We usually agree with UDI’s consideration of cases. The most common reasons for UNE’s rejection of applications for a work permit is if the applicant has been offered a salary that is too low, if the work is not relevant to the applicant’s qualifications or if the applicant is not a skilled worker.

In some cases, UNE reverses the UDI's decision. This is usually because we have received new information or documentation that the UDI did not have when it decided the case.

What do we consider?

We reject a number of cases where the applicant lacks skilled worker qualifications, for example if the applicant has not completed any formal education and has little or no work experience.

Another common reason for rejecting applications is if the work is not relevant to the applicant's qualifications, for example if an applicant with a master's degree in education is going to work as a kindergarten assistant. Or it could be a carpenter who is going to work as a bricklayer. Even if the applicant's qualifications are useful or desirable for the workplace in question, that does not mean that the expertise is relevant pursuant to the regulations. We consider whether the applicant's skilled worker qualifications are necessary for the tasks the applicant will be carrying out, or we consider whether the work demands skilled worker qualifications.

We also reject cases where the applicant has not been offered a high enough salary. In many cases, the applicant has been offered a salary that is lower than the collective wage rate.

Some applicants want to work as self-employed persons in Norway. The most common reasons why we reject such cases is that the applicant lacks skilled worker qualifications, or that the tasks do not require such qualifications. We also reject the application if the applicant has not substantiated that he/she will have a high enough income.

We consider many cases where the applicant already holds a permit as a skilled worker, but is applying to have it renewed (renewal cases). We then check whether the applicant's work actually involved the tasks, salary and working conditions that formed the basis for the permit. In many of the renewal cases we consider, the applicant has often received too little pay or has not worked full time. We will then reject the application because the conditions were never actually met, and we do not believe they will be met in future.

You can read more about the conditions for being granted a work permit on the UDI's website (external link).

We reverse some decisions. In most cases when we reverse the UDI's decision, we do so because we have received new documentation in the case that the UDI did not have when it made its decision.

If you have received an offer of higher salary or more working hours, you must send us a new offer of employment form. Both you and your employer must sign this form. If you have new or additional documentation of your qualifications, you can send this to us as well. In order for us to consider documents that are sent to us they must be translated into Norwegian or English by a translation agency.

If you believe that your income is in line with what is normal for your place of work and the tasks you perform, you must send us the applicable collective agreement and highlight your pay level. If no collective agreement exists, you must enclose documentation showing that the salary you have been offered corresponds to what is normal in your profession. We require thorough documentation of this. Examples of such documentation include:

  • Employment contracts of other employees in the company with the same tasks and qualifications
  • Wage statistics from a trade body, for example a trade union federation or trade union.

We carry out an individual assessment of all cases. Even if you have submitted all the information mentioned above, you are not guaranteed a permit. In many cases, the income is too low for us to grant a skilled worker permit, for example in cases where the pay corresponds to the pay for unskilled work. If there is no normal pay for your profession, the minimum requirement is that workers with a bachelor's degree shall receive pay that corresponds to at least salary grade 42 in the main collective agreement between the state and the unions LO, UNIO and YS. For workers with a master's degree, the pay must correspond to at least salary grade 47.

To be considered a skilled worker, you must have completed a formal education. It takes a lot for us to consider someone to be a skilled worker if they have not completed an education or only have work experience. Your work experience must be twice as long as the corresponding vocational education in Norway in order for us to consider you to be a skilled worker based on work experience alone. You must submit thorough documentation of your work experience. We must be sent dated and signed certificates of service from former employers. These certificates must contain:

  • Information about when you worked there and how much you worked (full time or part time).
  • What type of training you have received.
  • The tasks and responsibilities you had.
  • What qualifications were required to perform those tasks.

If you submitted your application for renewal of your work permit to the police within a month before the expiry of your previous permit, you are entitled to stay in Norway on the same terms until UNE has considered your case. This means that you are also entitled to do the same job as the job for which you were granted a permit.

If you applied later than one month before your previous permit expired, but the UDI has granted you deferred implementation, you must contact the UDI to find out what this means for you. This is because you are not entitled to stay here on the same terms as before. You may have been allowed to stay in Norway, but not to work here.

We will consider your case even if you go home in the meantime. You can only return to Norway if you have been granted permission to do so.

Read more at UDI regelverk:

UDI's circulars: