UDI 2013-004 Entry visa for spouse and children of skilled workers and seconded employees

1. Introduction

In this guideline, the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) provides guidelines for issuing entry visas (D visas) to foreign spouses/registered partners or joint children of defined groups of persons. Cohabitants and children who are not the joint children of the parties are not covered by this guideline.

The guideline applies to persons who are applying for a residence permit pursuant to the provisions in the Immigration Act chapter 6, not to persons who are covered by the EEA rules in the Immigration Act chapter 13.

The main rule is that a residence permit must have been granted before the foreign national can enter Norway, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 10-1 first paragraph. However, persons who are staying in Norway on an entry visa under this guideline can apply for a residence permit for the purpose of family immigration from Norway, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 10-1 first paragraph letter e). Correspondingly, persons who have already applied for a residence permit can in certain cases be granted an entry visa so that they can travel to Norway to wait for their application to be decided.

The main purpose of the entry visa scheme for this group of people is to ensure that labour immigrants can bring their families to Norway sooner. It is also regarded as expedient that applicants in clearly routine cases can avoid having to wait abroad until an application for family immigration has been processed.

The UDI emphasises that it is a condition for granting an entry visa that the conditions in section 3 of this guideline are met. Nor shall there be any doubt that the other conditions for family immigration have been met, see section 4.

2. Submission of an application for an entry visa (D visa)

An application for an entry visa must contain the same enclosures as an ordinary application for family immigration. In this context, we refer especially to the UDI's website, where you can find detailed descriptions of which enclosures must accompany applications from different countries.

The application must be submitted in person at a Norwegian foreign service mission in the country in which the applicant is a national or where he/she has held a residence permit for the past six months, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 10-2 third paragraph.

A fee must be paid corresponding to the fee for an application for a Schengen visa, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 17-12 second paragraph. If the applicant also submits an ordinary application for family immigration, the ordinary fee for this will also be charged, cf. the Immigration Act section 89 and the Immigration Regulations section 17-11.

Entry visas pursuant to the guidelines in this guideline can be granted regardless of whether the applicant

• submits an application for a residence permit for the purpose of family immigration at the same time,
• has already submitted such an application, or
• intends to apply for a permit after entering Norway

3. Conditions and documentation requirements for the entry visa

An overview of the conditions for being granted an entry visa is provided below. The conditions concern both the applicant (3.1) and the sponsor holding a residence permit in Norway (3.2). See also 3.3 for information about what other conditions must be met.

If one or more of the conditions in this section are not met, the foreign service mission shall reject the entry visa application.

Also, no doubt must exist about whether any of the other conditions for family immigration are met. See 4 below for information about this.

3.1. Who is eligible for an entry visa?

In the following, an overview is provided of the categories of applicants who are eligible for an entry visa pursuant to this guideline.

3.1.1. Spouses and registered partners

• It must be documented that a valid marriage or partnership has been entered into. The applicant must present an original marriage certificate.
• It is a condition that both spouses or registered partners were over the age of 18 at the time when the marriage/partnership was entered into.
• It is a condition that neither of the parties was married to one or more other persons at the time the marriage was entered into.
• The marriage cannot have been entered into by proxy.
• It is a condition that the spouses or partners intend to live together in Norway.

3.1.2. Children

• The family relationship must be documented by presenting an original birth certificate.
• Only joint children who are to travel together with the principal applicant are covered by the entry visa scheme, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 42 first paragraph. Children from a previous relationship, i.e. children of only one of the spouses, are not covered by this scheme.
• The child must be under the age of 18 at the time of application and must not have a spouse or cohabitant.
• One of the parents must hold a residence permit in Norway as mentioned in 3.2.
• The other parent must have been granted a residence permit in Norway or an entry visa pursuant to these guidelines.

3.2. What type of permit must the sponsor in Norway have?

The sponsor in Norway must hold a residence permit pursuant to one of the following provisions:

• the Immigration Regulations section 6-1 Residence permit as a skilled worker etc.
• the Immigration Regulations section 6-13 Residence permit as a seconded employee

If the sponsor does not hold a residence permit as mentioned above, the condition for being granted an entry visa has not been met.

3.3 What other conditions must be met?

All of the following conditions must also be met before an applicant can be granted an entry visa:

• The applicant must present a valid passport or other approved travel document, cf. the Immigration Act section 8 first paragraph.
• Grounds must not exist for rejection or expulsion.
• Grounds must not exist for refusing the applicant entry into Norway pursuant to other provisions of the Act.
• The applicant must not be registered in the Schengen Information System (SIS).
• The applicant cannot have been expelled from Norway and had a prohibition on entry imposed on him or her.
• It must be documented that the subsistence requirement is met, see the Immigration Act section 58, cf. the Immigration Regulations sections 10-8 to 10-12. See also the UDI's guideline concerning the subsistence requirement for guidelines regarding this.

4. Doubts and rejection

The conditions in section 3 are preconditions for assessing an application pursuant to section 4. The foreign service missions shall therefore, regardless of whether the conditions in section 3 have been met, reject the application for an entry visa if there is doubt as to whether the other conditions for family immigration are met.

4.1. Doubts on grounds of suspicion of marriage of convenience

The foreign service mission shall deem itself to be in doubt if, after an overall assessment, it appears that the applicant’s primary objective for the marriage is to gain right of residence in Norway (marriage of convenience), cf. the Immigration Act section 40 fourth paragraph. In this assessment, the foreign service mission shall consider whether one or more factors are present that could indicate that the marriage is a marriage of convenience.

A number of particularly relevant factors in such an assessment follow from instructions GI-2010-001 concerning marriages of convenience, cf. the Immigration Act section 40 fourth paragraph (only available in Norwegian).

The factors are not ranked, and the list is not intended to be exhaustive:

• The contact between the parties and their knowledge about each other. Consideration must be given to how long they have known each other, and to the nature and extent of the contact.
• Concurring information from the parties – for example about how they met, got married and the subsequent contact between them.
• Whether the parties can communicate in a common language.
• The age difference between the parties.
• Whether the marriage was paid for without this being possible to explain on the basis of dowry traditions in the home country.
• Whether the marriage is clearly atypical in relation to marriage traditions in the home country.
• Whether circumstances exist that indicate that the marriage was entered into as a result of coercion or exploitation, for example that the parties are clearly unequal in their psychological development.
• Whether the sponsor or close family members of the applicant has/have a marriage history that gives grounds for suspecting a marriage of convenience.
• Whether the applicant has previously attempted to gain right of residence on other grounds, for example by applying for asylum, and whether the marriage was entered into following the rejection of another application.
• Whether the parties have a former spouse/cohabitant/partner who will live with the couple.

4.2 Doubt on other grounds

The foreign service mission shall also deem itself to be in doubt if:

• there is reason to doubt the stated purpose of the application or the correctness of the other information in the case,
• it seems necessary to interview the sponsor in order to obtain further information about the case,
• it is necessary to verify the genuineness or the contents of one or more of the documents presented,
• if there are circumstances in the case that indicate that an application for the purpose of forming a family should be considered in relation to the rule laid down in the Immigration Act section 40 fifth paragraph that an application for a residence permit can be rejected if it is likely that the applicant will be abused or grossly exploited.

4.3 All applications shall be assessed individually

All applications shall be assessed individually. If an application has been submitted from a country where experience indicates that there can be doubt about identity and about the notoriety of documents, a concrete assessment shall nonetheless be made of the case, including whether a decision can be made on the basis of the information provided.

If, after considering the case in relation to the conditions in section 4, the foreign service mission concludes that doubt exists, the application shall be rejected pursuant to the provisions of the Public Administration Act.

As the appeal body, the UDI may not instruct the foreign service missions about the concrete assessment of individual cases.

5. Power of decision

Norwegian foreign service missions, empowered to decide visa applications, can grant an entry visa if there is no doubt about whether the conditions set out in this guideline are met.

If the foreign service mission rejects the application, a decision shall be made pursuant to the Public Administration Act chapter 5.

Norwegian foreign service missions, empowered to decide visa applications, shall reject an application for an entry visa if it is submitted by an applicant who is neither a national of nor has stayed for the last six months on a work permit in the country in which the foreign service mission is situated, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 10-2 third paragraph.

A list of Norwegian missions that have power of decision is attached as Annex 14 to the Immigration Regulations.

6. The contents of the entry visa

A visa granted pursuant to this guideline is issued as an entry visa (D visa) for seven days, and one entry. During the seven-day period the foreigner is entitled to stay in, and transit, Norway and other Schengen states.

The legal basis for granting an entry visa is the Immigration Regulations section 3-13 fourth paragraph, and it must not be confused with an ordinary Schengen visa (C visa). 

7. Appeals

If an application for an entry visa is rejected by a foreign service mission, the decision can be appealed pursuant to the Public Administration Act section 28. If the decision is appealed, the foreign service mission shall consider whether to reverse its decision on the basis of the information presented in the appeal. If the foreign service mission does not reverse its decision, the appeal shall be forwarded to the Managed Migration Department at the UDI for further consideration.

The foreign service mission shall urge the applicant to submit a full application for family immigration before the appeal is sent to the UDI.

8. Information to the applicant when an entry visa has been granted

When an entry visa has been granted, the foreign service mission shall inform the applicant about the following:

• The applicant is obliged to report to the police within one week after entry in order to apply for a permit for family immigration, or to report entry into Norway if such application has already been submitted from the foreign service mission.
• All documents that are necessary in order to apply for a permit for family immigration must be presented to the police if such an application has not been submitted from the foreign service mission. The foreign service mission should provide information about the UDI's website, where lists of documentation are available.
• The applicant’s travel expenses for the journey to Norway will not be covered.
• The entry visa does not entitle its holder to work, and the applicant is not entitled to take employment without a valid work permit.
• The applicant is not entitled to tuition in the Norwegian language or to any benefits until a residence permit has been granted.
• The applicant is entitled to stay in Norway until the application for a residence permit has been decided by the UDI.
• After the seven day-period, the applicant is not entitled to travel to other Schengen states until a residence permit has been granted and the applicant has received his or her residence card.
• The applicant must notify the police of any change of address.
• The granting of an entry visa is no guarantee that an application for a residence permit will be granted.