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Study permit

Last updated: 12.05.2011 // If you wish to study in Norway for longer than three months you must apply for a residence permit for students.

As a rule, to be granted a study permit, you must have been admitted to a field of study at a college or university. However, there are certain exemptions from this requirement.

More information may be found on the webpage of the Directorate of Immigration (UDI).

As a rule, in order to be granted a study permit, you must have been admitted to a field of study at an officially recognised educational institution at college or university level. The course must be full-time and entitle the applicant to full support from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund. This requirement applies even though you are planning to finance your stay in another way than through a loan from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund.

If you have been offered admission (conditional admission) to an approved educational institution/ approved study programme for which Norwegian language skills are required, you may be granted a residence permit for an introductory Norwegian language course for up to one year.

The course in the Norwegian language must be held at university college or university level at an approved educational institution. As a rule, residence permits are not granted for an introductory Norwegian language course prior to a study programme at technical college level.

Note that foreign nationals who have competence as skilled workers can be granted a residence permit valid for a total of one year to study the Norwegian language.

Documentation List:

  • Cover letter you received as confirmation on your e-mail (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 empty pages marked “ВІЗИ / VISAS”. If children included in passport and application – extra two empty pages needed for each child
  • One copy of all 16 pages of the domestic passport for Ukrainian citizens and for Moldavian national identification card applies
  • Letter of admission to School/University in Norway. Your name, detailed information about the duration and the level of the study should be specified
  • Documentation on accommodation in Norway, for example, rental agreement or accommodation confirmation document from the University
  • Proof of financial maintenance (subsistence), for example, documentation of support from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund, a transcript of your bank balance or a confirmation from an educational institution that the money is deposited in its account
  • If you apply outside your country of residence, please present valid residence permit (+ copy) in the country you are applying from. Please remember to tick of the enclosed documents in our Document list for study permit and bring the list together with the documents to the Embassy.

Please remember to tick of the enclosed documents in our Document list 4 (follow the link from the column "Required documents" on the right) and bring the list to Visa Application Center or to the Embassy when applying.