Published: 02.03.2015

How long you can stay in Norway to search for a new job, is dependent on how long you have worked in Norway.

If you have worked in Norway for less than one year

If you are an EU/EEA national and have been an employee in Norway for less than one year, you can continue to live in Norway and look for a new job for six months. You cannot have resigned from the job and you must have registered as a job seeker with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, Nav, (external website).

You do not have to let UDI or the police know that you are unemployed.

If you have worked in Norway for at least one year

If you are an EU/EEA national and have been an employee in Norway for at least one year, you can continue to live in Norway and look for a new job for as long as you wish. You cannot have resigned from the job and you must have registered as a job seeker with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, NAV, (external website).

You do not have to let UDI or the police know that you are unemployed.

If you have worked in Norway for at least five years

If you are an EU/EEA national and have been an employee in Norway for at least five years, you can apply for permanent right of residence. This entitles you to stay and work in Norway indefinitely.

You can apply at any point after you have been here for five years – also if you have been unemployed, or are unemployed now.

Time when you have been registered as a job seeker with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, NAV, (external website) and have been entitled to unemployment benefits from NAV can also count towards the five years you must have lived in Norway. The rules are as follows:

• If you had been an employee in Norway for at least one year when you became unemployed, all of the time you were unemployed will be counted.
• If you had been an employee in Norway for less than one year when you became unemployed, only up to six months of your time as unemployed will be counted.