate service job based in Oslo? There is also a loophole in being not allowed to work for the State if you are not a citizen – the biggest employer are the kommunes/municipalities or city councils. Many non-Norwegians work for the kommune, me included. (The State is only government agencies and you wouldn’t want those jobs anyway…lol.) It is much easier to get jobs in the smaller cities in such positions because there is a bigger need for professionals. But the job market is crazy at the moment – people with master degrees are going for lowly office jobs now.
Wishing you luck.
hi…im planning to get a temporary residency visa to study norway’s language and find a job [any] as well. The visa states that i can stay in norway for a year. im a registered nurse in the Philippines[asia] but its definitely fine with me to have any type of job there.Now, my question is,how can stay longer in norway and work?please give options.thanks
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from L-Jay:
You either need to get a job, open a business or get married to a Norwegian citizen.
Hi,
I have a serious concern. My fiance is a Norwegian national. Her current status is student who is in the final semester of her MD (M.B.B.S). She is going to be a Doctor in June 2012. I am a foreign national outside of EU/EEA but i am a student in Sweden having a residence permit of Sweden and i am in Sweden now. We now wish to marry. As there is a rule in Norway that a sponsor shows an income of about 230 000 NOK in one year or else have a study grant from Lånekassen which must cover such an income. I would like to know few things here:
1. Should we apply for a fiance permit and then after that do marriage in Norway?
2. How can she sponsor me in such a case as she is going to complete her degree in June and no study grant will be there to show afterwards?
3. Should we do marriage before applying for a fiance permit and then apply for family immigration ?
Which way is best for us and also tell about how should we document for income or study grant?. Please reply soon. Thank you!
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from L-Jay:
As a student you are required to return home after your studies. You will only then be able to apply for a permit to live in Norway. So you will have to wait until you are finished school yourself in Sweden first, then you have to live in your resident country for at least 6 months before applying for any permit. However, if you decide to work after studies in Sweden, (only if it is allowed in Sweden to work after study – it usually is after a completed Masters) you can then apply for your permit from Sweden.