University of Oslo

Work during study

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) states that a study permit automatically comes with permission to work up to 20 hours a week while studying, and full-time during holidays. UDI's separate guidance on renewing a study permit adds a further route: a student may apply for a permit to work full-time during the academic year itself if the work is part of their education plan (e.g. a mandatory internship), requested in writing at the time of application or later — though the renewal page also states a student 'can only work if your place of study is of the opinion that you will be able to manage to work in addition to your studies,' and that a study-permit holder cannot be self-employed or run their own business in Norway.

Post-study work visa

Residence permit for job seekers (jobseeker permit for skilled workers who have completed studies in Norway)
UDI states that a foreign national normally needs a job offer in Norway before they can apply for a residence permit for work, but that a skilled worker may in some exceptional cases get a residence permit to stay in Norway specifically to look for work. This includes a foreign national who holds a Norwegian study permit at a university college/university or vocational school, or is a pupil at upper-secondary school, and who has completed their degree/education in Norway: they can apply for a residence permit as a job seeker before their study permit expires (UDI recommends applying at least one month before expiry), and must have already finished their Norwegian qualification at the point of applying.

Route to permanent residence

UDI's own guidance for people renewing a permit states the residence-length threshold directly: a foreign national who has held a residence permit in Norway for three years may be eligible to apply for a permanent residence permit, which allows the holder to stay and work in Norway indefinitely and gives added protection against expulsion. A separate UDI page on permanent-residence requirements adds that the applicant must have lived in Norway continuously for the qualifying period (three years for most categories, longer for some), must have held residence permits that themselves form a valid basis for permanent residence throughout that period and have met those permits' own conditions the whole time, and must not have been convicted of a criminal offence or sentenced to compulsory mental-health care during that period.

Route to citizenship

UDI's own guidance states the general residence-length threshold for citizenship directly: a foreign national who has lived in Norway for at least eight years, or who belongs to a group with a shorter residence requirement than eight years (UDI names age, date of arrival in Norway, and marriage to a Norwegian citizen as factors that can shorten this), may be eligible to apply for Norwegian citizenship. Applicants between 18 and 67 must also have passed, before submitting their documents to the police, an oral Norwegian test at level B1 or higher and either the citizenship test or the social studies test conducted in Norwegian (some applicants — stateless persons, or those over 55 who came to Norway seeking protection or as a resettled refugee, among others — only need to pass the oral test at the lower A2 level). On dual nationality, UDI's own definitions page states plainly: 'From 1 January 2020, it is allowed to have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship' — Norway has permitted dual citizenship since that date, and applicants are not required to renounce their original nationality.