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READER QUESTION: Do you need to cancel your residency when moving from Norway? 

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
READER QUESTION: Do you need to cancel your residency when moving from Norway? 
Here's what happens to your residency if you plan on leaving Norway. Pictured is a Norwegian flag. Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

How do you cancel your residency when leaving Norway – and do you even need to do so? The Local looks into the rules. 

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Question: I am leaving Norway after several years of living here. Do I need to cancel my residency? If so, can you advise me on how to go about doing this?

To live and work in Norway legally, you will need to either hold a residence card or register yourself as living in Norway if you intend on staying more than 90 days.  

Do foreign nationals need to deregister as a resident, and under which circumstances? And how do you go about doing cancelling your residency?

When you leave Norway for a period of six months or more, you are required to inform the Norwegian Tax Administration. This applies if you are leaving for a country outside the Nordics. If you are moving to a Nordic country, you report the move to the country you are going to. 

When you move to other countries, you must tell the Norwegian Tax Administration no later than 14 days before your departure. In addition, you will need to submit a copy of valid identification, such as a copy of your passport, along with the documents. You can view the documents here

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The tax administration doesn’t outline any consequences if you fail to do so. However, one practical consequence is that the population register will continue to have the address you are moving from, meaning mail will be sent there rather than to your new home. 

In terms of cancelling your residency with immigration authorities, you don’t need to do this. 

Instead, your residency will lapse when you spend a certain amount of time outside of Norway. For example, if your current residence allows you to spend six months outside of Norway in 12 months, your residence will lapse once the six-month mark has passed. 

Those with permanent residence can spend much longer out of Norway and can even apply to keep their residence in the event that they will be spending more than two years outside. 

If you are a dual citizen, then you are able to travel to and from Norway without any risk of losing your residence rights. 

But you will be expected to inform the tax administration of your move. 

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