Parents whose children live in Norway
If you have children under the age of 18 living in Norway who you are going to live with or have access rights to, you can apply for a family immigration permit.
In the following situations you may be granted family immigration with your child in Norway:
- Your child is a resettlement refugee or has refugee status in Norway.
Siblings under the age of 18 can also apply for family immigration with the child.
- Your child has Norwegian citizenship.
You must live with the child on a permanent basis and have parental responsibility for him/her. If you are married to or cohabitate with the child’s other parent, you must apply for family immigration with your spouse or cohabitant, not with your child.
- Your child has Norwegian citizenship and has lived in another country in which you have had access rights.
If the child moves to Norway to live with the other parent, you can be granted a residence permit to continue to visit your child here.
- You use your access rights to your child living in Norway with his/her other parent.
You must have lived in Norway and held a residence permit for the past year.
The UDI can reject such an application if a residence permit will result in you as parents being in a bigamous relationship (if one of you has a new spouse or cohabitant).
Parental visit for 9 months
If you have children living in Norway, you can also be granted a residence permit that is valid for up to nine months to visit them. This permit can be granted regardless of the children’s age.
This permit entitles you as a parent to visit your children living in Norway for up to nine months. The permit does not entitle you to work in Norway, and you must return to your home country when the residence permit expires. You can travel into and out of Norway for as long as the permit is valid.
The permit cannot be renewed, but you may be granted a new nine-month permit when you have stayed outside Norway for at least one year. If you have visited Norway in the meantime (for example on a visa), the one-year period is extended by a period equal to the duration of the visit.
Requirements of the child living in Norway:
The child living in Norway must be a Norwegian or Nordic citizen, hold a permanent residence permit (settlement permit) or a residence permit that forms the basis for a permanent residence permit. The permit is not dependent on the child’s age, which means that you can be granted a parental permit to visit children both over and under the age of 18.
Read more about the residence permit for parental visits
How to apply
Documentation list 2