If you as a foreign citizen want to get married with a person living in Norway and then move to Norway, you must apply for a resident permit. Below you will find more information about how you can go about it.
If you as a foreign citizen want to get married with a person living in Norway and then move to Norway, the following rules apply:
- If the intention is to get married in Norway, you must apply for a residence permit in order to travel to Norway to be married. The application must be submitted from your country of origin or the country where you have been legally resident for at least six months. If granted the applicant will be given a six months temporary work and residence permit, and during this period marriage must be contracted. If not the applicant must leave the country.
- After the marriage has been contracted – either in Norway or outside the country you must apply for resident permit if you wish to move to Norway.
You can apply from Norway if you are married and your spouse is either:
- Norwegian or Nordic citizen who is living in Norway, or
- A foreign national who has a settlement permit or a permit that constitutes the grounds for a settlement permit. (Examples of permits that do not constitute the grounds for a settlement permit are study permit, different types of permits with limited time validity such as trainees or au pair.)
You do not have the opportunity to apply for family immigration with your spouse while staying in Norway on a visitor's visa (C-visa).
If you have the right to apply from Norway and you are a citizen of a country that requires a visa to travel to Norway, you can apply for a D-visa to travel to Norway and then submit the application here. Note however that, in addition to the above requirements there are separate rules for those who can be granted such a visa.
More information about D-visa
You can also wait for the decision in Norway, if you have the right to apply from here (see above). If you are a citizen of a country that requires a visa to travel to Norway, you can apply for a D-visa to travel and wait for the decision here.
If you are among those who can wait for the decision in Norway (see above), you have the right to wait in Norway while the application is being processed. However you do not have the right to work, but you can apply for a temporary work permit in order to be able to work while waiting for the decision. You neither have the right to study nor to free Norwegian tuition. You are not a member of the National Insurance Scheme while waiting for a decision on your first time application for residence in Norway, and you do not have the rights to medical treatment as membership in the national insurance scheme gives.
If you have been given a D- visa to come to Norway and wait for the decision, you cannot travel to other Schengen countries. If you leave Norway during the application period, only in exceptional cases will a new visa for a long-term stay be granted before a residence permit for the purpose of family immigration has been granted.
Applicants who do not require a visa to travel to Norway and wishes to travel back to their country of origin for a short period, must see to it that the visa-waiver regulations for three months is complied with. The applicant can be in the Schengen area for a maximum duration of three months. Over a period of six months, you are not permitted to spend more than a total of three months in the Schengen area. For example: If a person is in Norway for 90 days continuously, then he/she must be out of the Schengen area for 90 days before he/she can travel back into the Schengen for a visit. Furthermore,
we draw your attention to the possibility of using the visa calculator.
In order for you to live in Norway for more than three months continuously, you need a resident permit. The fact that a person has a boy/girl friend in Norway in itself is not enough reason to be granted residency in the country. A resident permit can be given to the spouse of a person who is resident in Norway. A resident permit can also be given where the couple has lived together for at least two years and intend to continue their cohabitation or the persons are expecting a child together. If your intention is to get married or enter into partnership during your stay in Norway, it is possible to apply for a work and residence permit where the intention is to get married or enter into partnership. This type of permit falls under the same requirements as that of family reunification.
More questions?
If you are still unsure about how you can proceed to marry/enter into partnership with a Norwegian citizen or a person living in Norway you can contact the nearest Norwegian embassy or consulate, or
the Information Service for Applicants.
