UDI 2021-007 Registration of identity information and personal data registered in the national population register

1. Introduction

These guidelines specify how identity information and personal data registered in the national population register (hereinafter referred to as "information") should be registered in the immigration administration’s systems (DUF, Norvis and the ID clarification system). The guidelines apply to the first-line services (police and foreign service missions) and the UDI, and shall be used in all cases dealt with pursuant to the Immigration Act and the Nationality Act, and as far as it is appropriate for registration of right of residence and applications for residence documents under EEA regulations.

It is important that the data registered are of a high quality, partly because the immigration administration shares the information with the National Registry. The identity information established by the immigration administration will constitute the person’s identity in Norway.

The guidelines set common standards for registering identity information and personal data given or documented about an individual. The registrations detailed below do not mean that a final decision has been reached concerning a person’s identity.

1.1 Categories of information covered by the guidelines

The guidelines specify how the following information about the identity of foreign nationals should be registered in the immigration administration’s systems (DUF, Norvis and the ID clarification system):

• Name

• Date of birth

• Place of birth

• Gender

• Citizenship

Furthermore, how the following personal data should be registered: 

• Marital status

• Parental responsibility

• Address

• Death

• Duplicates

• Aliases

These guidelines do not address how documents should be registered in the administrative systems. 

1.2 Scope

The guidelines shall be used by all case officers with the first-line services (police and foreign service missions) and the UDI who register or check registrations of the categories of information outlined above, including as part of case preparation and case processing by the first and second line services. Responsibility for ensuring that the information registered is correct rests with the first-line case officer making the decision or the UDI.

The guidelines apply to all cases considered under the Immigration Act and the Nationality Act, and, as far as it is appropriate, to the registration of right of residence and applications for residence documents under EEA regulations. For guidelines that apply under the EEA regulations, refer to UDI 2011-035 Procedures for EEA regulations (in Norwegian only).

1.3 Background (purpose of the guidelines)

Normally, information about a foreign national’s identity is registered on the basis of a valid travel document that is presented. A travel document is considered "valid" as long as the period of validity (expiration date) has not expired and there are no objective indications that the document contains incorrect information or is a forgery. 

Note that, for Nordic nationals who apply for citizenship, the immigration administration retrieves this information from the national population register. The guidelines are also intended to ensure that foreign nationals who have not presented a valid travel document to the Norwegian authorities will have their information registered correctly. These guidelines must be seen in conjunction with the UDI’s guidelines for clarifying the identity of foreign nationals; see UDI 2012-009 Identity (in Norwegian only).

The foreign national must be informed how important it is that the information registered about them is correct, and that it may be of importance for future applications for a residence permit pursuant to the Immigration Act and an application for Norwegian citizenship. 

The information registered by the immigration administration forms the basis for the immigration notice sent to the National Registry when the decision enters into force. The registered information will be used in decisions, on residence cards and possibly in travel documents for foreign nationals. Some of the information is also shared with other public agencies and private service providers. Furthermore, the data protection legislation requires personal data to be registered correctly. Robotic and automated systems used in the immigration administration are also dependent on good data quality. It is therefore important that case officers register complete and correct information in the administrative systems. For guidelines on correcting and making changes to identity information, see UDI 2012-009 Identity (in Norwegian only)

2. Registration in administrative systems  (DUF and Norvis) and code system 

For all personal data to be registered, case officers must register the source of the information, i.e. whether the information has been documented or verified, including what documents have been presented, or whether the information is, for example, based solely on the information provided by the foreign national.

In order to ensure good data quality, it is important that case officers who register or make changes to information use the applicable code system.

When registering a date of birth, it is also possible to record the reliability of the date; see definition in section 3. The registration of reliability should say something about the certainty of the registered date of birth. 

For information about how to register the correctness of the identity, see UDI 2012-009 Identity (in Norwegian only)

3. Definitions

The definitions used in these guidelines pertaining to identity, identity information, identity clarification, identity correctness (ID status), identity documents (ID documents), notoriety, control of persons, document control, duplicates, alias identities and false identities can be found in UDI 2012-009 Identity.(in Norwegian only)

In this guideline, the terms listed below shall also have the following meaning: 

Personal data: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ("data subject") cf. General Data Protection regulation Atricle 4 (1) (external link to Lovdata)

Code system: By code system we mean predefined values that can be selected from dropdown lists that replace free text fields and comments.

Reliability: A code system that is only used in connection with registering date of birth. The code system indicates the source of the information recorded, or whether no source exists (e.g. "Not documented" or "Fictitious date"). This code system says something about the certainty/reliability of the registered date of birth.

4. General information about the source of the registered information 

As a rule, foreign nationals must present a valid travel document when applying for a residence permit in Norway.

If the foreign national has an identity document, the information will normally be registered as it is registered in that document. Multiple documents with matching information can help bolster confidence in the correctness of the information. If the foreign national has more than one identity document, we generally place the greatest emphasis on valid travel documents, but other official identity documents must also be considered. 

4.1 Overview of how information is registered depending on the source of the information.

4.1.1 The foreign national has submitted a valid travel document 

If the foreign national has presented a valid travel document, the information must be registered exactly as it appear in that document, unless there are particular details in the case or general knowledge about the document in question that suggests it should not be used as a basis for information. The types of travel documents that are valid for entry into Norway are listed in the Immigration Regulations Sections 2-4 to 2-10, as well as in the travel document table, cf. the Visa Code Handbook Annex 10.

Please note that Norway does not recognise travel documents that are written in an alphabet other than the Latin alphabet and have not been transcribed into Latin script. Such documents must be uploaded and registered as "other documents".

4.1.2 The foreign national has not submitted a valid travel document 

As a rule, foreign nationals who do not present a valid travel document as proof of their identity must be registered the way they state they are registered by the authorities of their home country, providing that they are registered in their home country. That is, unless there is reliable information indicating that the information provided by the foreign national is not correct.

4.1.3 The foreign national has submitted other official document 

For foreign nationals who do not have a travel document but who have been issued another official document by the authorities of their home country, the information must generally be registered as it appears on the document presented. In exceptional circumstance, the general rule may be waived if there are particular details in the case, or there is general knowledge about the document in question indicating that it should not be used as a basis for information. Other identity documents may include national ID cards, domestic passports, expired passports and nationality certificates. Other official documents, such as driving licences, various types of service certificates etc. may also help substantiate the information. If such documents are presented alone, the information must be registered as it appears on them. 

If the foreign national states that they have been issued another official identity document by the authorities of their home country, without presenting it to the Norwegian authorities, the information must be registered as the foreign national states it appears on that identity document. 

If the foreign national has not been issued identity documents by the authorities of their home country but has been issued an identity document by the UNHCR or another UN body, the information contained in those documents must be taken into account. Information registered by the host country where the foreign national has resided must also be taken into account. As a general rule, information about the foreign national’s identity will be registered in line with identity documents issued by the UN and/or the host country, unless there is information in the case indicating that the information in these documents cannot be relied on.

4.1.4 Contradictory information

If the foreign national presents several valid travel documents that contain contradictory information, the immigration administration must record the information that is most likely to be correct based on an overall assessment, cf. UDI 2012-009 Identity. (in Norwegian only)

In such cases, the case officer must also consider whether a duplicate or an alias should be created.

In cases where the foreign national, in connection with an application, has provided information that does not correspond with their travel document, the foreign national must be registered with the information that appears in the travel document.

In the two scenarios described above – and if the foreign national states that they are registered with incorrect information in the registers of their home country – the case officer must consider whether the foreign national’s explanation should be recorded as a memo in the case, unless it is already evident from the case documents.

4.1.5 Registration in code system

The case officer must ensure that the correct code is registered so that the source of the registered information appears in the administrative systems. 

5. Registration of names

The case officer must ensure that at least one first name and one surname is always registered. See also section 4 concerning the source of the registered information.

If the foreign national has only one name or does not distinguish between their first name and surname, the name or all names should be registered in both the first and last name fields in accordance with section 5.3 below. 

5.1 Using the visual or machine-readable zone in the travel document to determine the status and order of names

In some travel documents, it can be difficult to decipher the order of names and what constitutes the holder’s first, middle and last name, as well as the spelling and what forms part of the name. The question may then arise of whether the name should be read from the travel document’s visual inspection zone (VIZ) or the machine-readable zone (MRZ). The general rule is that names should be registered as they appear in the visual inspection zone. That is how the country that issued the passport presents the names. If the visual inspection zone distinguishes between the first, middle and last name, this distinction can be used as a basis. Middle names should be registered in the first name field after the first name if there is no separate middle name field. If it is unclear how the name should be broken down, reference can be made to the machine-readable zone for clarification. In some instances, the visual inspection zone contains numerous names that are not divided into first and last names or the equivalent. In that case, the division should follow the machine-readable zone if that field distinguishes between first and last names or the equivalent. 

If the visual inspection zone contains several names that are not divided into first and last names or the equivalent, and the machine-readable zone does not provide guidance on how the foreign national’s name should be broken down, the foreign national may clarify this in accordance with section 5.3. As a rule, what is registered in connection with an electronic application or in another application form can be relied on without prior clarification as mentioned in section 5.3.

Please note that different countries may have different procedures for how names are presented in the passport. In some passports, names will appear in the visual inspection zone, but will not, for various reasons, appear in the machine-readable zone. For example, this may apply to middle names. It is therefore important to look at both fields to make sure that all names are registered correctly. In other cases, the family name or father’s name will be entered in the visual inspection zone, without the names being part of the foreign national’s actual name. In such case, the machine-readable zone can clarify what is actually part of the foreign national’s name. In some passports, it will be unclear what the first, middle and last names are, even when consulting both the visual and the machine-readable zone.

Some travel documents’ visual inspection zone will contain information about titles and nicknames, such as Mr, Mrs and Dr. These should not be registered in the administrative systems. However, titles that are also rendered in the machine-readable zone may be registered. Nicknames that appear in a separate field in the visual inspection zone are often found under the heading "also known as (AKA)" and should not be registered. In such case, the AKA name should be registered as an alias without the DUF number of the active identity.

 If the name in the visual inspection zone contains characters, e.g. a full stop, the name should be registered as it appears in the machine-readable zone. 

5.2 Foreign nationals who are illiterate or unsure how to spell their own name 

If a foreign national who has not presented a valid travel document or other identity document is illiterate, and/or is unsure how their name is spelt in the administrative language of their home country, the foreign national’s name must be registered the way they themselves pronounce it. The most common spelling of the name in the foreign national’s language can also be taken into account. The method used to clarify the spelling of the foreign national’s name should be clear from the code system in the name tab of the identity information field in the administrative systems. Only "written self-registered" or "provided orally" covers these cases. 

5.3 Clarification of the status and order of given names 

In cases where the foreign national has not submitted a travel document, and/or there is uncertainty about the status of the names, the foreign national must clarify the status of each of their stated names, such as first and family name, surname, nickname, father’s name, mother’s name, grandfather’s name, subclan/subfamily name or clan/ tribal name. As a rule, the foreign national’s name should be registered in the order that follows from their home country’s naming practice, but first, middle and last names must always be registered in the correct fields upon registration, regardless of order. The order in which the names are to be written must be clear from the registration. If the choice of name order differs from the tradition in the country concerned, the case officer must consider whether this should be recorded in a case document.

In asylum cases, it will be the authority that makes the initial registration that establishes contact with the foreign national to clarify the status of the names (if there is doubt about this). The status and order of names should preferably be clarified when the foreign national applies for protection. After the case has been forwarded to the UDI, it is the UDI’s responsibility to clarify any doubts about the status and order of the names.

5.4 Obtaining the foreign national’s name in applications for protection 

In applications for protection, the transcription form must be used to register the names of applicants with no official identity documents. This applies to the following groups: 

• Adult applicants who have not presented official identity documents where the name appears in Latin script, and where the name does not appear in Latin script on the Start form. The form can also be used for applicants without identity documents if the name does not appear in their own written language on the Start form.

• Children of parents who have not presented official identity documents where the name appears in Latin script. A separate form shall be used for each child who is registered, and an individual form shall be added to each child’s case documents.

• Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers who have not presented official identity documents where the name appears in Latin script.

5.5 Transcription of the foreign national’s name into Norwegian 

If the foreign national has presented a travel document or other identity document in scripts other than the Latin, but the name is transcribed, the name must be registered as it is transcribed in the travel document.

If the foreign national has not presented a travel document or other documents where the name has already been transcribed, the name must be transcribed as specified in UDI 2021-007V1 Form for registration (transcription) of names.

Exceptions apply to foreign nationals covered by section 5.6. In such cases, the name must be transcribed the same way as for the parents. However, in cases where the minor has other family members who are already registered in Norway (in the immigration database and/or the national population register), the foreign national’s name must be transcribed the same way as in their travel document, provided that this has been presented and that the name has been transcribed. 

5.6 Minor foreign nationals and their parents/guardians 

The names of minor foreign nationals who have not presented a travel document must be registered in line with the names of parents/guardians who are already registered in Norway (in the immigration database and/or the national population register). Correspondingly, parents/guardians who have not presented a travel document must be registered in line with the minor’s name, if the minor has already been registered in Norway. In cases where the foreign national has presented a travel document, the information in the foreign national’s travel document takes precedence, and the name must be registered in accordance with the guidelines in sections 4 and 5.

5.7 Use of diacritical marks

There are a number of languages that use Latin script, but with diacritical marks that are not part of the standard Norwegian set of characters. This includes Polish, Serbian and Turkish. For these languages, we should use the original spelling, but leave out diacritical marks in transcription into Norwegian. See UDI 2021-007V6 Use of diacritical marks.. 

5.8 Prefixes

Where it is clear from the travel document which part of the name a prefix belongs to, the prefix shall be registered in the same way in the administrative systems.

If the placement of the prefix does not appear in the travel document, prefixes such as van, von, de, you, el, al, del, le should as a rule be written behind the middle name if the foreign national has a middle name, or behind the first name. An exception should be made if the person requests to have the prefix written in front of their surname. 

5.9 Selecting a name as a Norwegian surname when the foreign national is only registered with a first name

If a foreign national has presented a travel document where no surname (last name) is given, the foreign national’s first name should be registered in both the first and last name fields. If the foreign national has not presented a travel document and no surname is stated or appears in other documents, foreign nationals from states that use a permanent surname/family name must be registered with this as their surname in Norway. Foreign nationals who have not submitted a travel document and who come from states that do not use a fixed surname/family name shall be allowed to choose whether they want to use their clan, tribal, father’s or grandfather’s name as their Norwegian surname, in line with their home country’s naming tradition. Exceptions apply to foreign nationals covered by section 5.6. All foreign nationals must be registered with both a first name and a surname. If it is not possible or relevant to determine the foreign national’s surname, their first name should also be registered as their surname, meaning that the first name should be entered in both fields.

In asylum cases, it will be the authority that makes the initial registration that establishes contact with the asylum seeker to clarify their choice of surname. This should preferably be done when the asylum seeker reports to the police to apply for protection. The case officer shall consider whether it is necessary to include comments about the registration and choice of surname in a memo or transfer document in the administrative systems. 

6. Registration of date of birth

It is mandatory to include both the day, month and year in the date of birth field. The value "00" for the day and month should only be used if this appears in the passport/travel document presented. The date of birth must be registered regardless of whether the National Registry may set a different date of birth when assigning a personal ID number; see section 6.4. A value must be selected for the source of information for the date of birth (if any); see the definition of "reliability".

For cases where the foreign national does not know the day/month they were born, see section 6.2. 

The general rule for registering the date of birth in accordance with the travel document pursuant to section 4 may be waived in exceptional cases where special circumstances exist in the case. Note, however, that it takes a lot for an exception to be made from the general rule, as inconsistencies between travel documents and residence cards can have major consequences for the individual concerned, for example in connection with travel. In the event of post-registration, or other cases where there is a discrepancy between the information registered in the foreign national’s home country and a birth certificate issued in another country, the home country's registers shall take precedence. Note that this may be assessed differently for children, as an incorrectly registered year of birth has greater consequences for minors; see UDI 2012-009 Identity section 10. (in Norwegian only)

The date and place of birth registered on the basis of a birth notification form issued by the Norwegian healthcare system shall be used as the basis for registration, regardless of what may be registered in foreign documents.

6.1 The foreign national gives a different date of birth than the one registered in their home country 

In cases where the foreign national states that the date of birth registered in their home country is incorrect, that date of birth must nonetheless be registered, in line with the way it appears in any documentation provided. The reliability registration shall be consistent with this information. The foreign national’s statement regarding any errors in the information registered in their home country is important information that in such cases will not appear in the field for registering date of birth in the administrative systems. The information the foreign national has provided must therefore be recorded in the documents in the case, for example in the asylum interview, transfer memo or similar. This information should not appear only in an internal memo, as the information may also be essential for other agencies, for example in connection with the consideration of appeals. 

In cases where a calendar has been used to convert the stated date of birth from another calendar, it is important for the subsequent identity assessment that the person registering the date notes down the calendar that was used, preferably with reference to the website used. Information about the calendar, as well as the date originally entered, will not appear in the administrative systems. The code "translated from another calendar", for example in the asylum interview, transfer memo or similar. This information should not appear only in an internal memo, as the information may also be essential for other agencies, for example in connection with the consideration of appeals. 

6.2 Foreign nationals who do not provide a date of birth 

Some foreign nationals without identity documents do not know the day, month or year they were born, and will thus not provide information about this to the immigration administration. The UDI has decided that the following procedure shall be applied when registering foreign nationals with an unknown date of birth: 

Unknown day of birth, but known month and year: 

Case opening day (SAKO) for the case in which the decision is made + month of birth + year of birth.

Unknown day and month of birth: 

Case opening day and month (SAKO) for the case in which the decision is made + year of birth.

Unknown day, month and year of birth: 

Case opening day and month (SAKO) for the case in which the decision is made + assumed year of birth. 

6.3 About unaccompanied minors and registration of age/date of birth 

It must be clear from the registration form for asylum seekers (UDI 2010-081V4 Arrival registration form) what information the foreign national has provided about their date of birth and age. This includes information about the foreign national’s year of birth according to the calendar used in their home country, the season they were born, as well as the person’s age/age range. If the asylum seeker is uncertain about the date/year they were born, this must also be included on the arrival registration form.

Many countries do not have procedures or systems for certain and general registration of births. Some people do not know how old they are and give the wrong age when applying for protection. Others may, for various reasons, present themselves as unaccompanied minors even though there is reason to believe that they are in fact adults. The UDI may request that asylum seekers undergo biological age examinations if there is doubt about whether they have reached the age of majority; see UDI 2020-007 Guidelines on unaccompanied minors and age assessments (in Norwegian only).

For cases where the asylum seeker declares to be an unaccompanied minor, but the Police Immigration Unit (PU) believes that the foreign national clearly appears to be over the age of 18, reference is made to UDI 2016-001 Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers who are obviously over the age of 18 (in Norwegian only).

6.4 Practice of the National Registry 

For foreign nationals holding a residence permit, the date of birth shall be registered in the national population register based on the information registered in the immigration administration’s databases. For foreign nationals who have right of residence under the EEA regulations, the date of birth shall be registered based on the information in the person’s passport or equivalent ID document.

Note that if the number of available personal ID numbers for the date of birth is very low, this may have consequences for the personal ID number the foreign national will subsequently be assigned by the National Registry; see Section 3.3.1 of the regulations relation to the national population register (external link to Lovdata).The case officer must register the foreign national’s correct date of birth regardless of whether the National Registry may later set a different date of birth when assigning a personal ID number. Foreign nationals who are assigned a personal ID number where the first six digits do not match their date of birth will be registered with their current date of birth, i.e. the date the immigration administration has entered in the birth date field in the national population register.

6.5 Determining date of birth in connection with decisions

In cases where new information about the foreign national’s date of birth is available, the case officer must consider whether the registered date of birth should be corrected or changed. See more detailed guidelines about correction, change of identity information and identity change in UDI 2012-009 Identity section 10.(in Norwegian only)

7. Registration of place of birth

As a rule, the foreign national’s place of birth shall be registered with both the name of the city, village or region and the country in which the foreign national was born; see section 4. A city or village shall be registered as the place of birth if known. If the city of birth is not known, the region in which the foreign national was born shall be registered as the place of birth. A city district or village neighbourhood should not be registered as the place of birth. If the city, village or region of birth is unknown, the foreign national shall be registered with the country of birth, and "unknown" shall be entered for place of birth (in English, so that this registration can be understood also in other Schengen states). If the foreign national was born in a country that has now changed its name, the current name of the country shall be registered as the country of birth. For example, if the foreign national was born in East Germany, Germany shall be registered as the country of birth. 

8. Registration of citizenship 

Registration of citizenship is mandatory. A foreign national may be registered with more than one citizenship. Citizenship may only be registered for states recognised by Norway; see section 4. In cases where the immigration administration does not know the foreign national’s citizenship, or there is no preponderance of probability of any citizenship, the citizenship must be registered as "Unknown (XUK)" Stateless foreign nationals shall be registered with (XXX); see section 8.1 below.

If the foreign national states to have multiple citizenships, all of these must be registered. One of the citizenships must be registered as the preferred citizenship (green check mark). It is the preferred citizenship that should be highlighted in both the administrative systems and in any decisions. The other citizenships will be entered in brackets. As a rule, the citizenship entered on the foreign national’s travel documents shall be registered as the preferred citizenship, if only one travel document has been presented. However, an assessment must be made in each individual case of which citizenship should be preferred. If the foreign national presents several valid travel documents, and there is no doubt about the correctness of the information, the citizenship entered on the travel document the foreign national primarily wishes to travel with and be issued a visa for shall be registered as their preferred citizenship; see section 4.

Information about preferred citizenship will automatically be transferred from the administrative systems to all correspondence produced by the immigration administration, including residence cards. It is therefore very important that the case officers exercise due care when making registrations and when changing any errors.

Some foreigners may meet the conditions for citizenship of a country, for example by birth, even if they have never been registered as citizens of that country or been issued documents by the country’s authorities. In such case, the foreign national may be registered with possible citizenships they are entitled to.

Any citizenships the foreign national states to have should be documented in accordance with section 16 of these guidelines. 

8.1 Concerning the registration of stateless persons 

Statelessness should be registered on the basis of the documentation of identity presented. The documentation may be a travel document for stateless persons, a national identity card, a residence card for stateless persons or similar. If the foreign national does not have any identity documents, statelessness shall be registered based on the foreign national’s own information in connection with first-time application in Norway. For stateless persons, it is particularly important that their place of birth and residence history are recorded, so that the immigration administration can easily determine their geographical affiliation. In the administrative systems, stateless persons shall be registered with the country code XXX. 

8.2 Concerning children born in Norway 

As a rule, children born in Norway will be registered with their mother’s citizenship in the national population register. However, according to the laws of the countries the parents come from, some children born in Norway will have their father’s citizenship. It is the rules in the child’s home country that determine which citizenship they should have. As a result, many children are registered with the wrong citizenship. Upon first-time registration of a child who was born in Norway and whose parents have different citizenship, a concrete assessment must therefore be made of which citizenship(s) the child should be registered with. The case officer can add an additional citizenship or change the original registration in the national population register. It is therefore emphasised that it is important that the case officer who registers the child does not automatically register the child’s citizenship on the basis of information in the national population register, but asks the parents/guardians about the child’s citizenship in connection with registration, where possible.

9. Registration of gender 

Registration of gender is mandatory, and a foreign national may only be registered with one gender. Restrictions in the national population register mean that we can only register someone as "male" or "female". It is not possible to register the gender as "unknown". If an online application form is used, the foreign national must choose between "male" and "female" when registering the application. The gender the foreign national states will be the gender registered in the administrative systems. If the foreign national has presented a travel document, the gender will be registered as it is registered there. If the foreign national is registered with a third gender in the travel document, the foreign national must choose whether their gender should be registered as "male" or "female". If the foreign national has not presented a travel document, the gender they state to have shall be registered, unless this is obviously incorrect; see also section 4 concerning the source of the registered information.

10. Registration of marital status 

The case officer must register the applicant’s marital status when opening a case. If possible, the foreign national’s marital status shall be registered in accordance with information provided in documents issued in their home country, preferably a marriage certificate, marital status certificate, certificate of non-impediment to marriage, divorce judgment or divorce certificate. Marital status must be registered with a "from" date. In cases where the foreign national’s marital status is registered in accordance with a certificate, the date that appears on the certificate (date of marriage, date of divorce etc.) shall be used as the "from" date. Where the case officer has comments relating to the document’s notoriety, this shall be included in the comments.

If no documentation is provided, or the notoriety is insufficient, the foreign national’s marital status shall be registered based on what they themselves claim. The case officer must register the code that best describes the correctness of the marital status.

For foreign nationals who state that they have taken part in a religious traditional , but that the marriage is not registered in the registers of their home country, a concrete assessment of the foreign national’s marital status must be made based on information about the country. In some countries, a religious/traditional marriage may be valid even if it is not registered. In other countries, religious marriages are not valid until they are registered, or only civil marriages are valid. 

Foreign nationals who are granted a residence permit and who have entered into marriage abroad that is not recognised in Norway must be registered as "unmarried" or "divorced".

Note that a registration of marital status made by the first-line services does not mean that the information is verified. The UDI’s case officer must make an independent assessment of all relevant aspects of the case and consider correcting the foreign national’s marital status before a decision is made.

10.1 Concerning the correction of marital status

In cases where the information registered by the UDI is incomplete or incorrect, or if the foreign national’s marital status in the national population register is "unspecified" despite the fact that they are registered as "married" or "unmarried" in the immigration administration’s systems, this may give rise to challenges for the foreign national. 

In such case, the UDI must, at the request of the foreign national, send the foreign national an overview of their marital status history in the immigration administration. The letter must state on what basis the registrations have been made and whether the UDI has reached a decision on the foreign national’s registered marital status.

After the foreign national has been enrolled in the national population register, it is the National Registry that is responsible for changing their marital status. If the applicant wishes to make changes, they must be referred to the Norwegian Tax Administration.

11. Registration of parental responsibility 

Parental responsibility means the authority to make all decisions on behalf of a child (person under the age of 18). Registration of parental responsibility is mandatory for all children insofar as it is possible to determine who has parental responsibility for the foreign national. It shall not be possible to register parental responsibility for persons over the age of 18. The registration should therefore only be made for the child, and not for the person(s) exercising parental responsibility (guardian/parent etc.). When the child has reached the age of 18, the registration no longer applies and can be found in the systems’ case history. 

Persons who may be registered with parental responsibility must be registered as having a family relationship with the child. 

If the person with parental responsibility (e.g. the child’s mother) is under the age of 18, parental responsibility will also registered for this person (their own parents). See also UDI 2013-003 Family immigration for children with one parent in Norway (in Norwegian only) for more information about determining parental responsibility.

12. Registration of relationships

Information registered about relationships is in principle based on claims, and the case officer must register the source of the information in the system. The correctness of the stated relationships will be assessed at the time of the decision, where it must also be considered to what extent the relationships are relevant for assessing the person’s identity, immigration/citizenship or parental responsibility/caregivers.

It is important that the following relationships are registered: mother, father, co-mother, co-father, other persons who exercise parental responsibility for the foreign national, children, siblings and spouse/partner. These categories correspond to the information registered in the national population register, with the exception of "co-father". Additional relationships should also be registered if necessary, including residence.

The Directorate of Taxes defines "co-mother" as; "a woman who has been granted legal parental status for the biological child of her female spouse or cohabitant. The child must have been born with the help of assisted reproductive technology". A co-mother is considered the child’s legal parent. The rules and rights that apply to fathers also apply to co-mothers. 

Here, "co-father" means; "a man who has been granted legal parental status for the biological child of his male spouse or cohabitant. The child must have been legally adopted by the co-father". A co-father is considered the child’s legal parent. The rules and rights that apply to fathers also apply to co-fathers.

Co-father is not an official category in Norway, but a person can officially be considered a child’s co-father in another country, and we must therefore register the co-father where applicable.

Only one relationship of the type mother, father, co-mother, co-father and spouse/partner will be accepted per person. A legally responsible person shall be selected in cases where several persons fit into the same category. The other person (for example a biological mother without legal responsibility) should be registered as "other family".

13. Registration of address

As a rule, addresses must be registered in accordance with Norway’s official property register (the cadastre). Up to two valid addresses in Norway can be registered: a postal address and a residence address. The postal address must be where the person can be contacted in writing. In addition, in cases where this is not the same as their postal address, the residence address may be used to register the address where the person is most likely to be found. The latter may be relevant where the person lives at a reception centre or in an institution, for commuters etc. 

See also UDI 2010-112 Foreign nationals’ duty to report change of address to the police (in Norwegian only).

14. Registration of deaths

If the immigration administration is made aware that a person who is not registered in the national population register has died in Norway, the death shall be registered on the basis of documentation presented. This may apply to foreign nationals with a tourist visa, EEA nationals or persons holding permits of a shorter duration than six months. In such case, the death must be recorded and any open immigration cases must be dropped.

If the immigration administration receives information that a foreign national holding a residence permit in Norway dies abroad, we shall consider registering the death. In order for it to be registered, the death must be sufficiently documented for us to be to assess the accuracy of the information about the death. An original death certificate is not required, but a death cannot be registered solely on the basis of a claim. The case officer must look at the documents submitted, information about the document situation in the country, and who has provided information about the death. A concrete assessment must then be made on the basis of these factors.

Please note that the National Registry requires other documentation to be able to register a death. There may therefore be examples of information in the immigration administration’s systems not corresponding to information in the national population register, cf. Chapter 8 of the Regulations relating to the national population register (external link to Lovdata) (in Norwegian only).

15. Registration of duplicates and aliases

Sometimes, identities are for various reasons entered multiple times in the administrative systems. This can be the case of either an alias identity or a duplicate. Aliases and duplicates can be detected by various parts of the immigration administration and in various stages of case processing when opening or processing cases relating to the identity in question. Before registering a person’s DUF number as a duplicate or alias, the case officer must check that there is no active case under consideration relating to the DUF number. If there is an active case, the case officer must contact the agency dealing with the case. If there is an active case and the DUF number is registered as an alias/duplicate, this will mean that further case processing and decisions cannot be implemented. This only applies to DUF users. 

15.1 Registration of duplicates 

When a case officer discovers that the same identity has been entered multiple times by mistake, it is important that the identities are linked in the administrative systems, so that only one of the entries (identities) is used in the further case processing. The case officer must decide which of the entries should be used in the further processing and must then consider which case is to be continued. Furthermore, the case officer must ensure that the D-number/F-number registered to the entry that is to be discontinued is deleted.

Duplicates may be registered to identities with different names (e.g. due to transcription errors), citizenship, date of birth or similar. 

When an identity is registered as a duplicate, it shall no longer be possible to make corrections/changes to any of the information registered to the duplicate.

15.2 Registration of aliases 

Alias should be registered when it is discovered that one and the same person is using, or has been registered with, different identities. 

An alias may be the result of the person having deliberately used different identities in Norway or other countries. This can lead to doubt about their identity. The case officer must always decide whether an alias registration is important for the purpose of identity clarification. 

There may be cases where it is relevant to register personal data (names) that we known is not the foreign national’s real personal data, i.e. that they are registered without assigning a DUF number. An example is when a foreign national comes to Norway and says that they have been using a different identity in another country in order to evade the authorities of that country. The foreign national may also have used multiples identities with different agencies in Norway, e.g. one for the UDI and another for the criminal case register or NAV. 

In such case, we should register the identity that should not be active (current) as an alias of the person, without assigning a DUF number.

An identity can have both duplicates and aliases.

16. Objections from the foreign national 

The foreign national must be made aware of what personal data the immigration administration registers. If the immigration administration registers other information than the foreign national has stated or that appears in the foreign national’s documents, the foreign national shall be made aware of this. The foreign national shall be given an opportunity to object to how the information is registered, unless it is an option to exempt them from or defer access pursuant to the Public Administration Act; see UDI 2014-010 Access pursuant to the Public Administration Act section 3.3 (in Norwegian only).