What is a residence card?

A residence card is a plastic card in credit card format that proves that you have been granted a residence permit in Norway. The police will order a residence card for you.

If you are applying from Norway, you may be able to get a residence card without meeting with the police again. If this applies to you, the police will send you the residence card in the mail, and you do not need to book an appointment. Read below who must meet with the police to get a residence card.

I have applied for protection (asylum) for the first time and have been granted a residence permit

If you have applied for asylum for the first time with the police, the police contact you and give an appointment. You must meet with the police, but you do not have to book an appointment yourself.

I have applied for a residence permit from abroad

You must book an appointment to get a residence card.

I have applied for a renewal of my residence permit

You must book an appointment if you have a Norwegian alien's passport or travel document for refugees that has expired and that you have not already given to the police.

At the police, you must take a picture and give fingerprints.

You should not book an appointment if you handed in your old travel document to the police when you applied. The police will send the residence card to you in the mail.

What do you need to do to receive the card in the mail?

• If you are a new mail recipient in Norway, fill in this form (external website) and hand it in at a post office or in-store post office. Remember to bring identification.
• Check that you are registered with the correct postal address at Posten (external website), if you are already registered as a postal recipient. The site requires login with BankID or MinID.
• Make sure you have your name on the mailbox, otherwise you will not receive the card. If the card gets lost in the mail, it will take some time before you can get a new one.
• You should not book trips abroad until you have received the new residence card.

How to book an appointment?

Booking an appointment in the Application Portal:

If you used the Application Portal to register your application, you can now log in here to book the appointment (external website).

Booking an appointment by phone:

If you did not use the Application Portal when you applied for a residence permit, you must instead call your local police district to book an appointment. You cannot call UDI to book an appointment.

The police will order a National ID number for you. You do not have to do anything to get this.

To find out whether or not your family members can apply to come and live with you in Norway, you must read the decision from UDI. The decision will state whether or not there is a possibility for family immigration.

If there is a possibility for this, you can read more about which family members can apply to come and live with you in Norway on our pages on family immigration.

• a registered address
• a valid and approved identification

• a valid foreign passport
• a valid travel document for refugees
• a valid immigrant’s passport

• The decision letter from UDI will tell you whether the time you have this residence permit may be included if you later apply for a permanent residence permit.
• See information regarding the requirements for permanent residence permit.

In some cases, you may lose your residence permit.

Losing a permit means that UDI has decided that the residence permit is no longer valid. It may mean that you are no longer allowed to live in Norway or that you will be granted a new residence permit, and your residence period in Norway will restart.

There may be different reasons why you lose your residence permit, for example, if you: 

• have provided incorrect or incomplete information 
• have stayed too long outside Norway
• have received a new type of residence permit 

Here you will find more information about revoking a residence permit with refugee status (protection).