UDI 2017-003 Residence permit for working holiday

1. Introduction

Norway has entered into the following agreements on a working holiday scheme with Argentina, Australia, Japan and New Zealand:

• Agreement between Norway and Andorra concerning working holiday (external link), which entered into force 27 September 2024
• Agreement between Norway and Argentina on a working holiday programme (external link), which entered into force on 15 September 2016.
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the Government of Australia relating to Working Holiday (external link), which entered into force on 23 April 2001.
• Agreement on a Working Holiday Scheme between the Government of Norway and the Government of New Zealand (external link), which entered into force on 4 July 2005.
• Working Holiday Agreement between Japan and Norway (external link) (requirements for Japanese nationals), which entered into force on 1 February 2013.

The intention behind the different agreements is to promote closer cooperation and mutual understanding between the parties, among other things by giving young people from the respective countries the opportunity to spend a long holiday in Norway. Applicants are given an opportunity to take casual employment during this period. Income from such work is intended to supplement the financing of the stay in the country.

The agreement on youth exchanges for Canadian nationals is dealt with in UDI 2010-116 Residence permit for youth exchange (working holiday) for Canadian nationals. 

2. The relationship between the working holiday agreements and the Immigration Regulations

The Immigration Act and Immigration Regulations set out rules for when residence permits can be granted. The provision concerning residence permits for working holidays stipulates that young people can be granted a residence permit when they are covered by a working holiday agreement entered into between Norway and another state. This means that many of the conditions for a residence permit will be set out in the working holiday agreements.

This guideline specifies the content of some of these conditions. This particularly concerns what it means that the applicant must have sufficient means of support for the first period (subsistence), and what lies in the term casual work.

The applicant must follow the normal rules for submitting an application, with the adaptations that follow from the agreements, cf. section 5 below.

The agreements are not an obstacle for rejecting an application for a residence permit when the foreign national is deemed to be undesirable pursuant to national legislation. A foreign national who otherwise satisfies the conditions for being granted a residence permit can therefore be denied a permit if circumstances exist that constitute grounds for refusing the foreign national entry into or residence in the realm pursuant to section 59 first paragraph of the Immigration Act.

Otherwise, the immigration authorities shall in accordance with the intention of the working holiday agreements grant a working holiday permit when the conditions in the agreements are met.

3. Conditions for a permit

The agreement sets out the conditions for being granted a permit for a working holiday.

3.1 The purpose of the stay

The primary purpose of the stay shall be to holiday in Norway.

The stay is not deemed to be a holiday if the applicant’s employment relationship is of a greater scope than odd jobs or casual work, even if a permit pursuant to section 6-27 of the Immigration Regulations grants a general right to work. In accordance with established administrative practice, casual work means casual employment relationships of up to six months’ duration with each employer. The limitation to 6 months of work with each employer follows directly from the agreements with Andorra and Argentina. 

Several of the agreements also regulate the extent to which the working holidaymaker can study or participate in training in Norway:

• Citizens of Argentina and New Zealand can enroll in a training or study course of up to three months' duration.

• Citizens of Australia may not participate in any studies or training for more than 3 months.

• Citizens of Japan can participate in short-term language courses and similar courses. Short-term is understood here as a course of up to three months' duration.

The agreement with Andorra does not contain any provisions regarding the right to study or participate in courses.

If the main purpose is to study in Norway, the applicant must submit an application for a residence permit for education pursuant to section 6-19 first paragraph of the Immigration Regulations.

3.2 Citizenship and passport 

The applicant must be a citizen of either Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Japan or New Zealand and hold a valid passport. For citizens of Andorra, the passport must expire after the stay in Norway is expected to have ended. 

A foreign national with other citizenship does not fall under the agreement, even if they are a permanent resident of one of the countries included in the working holiday scheme.

3.3 Age 

The applicant must be at least 18 years of age, but under 31 (i.e. not reached the age of 31) when the application is submitted. 

3.4 Residence at the time of application

Citizens of Argentina and Japan must, according to the working holiday agreements, be resident in their home country at the time of application. If, at the time of application, the foreign national states an address outside his or her home country, he or she must document that he or she is registered as resident in his or her home country or in some other way document that he/she is habitually resident in his or her home country.

Citizens of Argentina and Japan who reside outside their home country with a residence permit of at least six months duration are not considered to be resident in their home country at the time of application. If applicants from Argentina or Japan submit their application from a country other than their home country, and the application is to be considered admissible in accordance with the Immigration regulations section 10-2 third paragraph, see section 5.1, the application shall therefore be rejected because the applicant is not covered by an agreement on working holiday.

Citizens of Argentina who can submit an application from Norway, cf. section 5.1, must at the time of application substantiate that they are habitually resident in Argentina. Citizens of Japan must have been granted a residence permit before entry, see section 3.5.

Citizens of Andorra, Australia or New Zealand are not required to be resident in the country of origin. 

3.5 A residence permit must be granted before entry into Norway

According to the working holiday agreements, citizens of Andorra, Japan and New Zealand cannot enter Norway until a residence permit has been granted. If applicants from Andorra, Japan or New Zealand submit their application from Norway or enter Norway before a residence permit has been granted, and the application is considered admissible pursuant to the Immigration Regulations section 10-1, see section 5.1, the application must be rejected because the applicant is not covered by an agreement on working holiday.

3.6 Insurance

Citizens of Andorra must purchase health insurance that covers hospitalization and repatriation for the entire approved period of stay before arrival in Norway. It is sufficient that a citizen of Andorra agrees in the application to take out such insurance and buys it after a residence permit has been granted.

Citizens of Argentina and New Zealand must consent to take out medical insurance and full hospital insurance for the period they are to stay in Norway. Such consent must exist in connection with the submission of an application for a residence permit.

For citizens of Australia, the agreement does not require insurance. 

Citizens of Japan must, on submission of the application, document that they have taken out the necessary health insurance for their stay in Norway.

3.7 Subsistence, return ticket

In accordance with the agreement, the applicant must document that he or she has ‘sufficient means of support for the first period of their stay in Norway’, and sufficient funds to purchase a return ticket if this ticket has not been purchased at the time of application. This means that the applicant must document means of support for the first three months in the form of bank deposits and/or documentation of a concrete offer of employment for the first period of their stay in Norway. 

In exceptional cases, a third-party guarantee can be accepted as documentation of assured subsistence, cf. section 10-7 of the Immigration Regulations.

The subsistence requirement is deemed to be met if the applicant can document means of support corresponding to the basic grant (study loan) for higher education in the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen), see Appendix 1.

3.8 The applicant has not previously participated in the working holiday scheme

It follows from the agreements that an applicant must not have previously participated in the working holiday scheme.

3.9 Pay and working conditions

Residence permits pursuant to section 6-27 of the Immigration Regulations are not subject to the pay and working conditions requirements that follow from section 23 of the Act.

4. The content and duration of the permit

4.1 Content

Residence permits are granted pursuant to section 6-27 of the Immigration Regulations.

The residence permit provides a general right to take up employment. However, an employment relationship with one employer may not last for more than six months.

The permit does not form the basis for a permanent residence permit, cf. section 6-27 second paragraph of the Immigration Regulations.

The permit does not form the basis for family immigration, cf. section 9-6 of the Immigration Regulations.

4.2 Duration

First-time permits for working holidays are granted for one year, but not, however, for more than the period applied for, cf. section 60 first paragraph of the Immigration Act and section 10-16 fifth paragraph of the Immigration Regulations.

4.3 Renewal

Residence permits granted pursuant to section 6-27 of the Immigration Regulations can be renewed, cf. section 10-21 first paragraph, on condition that the conditions continue to be met. When the permit is granted for one year to a citizen of Andorra, Argentina, Japan or New Zealand, it cannot be renewed.

Citizens of Australia can be granted a residence permit for a working holiday for up to two years in total.

5. The application procedure

5.1 Place of application

A first-time residence permit shall be granted prior to entry into Norway, cf. section 56 first paragraph of the Immigration Act.

When the applicant is staying outside Norway, the application must be submitted through a Norwegian foreign service mission in the country of which the applicant is a citizen, or in the country where the applicant has held a residence permit for the past six months, cf. the Immigration Regulations section 10-2 third paragraph.

According to the agreements, citizens of Andorra, Australia and New Zealand can submit an application for a residence permit at any Norwegian foreign service mission without having a residence permit in the country from which the application is submitted. The applicants from these countries are thus given an extended opportunity to submit an application outside the home country.

For citizens of Argentina and Japan, the agreements have a requirement that they must be resident in their home country at the time of application. See section 3.4 for the significance of this. 

Applicants who can document skilled worker qualifications can submit an application from Norway, cf. section 10-1 first paragraph letter (a) of the Immigration Regulations. It is a condition that the applicant has legal residence in Norway when the application is submitted, cf. third paragraph of the provision. For citizens of Andorra, Japan and New Zealand, the agreements have a requirement that a residence permit must be granted before entry into Norway. See section 3.5 for the significance of this. 

5.2 Documentation requirements

The body that receives the application must ensure that the applicant has filled in the relevant document list and submitted all documents in accordance with the list. 

The document lists are available on the UDI website: 

Check list for working holidays for young adults from Andorra (external link) 

Check list for working holidays for young adults from Argentina (external link) 

Checklist for working holidays for young adults from Australia (external link) 

Checklist for working holidays for young adults from Japan (external link) 

Checklist for working holidays for young adults from New Zealand (external link) 

Original official documents (certificates of education, certificates of service etc.) must be presented to the foreign service mission/police, but they shall not be enclosed with the application. Only copies, certified by the foreign service mission/police, must be enclosed with the application. It is important that it is clearly stated that the foreign service mission/police have seen the original document. A translation of the documents into Norwegian or English by an authorised translator must also be enclosed with the application.

5.3 Fees

A processing fee must be paid in connection with submitting an application for a residence permit in order to have the application considered, cf. section 17-10 of the Immigration Regulations.

6. Power of decision

Decisions concerning first-time residence permits are made by the UDI, cf. section 65 of the Act.

As a rule, applications for renewal of a residence permit pursuant to section 6-27 of the Immigration Regulations are decided by the UDI, cf. section 65 of the Act.

However, the police have the authority to grant applications for renewal of residence permits if there is no doubt that the conditions are met, cf. section 13-2 of the Immigration Regulations and UDI 2010-089 Politiets vedtaksmyndighet og mulighet til å avvise søknader.

7. Appeal

Rejection of an application for a residence permit in accordance with Section 6-27 of the Immigration Regulations can be appealed pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Public Administration Act. The applicant can submit an appeal themselves. A person who has been given a written power of attorney may also submit the appeal, see section 12 of the Public Administration Act (external link).

8. Revocation of permits

A residence permit can be revoked if the foreign national has deliberately provided incorrect information or omitted to provide information about matters of material importance to the decision, or if it otherwise follows from general provisions of administrative law, cf. section 63 of the Immigration Act.