Long-Stay Residence Permit — Family Immigration Verified 2026-05-12Family Reunification Residence Permit (Long-Stay)
Informational guide to Norway Family Immigration permits — spouse, registered partner, cohabitant, children, parents, and siblings of Norwegian residents.
- Processing time
- About 15 days
- after you submit
No visa is ever guaranteed — the final decision always rests with the Norway visa authority. We make sure your file is presented at its strongest.
Please note: SureshotVisa guides you through this route and, once you hold your own job offer or employer sponsorship, prepares and files the visa application — we are not a recruiting agent, so the offer must be yours.). This page is provided for informational purposes only. For Norway residence permits, apply directly through the UDI Application Portal at selvbetjening.udi.no or consult a licensed Norwegian immigration lawyer. We specialise in short-stay Schengen visas where our Indian-side expertise adds the most value.
Processing
Typically 7
Stay Duration
Same duration as the sponsor's residence…
Starting Fee
NOK 10,500
Apply At
11 VFS centres
Good to know before you apply
Rules that apply to every Norway visa type — worth a quick read so nothing trips up your file.
- 1SureshotVisa guides you through this route and, once you hold your own job offer or employer sponsorship, prepares and files the visa application — we are not a recruiting agent, so the offer must be yours.
- 2Apostille at Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — not just notarisation.
- 3Sponsor's subsistence threshold updated annually — verify on udi.no before applying.
- 4Cohabitant route is well-documented but heavier on evidence than marriage. Build the paper trail over the 2 years.
- 5If sponsor is on a temporary residence permit (not permanent residence), the applicant's permit duration matches the sponsor's.
Who Can Apply
- Spouse, registered partner, or cohabitant of a Norwegian resident (sponsor)
- Children under 18 of a Norwegian resident
- Parents visiting their Norwegian-resident child (limited 9-month visit category)
- Parents living permanently with a Norwegian-citizen child under 18
- Full siblings under 18 of a Norwegian citizen (special cases)
- Parents and siblings of a child under 18 granted asylum/protection in Norway
What it costs
Government & VFS fees
Paid directly to Norway / VFS — these are not our service fee, and we never mark them up.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Family Reunification — spouse / partner / cohabitant | NOK 10,500 |
| Family Reunification — child | NOK 7,800 |
| Family Reunification — other (parents, siblings) | NOK 10,500 |
| Renewal of Family Immigration permit | NOK 3,200 |
| VFS service charge | ₹2,052 |
| Courier (outside Delhi) | ₹432 |
Government fees set by UDI in NOK. INR equivalent varies with exchange rate. Fees change annually — verify on udi.no before applying.
Flights · Hotels · Insurance · Itinerary
What Norway actually requires — and what it does not.
Norway applies the Schengen rules, so travel insurance is not a nice-to-have — it is a legal condition of the visa.
2 of 4 are compulsory for Norway
Flight reservation
The Norway consulate wants a return itinerary with a real PNR covering your exact dates. It does not want a paid ticket, and buying one before a decision puts your money at risk for nothing.
Where people slip: Flying into one city and out of another with nothing showing how you travel between them. Officers read the whole route, and an unexplained gap reads as a plan that does not hold together.
How to hold a flight without payingHotel booking
Accommodation for EVERY night of the stay. Not most nights — every one. A gap is a documented refusal ground under the Schengen code.
Where people slip: Free-cancellation bookings are accepted, but if the entire file is free-cancellation the officer sees a trip nobody has committed to. Some of it should be real spend.
Refundable hotel booking, explainedTravel insurance
Minimum EUR 30,000 medical cover, valid in every Schengen state, including repatriation and emergency medical evacuation, for the full period of stay. Regulation (EC) 810/2009 — this is law, not preference.
Where people slip: Buying cover for the adults and forgetting the children. Every traveller needs their own EUR 30,000, infants included — a real refusal we have seen on a family of four.
What the cover must actually sayTravel itinerary
A day-by-day plan matching your flights, your hotels and the country you applied to. Norway must be your main destination or your first point of entry, or you are at the wrong consulate.
Where people slip: Spending more nights in another Schengen country than in Norway. That gets a file rejected before it is even assessed.
The letter your itinerary attaches toWe arrange all four for your Norway file.
We are a B2B travel agency as well as a visa consultancy, working with partners including Riya Travel — so the flight, the hotel and the policy all come from us, issued the same day, and you deal with one team instead of four. Every booking is a real one under your own name.
What to gather
Documents required
Having a document isn't the same as presenting it right — that's the part we handle.
Relationship Documents
4 items- Marriage certificate (legalised + translated)Required
For spouse cases — apostilled by India MEA, translated to English/Norwegian by authorised translator
- Birth certificate (legalised + translated)Required
For parent-child cases — apostilled by India MEA
- Documentation of cohabitation (if applicable)
For cohabitant cases — proof of 2+ years living together (joint lease, bank accounts, etc.)
- Children's right to be heard documentation
For cases involving children — UDI must consider children's views
Sponsor Documents
5 items- Sponsor's Norwegian residence card / passport copyRequired
- Sponsor's income documentationRequired
Sponsor must meet subsistence requirement: ~NOK 348,800/year (2024) verified via Norwegian tax data. Sponsor must NOT have received social welfare benefits in the last 12 months.
- Sponsor's tax return (Skattemelding) for last 2 yearsRequired
- Sponsor's housing — proof that accommodation is adequate for the familyRequired
- If sponsor is on residence permit (not Norwegian citizen) — copy of their UDI decision letter
Applicant Documents
5 items- Valid passport (full validity for permit duration)Required
- Passport-size photographRequired
- UDI online application + cover letterRequired
- Police clearance certificate (PCC) — for applicants 18+Required
From all countries where you've lived in the last 5 years
- Tuberculosis (TB) test — voluntary disclosure
Required on arrival for residents from high-incidence countries including India
Required · optional / if applicable
The journey.
6 steps from intake to approval. Curved spine on the right shows the natural pace — never as linear as government sites pretend.
- 01
Sponsor confirms eligibility + financial requirement
Norwegian sponsor verifies they meet UDI's subsistence requirement (~NOK 348,800/year) AND haven't received social benefits in 12 months.
- 02
Register the application online
Applicant (or sponsor with applicant's consent) fills the form at selvbetjening.udi.no → select 'Family Immigration' → relationship category → pay the NOK 7,800–10,500 fee.
- 03
Book VFS appointment in India
visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/nor — select Family Immigration.
- 04
Submit documents + biometrics at VFS
Apostilled marriage/birth certificates + sponsor's documents + PCC + biometrics. Originals + A4 copies (no staples).
- 05
UDI processes (long timeline)
Typical 7–15 months — spouse/cohabitant cases run slowest. UDI may request additional documents or interview the sponsor.
- 06
D-Visa + residence card + police registration
If approved, D-Visa for entry; residence card after arrival in Norway; police registration within 7 days.
What works
6 levers that flip a borderline case.
- Plan for 7–15 months of processing time. Don't apply just before a planned move date — UDI does not expedite Family Reunification.
- Sponsor income is the #1 reason for refusals. Sponsor must clearly meet the ~NOK 348,800/year threshold AND have no social welfare receipts in the last 12 months.
- Marriage certificate MUST be apostilled by India MEA and translated by an authorised translator. Generic notarised copies will be rejected.
- Cohabitant route requires 2+ years of documented joint life — joint bank accounts, leases, utility bills. Start gathering proofs early.
Download official forms
Each link opens the official Norway page on VFS Global (we never host third-party forms): pick your visa category there and use its "Download Form" section for the current version.
UDI Application Portal (selvbetjening.udi.no)
Mandatory online application for all Norway visas and residence permits. Fill the form, pay the fee, and print the cover letter you receive by email — bring it to your VFS appointment.
VFS Global Norway (India)
Book your biometrics appointment, view document checklists, and track your application status here.
UDI — Sponsor for visitors (Sponsorship & Invitation form)
For business or family/friends visas — your Norwegian host can fill in the digital form with their electronic ID, or use the paper form.
UDI — Word definitions & fee overview
Official UDI page listing application fees by category (visitor visa, residence permit, etc.).
VFS application centres
Quiz not yet available for this visa type
We're actively building per-visa quizzes. For now, the best way to assess your eligibility for Family Reunification Residence Permit (Long-Stay) is a 1-on-1 consultation with our team.
Every case here is different
Tell us your situation and we will tell you what can be done.
There is no honest standard answer for Norway family reunification residence permit (long-stay) — the route depends on who is sponsoring you, what the employer has already started, and which region is processing it. So rather than publish generic answers that may not fit your case, we would rather read your actual situation. Send us what you have: an offer letter, an email from the employer, or just the facts as they stand. A licensed consultant will tell you straight what is possible, what is not, and what it would take.
Reviewed by Sherbir Singh Grewal, SureshotVisa — a government-licensed consultancy (Licence 849/DC/PTA/PLA/LC-3/2024). Verify us.
Other Norway Visa Types
Tourist Visa (Schengen Type C — Short Stay)
Schengen short-stay visa for Indian citizens travelling to Norway for tourism, sightseeing, fjord cruises, and the Northern Lights — up to 90 days.
View guideBusiness Visa (Schengen Type C — Business / Conference)
Short-stay Schengen visa for meetings, conferences, training, and trade events in Norway for Indian business professionals.
View guideVisa for Visiting Family & Friends (Schengen Type C)
Schengen short-stay visa for Indian citizens visiting family or friends resident in Norway — up to 90 days.
View guideTransit Visa (Schengen Type C — Transit)
Short-stay Schengen visa for Indian citizens passing through Norway en route to another destination — typically for stopovers requiring entry into the Schengen area.
View guideAirport Transit Visa (ATV)
Visa for Indian citizens transiting through the international zone of a Norwegian airport (typically Oslo OSL) without entering the Schengen area.
View guideSeafarers' Transit Visa (Schengen Type C)
Schengen transit visa for Indian merchant marine seafarers joining or leaving a vessel via a Norwegian port.
View guideStudy Residence Permit (Long-Stay)
Informational guide to the Norway Residence Permit for studies (higher education / vocational school / folk high school) for Indian citizens.
View guideWork Residence Permit (Skilled Worker / Long-Stay)
Informational guide to Norway Residence Permits for work (Skilled Worker, Specialist, Self-employed, Independent Contractor, Seasonal Worker, Service Provider, etc.) for Indian citizens.
View guideSource & Disclaimer
Data on this page is sourced from the official VFS Global Norway website and Embassy of Norway. Last verified 2026-05-12. Always verify with the official embassy before applying — fees and requirements change without notice.
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