Application process
All applicants who wish to apply for a residence permit to Norway should register an application through the Application Portal Norway (APN) and pay the application handling fee online using a credit/debit card. You can read about the various handling fees here.
An application is not complete and cannot be processed before all supporting documents have been handed in. The applicant should therefore try to gather all supporting documents before registering an application electronically. For information about which supporting documents are needed for the residence permit application, please go to Checklists.
The applicant must personally meet at the Embassy in Hanoi or the Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City to hand in the supporting documents. Before doing so, applicants must book an appointment through the Application Portal Norway or by contacting the Consulate in HCMC directly. It is not possible to book an appointment without registering the online residence permit application first.
After the online application is registered, applicants will automatically receive a cover letter as an attachment to the e-mail address registered on the Application Portal. This cover letter replaces the old paper application form. It is very important that the applicant prints 2 copies of the cover letter, signs the copies, and attaches a photo. Applicants are to bring the cover letter along with passport and supporting documents to the Embassy or Consulate at the time of their appointment.
The application and supporting documents will be forwarded to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) for consideration, as the Embassy does not have the necessary authority to grant such applications. The applicant has to stay in his/her home country until the permit has been granted by UDI.
Please make sure that personal details in the application are identical to the information in the passport.
Incomplete applications and rejections
Please note that incomplete applications may be rejected. Incomplete applications are applications lacking relevant documents, with inaccurate/incorrect information or false statements. A false statement will lead to a rejection and may render you liable to prosecution under the law of Norway.
If UDI suspects a marriage to be a pro forma marriage, the Vietnamese applicant for residence permit in Norway for family reunification reason, will be rejected.
If your application for a residence permit to Norway is rejected, you may appeal against this decision. An appeal may be submitted at the Embassy within 3 weeks upon receiving the decision. The appeal must be submitted by the applicant in person, or by a person representing the applicant only under a written power of attorney from the applicant. The Embassy will forward the appeal to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). The processing of the appeal is free of charge.
The right to insight and appeal
According to the Public Administration Act only the person to whom a decision is directed or whom the case otherwise directly concerns, is party to the case. This means that only the applicant can receive information about the case, the content of the decision, and appeal the decision.
However, if the Vietnamese applicant produces a written power of attorney to another person, that person can act as agent and be given insight to the documents in the case, and appeal on behalf of the applicant. You will find the form to give power of attorney here, and in Tieng Viet here.