Residence Permit for Self-Employed Persons

Year establishedUnknown

Unknown

Governing lawPublished

Immigration Act Section 25; Immigration Regulations Section 6-18 (UDI circular RS-2014-009)

Responsible authorityPublished

Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI)

What the program providesPublished

Register and personally run your own business in Norway on a renewable skilled-worker permit that leads to permanent residence

No governed customer claim is present for this section.

Minimum ageUnknown

Unknown

Clean criminal record requiredUnknown

Unknown

Local health insurance requiredUnknown

Unknown

Nationality restrictionsPublished

No

Basic eligibilityPublished

Skilled-worker qualifications (education equivalent to at least 3 years of upper-secondary school, or relevant vocational/professional experience) plus a credible business plan for a Norwegian-registered sole proprietorship that the applicant will personally and actively operate

Employment statusPublished

Self-employed

Generational limitPublished

Not applicable

Family sponsorshipPublished

Yes

Spouse includedPublished

Yes

Children includedPublished

Yes

Child age limitUnknown

Unknown

ChildrenPublished

Spouse/cohabitant and children apply separately for family immigration once the reference person's assignment/permit runs more than 6 months, which a 1-year self-employment permit satisfies; family applications can be submitted together with the main application

No governed customer claim is present for this section.

Processing timePublished

4–13 weeks

Can apply without travelingPublished

No

How you applyPublished

Online via UDI's Application Portal, filed from the home country before relocating; embassy/consulate appointment for biometrics and documents

Required in-person stepPublished

Biometrics/document submission at a Norwegian embassy, consulate or Visa Application Centre before the permit is issued; register with the National Population Registry and police on arrival

What the processing time measuresPublished

UDI's general first-time work-permit guidance cites 1-3 months average processing (law-firm secondary source; UDI's live waiting-time tool at udi.no/en/waiting-time/ gives case-specific current estimates but was not queryable interactively)

Official application routePublished

https://selfservice.udi.no/

Minimum investmentPublished

None required

Minimum passive investment (July 2026)Published

None required

Minimum active investment (July 2026)Published

None required

Processing feeUnknown

Unknown

Application feePublished

$668

Total cost to applyPublished

$668

Monthly income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Monthly pension income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Monthly rental income requiredUnknown

Unknown

Savings requiredUnknown

Unknown

Proof of sufficient fundsPublished

Yes

Local bank deposit requiredPublished

No

Minimum local bank depositUnknown

Unknown

Fees paidPublished

Before approval

Cost notesPublished

UDI work-residence-permit fee NOK 6,300 (from 6 Jul 2026) x 0.106 USD/NOK (Sept 2026) = ~$668; same fee for first-time and renewal applications. Business must be projected to earn at least NOK 341,373/yr pre-tax (~$36,185/yr) before entering; independent contractors without a Norwegian office need at least NOK 350,000/yr from Norwegian projects. No separate investment or deposit is required.

Stay required to keep statusUnknown

Unknown

Physical presence requiredPublished

Yes

In-country visit requiredPublished

Yes

Move-in windowUnknown

Unknown

Length of residencyPublished

12 months

Residency is lifetimePublished

No

RenewablePublished

Yes

Maximum durationUnknown

Unknown

Maximum duration is lifetimeUnknown

Unknown

Stay rule (Sept 2026)Published

Must live in Norway and actively run the registered sole proprietorship to keep and renew the 1-year permit; no published day-count. Separately, to qualify for permanent residence after 3 years, self-employed permit holders cannot be outside Norway more than a total of 7 months across those 3 years (stricter than the 15-month skilled-worker travel allowance) -- this is a PR-qualifying rule, not an annual stay-to-keep-status rule.

Time to permanent residencyPublished

3 years

Time to citizenshipPublished

8 years

Work for a local employerPublished

No

Start a businessPublished

Yes

Remote or freelance workPublished

No

Local healthcare accessPublished

Yes

University accessUnknown

Unknown

Can buy landUnknown

Unknown

Local bankingPublished

Yes

Permanent residence timeline basisPublished

Years stated

Citizenship timeline basisPublished

Years stated

Plan B note (Sept 2026)Published

Temporary permission: requires actually living in Norway and running the business, so it is not a pure lapse-if-unused asset. list_claim 'min none' confirmed: no investment or deposit is required, only proof the business can generate NOK 341,373+/yr. 'stay none' in list_claim is NOT confirmed: the permit requires active operation of the business in Norway; no explicit annual day-count was found in UDI's public guidance.

Official program websitePublished

https://www.udi.no/en/word-definitions/self-employed-person/

Plan B sources (Sept 2026)Published

https://www.udi.no/en/word-definitions/self-employed-person/ | https://www.udiregelverk.no/en/documents/udi-guidelines/udi-2014-009/ | https://www.udi.no/en/want-to-apply/work-immigration/skilled-workers/ | https://www.lawyernorway.no/articles/residence-permits-for-self-employed-persons-in-norway-requirements-and-application-process

Every fact on this page comes from the CitizensOS Mobility Asset Database (Sep 21, 2026 edition). A blank is shown as Unknown.