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BREXIT

Brexit: What changed for Brits in Norway on January 1st 2021

From January 1st 2021 Britons will need new residency permits, certain documents will be needed to travel and those Brits who want to move to Norway in the future will be subject to new rules.

Published: 23 December 2020 17:51 CET
Updated: 2 January 2021 11:15 CET
Brexit: What changed for Brits in Norway on January 1st 2021
Composite: Drahomír Posteby-Mach, Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

January 1st 2021 marks a key date for Britons living in Norway and around Europe.

The Brexit transition period ends and from January 1st Britons are no longer considered EU citizens.

That obviously means changes for Britons in Norway and those who intend to move to Norway in future.

Many of the changes involve travel, such as 90-day limits ion visa travel within the Schengen area, which are summed up in this article.

READ MORE: What Britons in Europe need to know about travel from January 2021

Britons in Norway will, just like their counterparts living in the EU and Schengen countries, no longer be able to take advantage of freedom of movement and move easily to another EU country.

This will impact job opportunities for thousands.

But many changes are specific for Brits in Norway. Here's a quick run through.

New post-Brexit residents permits to be issued

From January 1st Britons who have already moved to Norway will need to apply for new residence permits.

No details have yet been published at the time of writing but the link below will have details when Norwegian authorities publish them.

Norwegian authorities explain: “If you are a British citizen with permanent right of residence in Norway on the date the transition period comes to an end, you will retain this right, but you will have to apply for a permanent residence permit and residence card.

“Norway will be issuing a new type of residence permit for British citizens who live in Norway or move to Norway before the end of the transition period.

“The new application procedures are being developed, and are due to be introduced on January 1st 2021. Information about the new application procedures will be published on the UDI website later this year.”

UK's ambassador to Norway Richard Wood adds: “From next year, UDI will issue a new residency card for UK nationals living in Norway but until then, it’s important to always carry an official document which proves their residency if they travel abroad.”

So all will be revealed shortly.

Documents needed for travel

Before the residence permits are made available Britons resident in Norway who need to go abroad for essential travel (travel abroad is either not advised or highly restricted due to the Covid-19 pandemic) will need to take certain documents with them to prove they are resident.

The British embassy in Oslo says: “UK nationals living in Norway will need to be able to document their residency status when travelling. This could happen at the Norwegian border or at an airport outside of Norway.

“The Norwegian authorities have created a residency card for UK nationals living in Norway to help prove their status when travelling. It will be possible to apply for this card from January. UK nationals should carry an official document that proves residency until they receive the new card. There are only 3 documents that will be accepted from 1 January:

  • a registration certificate

  • a residence permit

  • a residence certificate (bostedsattest). This can be ordered from the Norwegian Tax Administration

Britons intending to move to Norway after January 2021

For Britons who move to Norway from January the rules and the bureaucratic hurdles will be slightly different.

Norwegian authorities explain: “British citizens and their family members who wish to come to Norway to live, work or study after 1 January 2021 will be treated according to the rules that apply to citizens of countries outside the EEA/EU. 

“If you are moving to Norway after 31 December 2020, you have to apply for residency permit according to the regulations for citizens of countries outside EU/EEU, similar to what for example American citizens do.

“There are several types of residency permits: residency permit for work immigration, residency permit for family immigration, residency permit for studies, and residency permit for au pair.

“You will still be able to visit Norway for 90 days without a visa or residency permit after 31 December 2020, but you will usually not be allowed to work.”

Useful websites

UK Government Living in Norway guide on residency and travel

Sign up to email alerts on the Living in Norway guide

UDI information for UK nationals living in Norway

UDI information for travellers to Norway

Renew your British passport

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BREXIT

OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

The EU has drawn up plans to make it easier for non-EU citizens to gain longterm EU residency so they can move more easily around the bloc, but Italy-based citizens' rights campaigner Clarissa Killwick says Brits who moved to the EU before Brexit are already losing out.

Published: 8 December 2023 14:34 CET
OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

With all the talk about the EU long-term residency permit and the proposed improvements there is no mention that UK citizens who are Withdrawal Agreement “beneficiaries” are currently being left out in the cold.

The European Commission has stated that we can hold multiple statuses including the EU long-term permit (Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can in theory acquire EU-wide long-term resident status if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years) but in reality it is just not happening.

This effectively leaves Brits locked into their host countries while other third country nationals can enjoy some mobility rights. As yet, in Italy, it is literally a question of the computer saying no if someone tries to apply.

The lack of access to the EU long-term permit to pre-Brexit Brits is an EU-wide issue and has been flagged up to the European Commission but progress is very slow.

READ ALSO: EU government settle on rules for how non-EU citizens could move around Europe

My guess is that few UK nationals who already have permanent residency status under the Withdrawal Agreement are even aware of the extra mobility rights they could have with the EU long-term residency permit – or do not even realise they are two different things.

Perhaps there won’t be very large numbers clamouring for it but it is nothing short of discrimination not to make it accessible to British people who’ve built their lives in the EU.

They may have lost their status as EU citizens but nothing has changed concerning the contributions they make, both economically and socially.

An example of how Withdrawal Agreement Brits in Italy are losing out

My son, who has lived almost his whole life here, wanted to study in the Netherlands to improve his employment prospects.

Dutch universities grant home fees rather than international fees to holders of an EU long-term permit. The difference in fees for a Master’s, for example, is an eye-watering €18,000. He went through the application process, collecting the requisite documents, making the payments and waited many months for an appointment at the “questura”, (local immigration office).

On the day, it took some persuading before they agreed he should be able to apply but then the whole thing was stymied because the national computer system would not accept a UK national. I am in no doubt, incidentally, that had he been successful he would have had to hand in his WA  “carta di soggiorno”.

This was back in February 2022 and nothing has budged since then. In the meantime, it is a question of pay up or give up for any students in the same boat as my son. There is, in fact, a very high take up of the EU long-term permit in Italy so my son’s non-EU contemporaries do not face this barrier.

Long-term permit: The EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non- EU nationals 

Completing his studies was stalled by a year until finally his Italian citizenship came through after waiting over 5 years.  I also meet working adults in Italy with the EU long-term permit who use it for work purposes, such as in Belgium and Germany, and for family reunification.  

Withdrawal agreement card should double up as EU long-term residency permit

A statement that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries should be able to hold multiple statuses is not that easy to find. You have to scroll quite far down the page on the European Commission’s website to find a link to an explanatory document. It has been languishing there since March 2022 but so far not proved very useful.

It has been pointed out to the Commission that the document needs to be multilingual not just in English and “branded” as an official communication from the Commission so it can be used as a stand-alone. But having an official document you can wave at the immigration authorities is going to get you nowhere if Member State governments haven’t acknowledged that WA beneficiaries can hold multiple statuses and issue clear guidance and make sure systems are modified accordingly.

I can appreciate this is no mean feat in countries where they do not usually allow multiple statuses or, even if they do, issue more than one residency card. Of course, other statuses we should be able to hold are not confined to EU long-term residency, they should include the EU Blue Card, dual nationality, family member of an EU citizen…

Personally, I do think people should be up in arms about this. The UK and EU negotiated an agreement which not only removed our freedom of movement as EU citizens, it also failed to automatically give us equal mobility rights to other third country nationals. We are now neither one thing nor the other.

It would seem the only favour the Withdrawal Agreement did us was we didn’t have to go out and come back in again! Brits who follow us, fortunate enough to get a visa, may well pip us at the post being able to apply for EU long-term residency as clearly defined non-EU citizens.

I have been bringing this issue to the attention of the embassy in Rome, FCDO and the European Commission for three years now. I hope we will see some movement soon.

Finally, there should be no dragging of heels assuming we will all take citizenship of our host countries. Actually, we shouldn’t have to, my son was fortunate, even though it took a long time. Others may not meet the requirements or wish to give up their UK citizenship in countries which do not permit dual nationality.  

Bureaucratic challenges may seem almost insurmountable but why not simply allow our Withdrawal Agreement permanent card to double up as the EU long-term residency permit.

Clarissa Killwick,

Since 2016, Clarissa has been a citizens’ rights campaigner and advocate with the pan-European group, Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
She is co-founder and co-admin of the FB group in Italy, Beyond Brexit – UK citizens in Italy.

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