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Family reunification: when your family is to live with you in Norway

family reunification family immigration spouse fiance to norway udi residence permit income requirement disability benefit

Draft, translated: translated from the Norwegian original with the help of a language model, and may contain errors. The Norwegian version is the authoritative one. See the Norwegian original →

A spouse, cohabitant, engaged partner and children can apply to live in Norway with you. The income requirement, the exceptions (including for people on disability benefit or retirement pension), the age limit of 24, and who can hand in the application from Norway.

Norwegian original last checked against official sources: 19 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so always check the official site before you act.

Family reunification is called family immigration (familieinnvandring) by the Directorate of Immigration (UDI). The person who already lives in Norway is called the sponsor (referanseperson). The person who wants to move here is the applicant. The rules differ depending on who the sponsor is, for example a Norwegian citizen, a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, or someone who has been granted protection (asylum) in Norway. That is why it is important to start on UDI's website and choose the right situation.

Who can apply?

According to UDI, usually a spouse, cohabitant and children under 18. People who are going to marry someone who lives in Norway (engaged couples), parents of children in Norway, foster children and some others can also apply. Adult siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins cannot get family immigration.

It is the applicant who applies, not the sponsor.

Income requirement

The requirement has two parts. As a rule, the sponsor must have had a certain income in the last year, and it must be likely that they will have a certain income for at least one year ahead from when UDI decides the case. The income must stay above the requirement until the decision, and UDI checks afterwards that it really was high enough in the first year.

On 19 October 2026 UDI gave these amounts for sponsors who are working:

• Last year: at least NOK 409,972 before tax (for 2025). The tax assessment must show this. If UDI does not yet have figures for last year, the year before applies.
• Going forward: at least NOK 436,957 a year before tax.

The amounts change, so always check UDI's website.

What counts as income?

According to UDI, among other things: income from work, sickness benefit, parental benefit, disability benefit (uføretrygd) and retirement pension from the National Insurance scheme, other permanent pensions, and loans and grants for education. If the applicant is already in lawful work in Norway, the applicant's income can count.

Does not count as income: financial social assistance, housing allowance, unemployment benefit and work assessment allowance (AAP), benefits you get because you have children, lump-sum grant at birth, and money in the bank. If the sponsor has large assets, UDI may in some cases accept a lower income.

If you are unsure whether a particular income counts, for example rental income or share gains, ask UDI before you apply.

Do you receive disability benefit or retirement pension?

Then a lower requirement applies. According to UDI (19 October 2026):

• Disability benefit: at least NOK 318,023 if NAV granted the benefit as married or cohabiting, and at least NOK 345,332 if it was granted as single.
• Retirement pension: at least the full minimum pension level, which depends on when you were born. For those born before 1954 it is NOK 255,191.

If the benefit or pension alone meets the requirement, there is no requirement for income last year. If it is lower, you can add other income, for example pay from a part-time job. If the application concerns a spouse, cohabitant or child, and UDI considers the relationship clearly voluntary, it is enough that the total income reaches the same amounts, and you are exempt from the requirement for income last year. Otherwise the ordinary requirement applies.

Other exceptions

• If the sponsor has been granted protection in Norway, and a spouse, cohabitant or child under 18 applies within the deadlines UDI states, there is no income requirement.
• Special rules apply to students, children born in Norway and some other groups. See UDI's website.

The age limit of 24

For spouses, cohabitants and engaged couples, both must be at least 24 when the application is processed, if you married or are going to marry after the sponsor moved to Norway, or the sponsor has always lived here. The requirement does not apply if, for example, you lived together for at least two years before either of you moved to Norway, or have children conceived before that. UDI can make an exception when a forced marriage is very unlikely.

For some sponsors, including those who themselves have protection or family immigration, there is also a requirement of four years of work or education in Norway. It does not apply to Norwegian citizens.

Engaged and going to marry in Norway?

Engaged couples can apply for a permit to marry in Norway. According to UDI, you must marry in Norway within six months, and then apply to renew the permit as a spouse before the permit to marry expires. It must also be likely that the applicant will return home if you do not marry as planned. The income requirement and the age limit also apply to engaged couples.

Where is the application handed in?

You register the application and pay the fee on udi.no. The main rule is that the applicant then hands in the application and documents in person at an application centre in their home country or the country where they live.

According to UDI, the applicant can in some cases hand in the application from Norway, for example if they come from a visa-free country, are staying lawfully and are applying as a spouse or cohabitant. Engaged partners must also be skilled workers to apply from Norway. The application must then be handed in to the police within 90 days of entering Norway or another Schengen country. Waiting times at the police can be long, so register and pay in good time.

Which documents are required, for example about a previous marriage or cohabitation, is shown in the checklist UDI gives for your situation. Missing documents make the case take longer.

Fee and waiting time

There is a fee to apply, and it is paid when you register the application. It can only be refunded if the applicant has not yet attended and handed in the application. The fee differs for different groups, see UDI's page on fees.

UDI has its own guide to waiting times in family immigration cases (Norwegian), updated once a month. While the case is waiting, you get a message from UDI every month.

Good to know

• If you are refused, the decision states how to appeal and the deadline.
• You can get free help. See free legal aid and the legal aid services listed there. If you need an interpreter when dealing with the public sector, see right to an interpreter.

Tip: Start on UDI's page on family immigration, choose the applicant's citizenship and who the sponsor is. Then you get the requirements and checklist that apply to you.

Sources

• UDI. Family immigration (Norwegian)
• UDI. Income requirement in family immigration cases (Norwegian)
• UDI. Frequently asked questions about family immigration (Norwegian)
• UDI. The requirement to be 24 in family immigration applications (Norwegian)
• UDI. The requirement of four years of work or education (Norwegian)
• UDI. Fees (Norwegian)
• UDI. Family immigration with a Norwegian or Nordic citizen (Norwegian)

Kontaktpunkt24 gives general information, not legal advice. If you need help with your own case, contact a lawyer, a legal aid service, or the relevant authority.

This page is translated from Norwegian with the help of a language model, and may contain errors. The Norwegian version is always the authoritative one.