Your first weeks in Norway: the registrations to do after landing

Moving to Norway as an American means dealing with two separate systems in your first weeks. The immigration side runs through the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and the police. The identity side runs through the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), which keeps the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) and issues the numbers almost everything in Norway depends on. This guide puts the steps in order, using what UDI, Skatteetaten, the police, Helsenorge and the US government say on their official pages.

One correction to a common assumption: for most Americans with a residence permit, you do not apply for a national identity number yourself. Skatteetaten states that you cannot apply for one at all. The National Population Register decides, and for permit holders the trigger is usually the permit itself. Details below.

Step 1: have the right permission to be in Norway

Norway is in the Schengen area. Norway's official foreign service portal states that citizens of non-EU/EEA countries who want to work in Norway, or to stay longer than 90 days, need a residence permit. That covers US citizens. Short visits are visa-free, but the visa-free allowance does not let you take a job.

UDI processes residence permit applications. On whether you can arrive before a decision, UDI's work immigration page separates groups:

• Skilled workers who do not need a visa to visit Norway, which includes Americans, may enter and stay until the application is decided, even if the visa-free period runs out in the meantime.
• Seasonal workers who do not need a visa may also enter before the answer.
• All other employees must wait for the answer before entering Norway.

UDI also states that, as a rule, you cannot start working until you have an answer. The exception is a skilled worker whose employer has received a confirmation of early employment start from the police.

Step 2: book and attend the police appointment

Applying from Norway, or collecting your residence card after arrival, involves an in-person appointment. UDI explains that everyone who applies from Norway and has sent an application electronically must also book an appointment electronically by logging in to the UDI application portal. UDI itself does not book appointments, and you should not show up at UDI. Only the police, the Service Centre for Foreign Workers (SUA), embassies and the visa application centres control their calendars.

Norway's foreign service portal adds a timing rule for people coming with a permit: once you know your arrival date, pre-book the police appointment to get your residence card, normally through the Application Portal, and the appointment must be in your first seven days in Norway or the first available slot.

The police site confirms that you must always have an appointment before attending, and that the confirmation email tells you where to go.

Step 3: registration in the National Population Register

This is the step most guides get wrong, so here is what Skatteetaten says.

If UDI grants you a residence permit of at least six months, the immigration authorities notify the National Population Register. Depending on the permit type, you are automatically registered as resident and receive a Norwegian national identity number (fødselsnummer). You then get a letter from Skatteetaten. You do not fill in the moving form in this case.

If your permit type does not give automatic residency, you receive a D number instead. If you hold a D number and are going to stay in Norway for at least six consecutive months, you must report the move to Norway yourself.

Timing for D number holders: if you report the move within 30 days of the D number being assigned, Skatteetaten says you can submit the form RF-1401 (Notification of a move to Norway) with documentation online if you have electronic ID, or by post to Skatteetaten, Postboks 9200 Grønland, 0134 Oslo, marked "Melding om innflytting". If more than 30 days have passed, you must attend a new ID check at a tax office that carries out ID checks.

General rule for reporting a move: anyone intending to stay at least six months consecutively, or more permanently, must report the move. You undergo an ID check and show documentation that you will be living in Norway for at least six months. Reporting is done by booking an appointment with Skatteetaten, and everyone moving with you must attend. Supporting documents can include a rental contract, purchase contract or employment contract.

Step 4: what the numbers are

Skatteetaten describes the national identity number as 11 digits that stay the same for life. In most cases the first six digits are your date of birth, the next three are an individual number, and the last two are check digits.

A D number is the number issued to people who do not meet the conditions for a national identity number and registration as resident. It lets you be identified by Norwegian authorities and employers, but it is not the same as being registered as resident.

Step 5: tax deduction card before you get paid

Skatteetaten states that you must have a tax deduction card (skattekort) if you want to work in Norway, and that you receive a Norwegian identification number, either a D number or a national identity number, when you apply for a tax deduction card or report your move. Your employer uses the card to withhold the right tax. Without it, payroll cannot apply your rate.

When you work in Norway you also receive a Norwegian tax return each year. As a US citizen you still file a US federal return as well; Norway's system does not replace your IRS obligations.

Step 6: what each registration is for

• Residence permit and residence card: your legal right to live and work in Norway. Employers and landlords ask for it.
• National identity number or D number: the identifier used by employers, the tax system and public services.
• Resident registration with a national identity number: the basis for being treated as a resident in public registers.
• Tax deduction card: required before you start drawing a salary.
• Electronic ID: Skatteetaten notes that electronic ID gives access to online services from local and public authorities, including filing the moving notice online. Banks issue the common electronic IDs and set their own document requirements, so ask your bank directly.

Step 7: a GP (fastlege)

Norway's health service is organised around a regular general practitioner. Helsenorge, the official health portal, is where you log in to the GP service (Fastlegen) and where GPs offer appointment booking, prescription renewals and contact with the doctor's office. Logging in requires the electronic ID from the step above, which is one more reason the identity number matters early.

Step 8: the US side

The US Embassy in Oslo encourages US citizens in Norway to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) for security messages, and its site lists passport and citizen services. Keep your US passport valid; you need it at the police appointment and the ID check.

A sensible order

1. Before travel, confirm whether you may enter before a UDI decision (skilled workers can; most other employees cannot).
2. Book the police or SUA appointment through the UDI portal for your first seven days.
3. Watch for the Skatteetaten letter. If you got a D number and will stay six months or more, report your move within 30 days.
4. Get your tax deduction card before your first payday.
5. Get electronic ID through your bank, then register with a GP on Helsenorge.

Common questions

Do I apply for a Norwegian national identity number? No. Skatteetaten says you cannot apply for one. The National Population Register decides. A UDI residence permit of at least six months usually triggers it automatically.

What if I only received a D number? If you will stay at least six consecutive months, report a move to Norway yourself. Within 30 days of the D number you can send form RF-1401; after that you need a new ID check.

Can an American start working in Norway while UDI decides? As a rule, no. UDI allows it for a skilled worker whose employer has a police confirmation of early employment start.

When should I book the police appointment? Norway's foreign service portal says to pre-book it for your first seven days in Norway, or the first available slot, normally through the UDI Application Portal.