Working in Norway after graduation: the job-seeker permit explained

If you are from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, your study permit automatically includes permission to work part-time up to 20 hours a week during the semester, remote work included, and full-time during holidays. You cannot be self-employed or run your own business, and you may not start working until the permit has been granted. EU/EEA and Swiss students can work as much as they like, though Study in Norway reminds them that they are full-time students first.

Before your first shift you need a Norwegian identification number (a D number or national identity number), a tax deduction card and a Norwegian bank account. The Tax Administration has a page for international students. As an employee you are entitled to a written contract, overtime pay, a safe working environment and, in some sectors, a legal minimum wage.

Choose the job with your CV in mind. A café shift pays the rent; a part-time role in your field, a student assistant post at your university or a summer job in an industry you want to enter gives you Norwegian references and relevant lines for your CV when you apply for graduate roles.

UDI calls it a residence permit for a job seeker who has recently graduated in Norway or is a researcher. For graduates, the conditions are:

• You hold a study permit as a student at a university or university college, a vocational school (fagskole) or an upper secondary school, and you have completed your degree or education in Norway.
• You apply before your study permit expires. UDI recommends applying at least one month before.
• If your diploma is not ready, a confirmation from your institution that you have submitted your final thesis and passed all other credits, with the submission date, is accepted.
• You are looking for work as a skilled worker, and you hold a qualification that counts: a degree, or a vocational qualification of at least three years with a Norwegian equivalent.
• You can support yourself for the whole period. The money must be your own and usually in a Norwegian bank account; income from a job offer in Norway can count. UDI sets a monthly amount, so check the current figure before you apply.

UDI charges an application fee, so check its fee list for the current amount. Study in Norway describes the permit as up to a year after graduation; plan your last semester around your permit’s expiry date rather than your graduation date.

You can be granted the permit for a maximum of one year. While you look for a relevant skilled job, you can work full-time or part-time in any job, including jobs that do not require qualifications. That matters: a temporary job keeps you afloat and can count towards the funds requirement.

• You cannot be self-employed or run a sole proprietorship.
• The time on this permit does not count towards permanent residence.
• Family members who already live with you on a family immigration permit can apply to renew it.

Treat the year as a structured search, not a gap. Our guide to your first job after graduation sets out a month-by-month plan you can adapt.

A relevant offer moves you to a residence permit as a skilled worker. The job must require the qualification you have, be normally full-time (UDI accepts at least 80%), and pay no less than normal in Norway: the collective agreement rate where one applies, and at least NOK 624,700 a year for jobs requiring a master’s degree or NOK 545,400 for jobs requiring a bachelor’s. The fee for a work permit is NOK 6,300.

If you have already applied for the job-seeker permit and an offer arrives before UDI decides, you can convert the application into a skilled worker application in the application portal, free of charge. Upload a signed offer of employment form, a short note asking for the change and your CV; you keep your place in the processing queue.

Negotiate with the threshold in mind. If an offer for a master’s-level role comes in below NOK 624,700, raise it before you sign: UDI only accepts lower pay with substantial evidence that it is normal for that job and place. Our salary negotiation guide has scripts for that conversation.

Most vacancies in Norway are posted online, and most are in Norwegian. Study in Norway suggests typing “English” into the search on NAV’s job database, arbeidsplassen.no, to find English-language ads; FINN.no works the same way.

• Your university’s career centre: many run career fairs and job portals for part-time and graduate jobs. Use them from your first year.
• Summer internships: many companies offer them to master’s students, often advertised early in the autumn semester, so start looking in August or September.
• Internships in your programme: many institutions have agreements with companies. Note that an internship that is not an integrated part of your studies may need a different residence permit.
• Jobbnorge: where most universities and colleges advertise, including PhD, research assistant and administrative posts.
• Traineeships and graduate programmes: EURES suggests searching arbeidsplassen.no for “trainee”, “internship”, “student position” and “student assistant”.

In Norway, PhD candidates are normally employees, not students, so PhD positions are advertised as jobs, and you will usually hold a skilled worker permit rather than a study permit. That also means your PhD years are work experience and belong in the experience section of your CV.

The job-seeker permit is open to researchers too: people with a residence permit as a researcher with own funds, and skilled workers employed as researchers at a university, university college or research institute. You must apply before your current permit expires. If you held a skilled worker permit as a PhD candidate, UDI applies a lower funds requirement that does not depend on how long you stay.

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens can normally look for work and work in Norway after graduating, without a permit; Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and Finnish citizens have the simplest rules of all. If you stay beyond three months as a job seeker, register with the police.

The job-seeker permit only covers education completed in Norway. If you graduated elsewhere and come from outside the EU/EEA, UDI’s position is that you cannot come to Norway to look for work: you need a job offer and a residence permit first. Our Norway work visa guide explains the skilled worker route, and the Norway job-search roadmap covers searching from abroad.

Two things decide how fast international graduates get hired in Norway: Norwegian and people who can vouch for you. Most ads are in Norwegian, and even English-speaking employers notice a candidate who is visibly learning. Many universities offer Norwegian courses for international students, so take one from your first year and put your CEFR level on your CV.

Build the network through your programme: thesis projects with companies, guest lectures, student organisations and career fairs. Ask supervisors of any part-time or internship work for a reference while it is fresh, and write your CV the way Norwegian recruiters expect, with our Norwegian CV and cover letter guide.