These provisions cover sportspersons and trainers, including “player managers” and all forms of sport. As a rule, the provisions only apply to sports linked to the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (Norges Idrettsforbund), as sports which are not linked to the confederation rarely meet the requirement for the sport to be at a high level.
If you are a professional sportsperson, you are exempt from the requirement to obtain a work permit, if the work lasts no longer than three months.
If citizens of your country require a visa, you must still apply for a visa in order to be allowed to enter Norway.
The permit conditions are that:
- You must be a high-level sportsperson intending to participate in a sporting activity at a high level, or you must be intending to be a trainer in a sporting activity at a high level in Norway.
- A statement must have been submitted from the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports.
- Your skills must be indispensable for the activity in question.
- You must have a concrete offer of employment or employment contract.
- As a rule, the application must relate to full-time work.
- As a rule, the application must relate to work for a single employer. This means that you are not permitted to work, even without pay, for the club’s sponsors, for example.
- The wages and working conditions must not be worse than the applicable tariff agreement, wage scale or normal standard for the location and profession. Where there are no collective agreements regulating wage conditions between the clubs/associations on the one hand and sportspersons/trainers on the other, a concrete assessment must be carried out to establish whether the wage conditions are met.
- Subsistence and housing must be ensured, irrespective of wages and working conditions. Subsistence is considered ensured if the applicant has funds equivalent to civil service pay grade 1 (NOK 182 400 as of 1 May 2007).
- The work permit as a sportsperson or trainer is linked to a particular job and a particular workplace. In cases where clubs have several teams, this means that the work permit is to be linked to a particular team, generally speaking the first team.
To apply for a work permit, you must complete an application form. The application must be submitted from your country of origin or another country where you have been legally resident for at least six months. You may not enter the country and start working before your permit has been granted. The application must be submitted to your nearest Norwegian foreign service mission (embassy, consulate general). You will also be informed of the decision regarding your application via the Norwegian foreign service mission.
Your employer may apply for you
Your employer may also apply for a work permit for you, if you give your employer written power of attorney. In this case, the application must be submitted to the police in the district in which the employer’s business is based.
Temporary permit
You may not start working until you have received a work permit. The police may, on request, issue a
temporary permit, if they believe it is likely that your application will be granted. In this case, you must meet the conditions for submitting an application from within Norway.
When you are applying for a working permit, the following documents must accompany the application:
- A completed “offer of employment” form, or an employment contract containing the same information, which has been signed by the employer and the employee. If the wages include declarable benefits, a statement of the total gross pay per month must also be included.
- A statement from the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports concerning the condition that the applicant must be intending to take part in/be a trainer for “a sporting activity at a high level” and the condition that “the skills must be indispensable for the activity in question”.
- Documentation of housing.
- Copy of passport (all completed pages)
- Passport photo/other photo which meets the set requirements
- You must also pay a fee
As a main rule, it is sufficient that copies of the documents are sent with the application. However, you have to produce the original documents when you hand in your application.
All documents attached to the application have to be translated into English or Norwegian.
NB: The requirement for documentation varies from country to country, and may change over time. You should therefore check what requirements currently apply by contacting the Norwegian embassy in the country from which you are applying.
Case processing times vary. For an overview of average processing times for the various types of permit, visit
www.udi.no/caseprocessingtime. You can also
contact the Information Service (OTS) by e-mail or by calling (+ 47) 23 35 16 00.
In order to avoid unnecessary case processing delays, it is important to take care when completing the application form and to include all the requested documentation.
- The permit is linked to a particular job and a particular workplace. Therefore, you may not take any other work without first applying for a new work permit.
- The permit constitutes grounds for a settlement permit.
- Family members may come to Norway under the rules for family immigration. If the family’s application is submitted at the same time as the application for the principal person, these will be processed together.
The permit may be renewed. An application for renewal of the work permit must be submitted at least one month before the current permit expires. The application must be submitted to the police where you live.
You must also pay a fee when applying for renewal.
It is a requirement of the renewal that you have taken part in at least 50% of the matches played.
If your application for a work permit is rejected, you may appeal against this decision. If you appeal, your application will be re-examined by the UDI. The UDI may overturn the decision and grant the requested permit. If the UDI upholds the decision, the case is sent on to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) for new consideration.
Any questions?
For more information, see the UDI’s circular on sportspersons. If you are still unsure about anything relating to how you apply for a permit to work as a sportsperson/trainer, you can contact your local Norwegian embassy or consulate, or
the Information Service (OTS).
