Family & Spouse Visas in Norway
Sponsoring a partner, children, or parents
Residents and citizens may bring a spouse, registered partner, cohabitant and children under family immigration rules, but the sponsor must normally meet an income requirement covering both past and future income, and in several situations must additionally have four years of full-time work or education in Norway before family may be reunited. Family members of EEA citizens follow the separate, lighter EEA registration scheme instead.
| Route | Family immigration permit source |
| Sponsor income | A published annual threshold, tested on both previous and expected income source |
| Four-year requirement | Applies to several sponsor categories before reunification is allowed source |
| EEA families | Handled under the EEA registration scheme, not these rules source |
Who may be brought
- A spouse or registered partner, where both parties are commonly required to be at least 24 years old in a range of cases.
- A cohabitant, generally after around two years of documented cohabitation.
- Children under 18, with rules on custody and on the consent of the other parent.
- A fiancé, on a permit intended to allow the marriage to take place in Norway, converting afterwards.
- Parents, only in narrow circumstances — this is markedly more restrictive than in several other European countries.
The income requirement
The sponsor must normally show income at or above a published annual threshold, tied to a salary step in the state pay scale and therefore adjusted periodically. Both expected future income and income in the previous tax year are examined, and having received social assistance in the recent period can block the application on its own.
The requirement is a hard test rather than a guideline, and it is the most common reason family applications fail. Exemptions are limited and are read strictly.
The four-year work or education requirement
For several sponsor categories — broadly, sponsors who themselves hold protection or humanitarian status or certain permits, rather than settled skilled workers of long standing — the law adds a requirement of roughly four years of full-time work or higher education in Norway before family may be reunited.
Whether it applies depends on the sponsor's own permit type, so two residents with apparently similar situations can face very different waits. This is a point where the published rules should be checked against the specific permit rather than assumed.
After arrival
A family immigration permit is generally tied to the continuing relationship, and separation within the early period can affect the permit, though there are provisions for cases involving abuse.
Adult family members granted residence are typically required to take Norwegian language training and social studies tuition, which also feeds the requirements later applied at permanent residence.
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Official sources
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