If you are a national from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you will typically need to be granted a residence permit to live in Norway. 

There are two types of residence in Norway; the first is a temporary residence. This is typically granted to people who wish to work, study or reunite with family in Norway. Those moving to Norway for the first time will be granted temporary residence. 

Depending on your application type, you will need to fulfil several conditions. Once your residence is granted by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), you will need to meet a number of requirements to remain a Norwegian resident. 

One of these is ensuring you don’t leave Norway for too long. When granted residence, you will be told how long you can remain outside Norway without losing residence. As a rule of thumb, if the permit is less than a year, you must stay in Norway for half of that. 

If a permit is granted for several years, the total time spent abroad must not exceed 182 days during a period of 365 days. 

So, what happens should you fall ill on a holiday or trip home and be unable to return to Norway in time? 

“The UDI may decide that you will lose your residence permit if you stay too long outside Norway. The purpose behind the stay abroad will be taken into consideration, but the fact that the stay is due to medical reasons will not necessarily imply that a decision of revocation will not be made. A concrete assessment of the overall situation will be made,” the UDI told The Local Norway. 

This means the UDI will consider your situation when deciding whether to revoke your residence permit. However, there is no guarantee that being outside of the country for medical reasons will prevent the UDI from stripping you of your residence card. 

In cases where residence is revoked, the person losing residence may be eligible for another type of permit, such as a family or work permit. 

Permanent residence has more rights than temporary residence and lets holders spend even longer outside of Norway. 

“The same rules apply to everyone holding a permanent residency in Norway. Hence one cannot stay abroad for a continuous period of two years or more.

Furthermore, one cannot have several stays that totally exceed two years or more during a four-year period. Stays lasting less than two months per calendar year are not deemed to constitute stays abroad in this context. If one stays in Norway for a continuous period of 15 months, one can stay abroad for a new period of up to two years,” the UDI wrote in an email. 

In practical terms, being able to spend so long outside of Norway means that illness shouldn’t be a factor if you go over the rules as a permanent residence holder. 

The illness of a family member, for both residence types, wouldn’t exempt somebody from losing their residence. For residence card holders, though, their overall circumstances would be considered. 

If you do receive notice that the UDI plans to revoke your residence, you can explain why and submit any supporting paperwork. You are also allowed to appeal any decision. Throughout this process, you will have access to legal help.