Other types of stays for cultural purposes in Norway

In some very special cases, you can get a residence permit for a stay for cultural purposes in Norway. 

Some examples of what can fall under such stays for cultural purposes are if you are:

  • An athlete. You must practice a sport in Norway, and the stay must, as a general rule, be necessary for the establishment or further development of the branch of sport.
  • A creative artist. You must be an established artist and you must substantiate that your stay in Norway is important for your development as an artist, because certain elements present in Norway are important to you in order to be able to produce a product (picture, book, sculpture, etc.).
  • A culture disseminator. It is a condition for the permit that you disseminates knowledge about Norway and Norwegian culture abroad. You must already have established yourself as a culture disseminator abroad and continue to do so after your stay in Norway has ended.
  • A volunteer under the Erasmus+ programme.
  • Participant in the Fulbright programme. You are going to participate in the Fulbright program and fall outside the rules on residence permits for students and residence permits for researchers with own funds.

Requirements of the applicant 

  • You must pay an application fee.
  • You must have a place to live in Norway. 
  • You must have enough money to live on.
  • You must provide information about the purpose of your stay in Norway.
  • If the purpose of the stay is cultural work, you must provide documentation of previous involvement or work in culture or sport.
  • If you are going to be a volunteer or intern under the Erasmus+ programme, you must provide a confirmation from the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir).

Rights and obligations

  • You have the right to work part-time and during holiday periods. 
  • The period you have this residence permit does not count if you later wish to apply for a permanent residence permit.
  • Your spouse or cohabitant and children can usually apply to come and live with you in Norway. If your family members apply at the same time as you, you will receive the answer to your applications at the same time.