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Working guest in agriculture

Last updated: 12/05/2011 // You can be granted a residence permit as a working guest in agriculture if you wish to learn about Norwegian agriculture and Norwegian culture. You must be supplied by an approved organisation.

In order to be eligible for a residence permit as a working guest, your stay must be organised by one of the two following approved organisations:

  • Biologisk-Dynamisk Forening
  • Atlantis - the working guest scheme

It must be probable that you will return to your home country at the end of your stay, and circumstances in your home country must also indicate that you will be able to return.

Employment relationship requirements

  • You must take part in the day-to-day work on a farm, alternatively at a nursery, as part of the family on the farm.
  • The work must help you to learn about Norwegian agriculture and culture. Unvaried harvest work does not meet this requirement. Nor may you carry out major maintenance work, construction of new buildings or similar. If your employers engage in ‘combination farming’, for example farming combined with running a campsite, you may only carry out normal farm work.
  • As a rule, the work in question involves full-time employment for one employer. If you have two employers, you must work full-time for each of them and the periods of work for each employer must be continuous. You cannot work more than 35 hours per week. You are entitled to at least one and a half continuous day off per week.
  • The minimum pay is NOK 600 per month after tax, and you must be guaranteed board, lodging and return travel.
  • Your employer cannot employ more than three working guests at the same time.

The content of the permit

  • You can only be granted a residence permit as a working guest once.
  • The permit is granted for a maximum of three months.
  • You can have up to two employers.
  • You cannot change employers during your stay.
  • The permit is linked with one employer at a time, alternatively two employers. You cannot change employer(s), as this will be considered an application for renewal. If you have two employers, each of the employment relationships must concern full-time work. The period of work for each employer must be continuous, and you must enclose employment contracts documenting this from both your employers. You cannot go back and forth between two employers, for example by working one week for each of them. The employment contract must also state during which period of time you will be working for each of them.
  • The permit does not form the basis for a permanent residence permit or family immigration.

Documentation List

  • Cover letter you received as confirmation on your e-mail (In your inbox this confirmation e-mail can sometimes appear with the title: ”application received”) (PDF attachment) after you registered your application and booked time for submitting documents at Application Portal
  • Passport photo not older than three months
  • Passport and copy of used pages. Please be aware that there should be at least two free pages marked “ВІЗИ / VISAS”.
  • One copy of all 16 pages of the domestic passport for Ukrainian citizens and for Moldavian national identification card applies
  • Standardised  employment contract. The contract submitted must be the original, be stamped and signed by one of the two approved organisations, and signed by yourself and your employer.
  • A written guarantee from the same organisation, ensuring board, lodging and travel home, plus a minimum wage. A description of the length of the work, and the type of work you will be given at the farm/market garden.

Please remember to tick of the enclosed documents in our Document list 3 and bring the list together with the documents to the Embassy.

Link to how to apply


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