I'm a U.S. citizen that graduated with a dental degree from Poland (so, within EU/EEA), and I'm looking to go to Norway on a job seekers visa. I have some connections for a job opportunity, but they require that I learn Norwegian to a certain proficiency, so I'm planning on heading into Norway in March in order to pick up the language faster.
I've read that the terms give you a maximum of 6 months on said visa, which begins counting on the "date of entry". My plan is to enter Norway first on the 3 month Schengen visa, and apply for the job seekers visa halfway through the 3 month duration while I am in Norway(it takes about a month to process). When/if the job seekers visa comes through, would they still count the 6 month period to start from when I entered in March, despite being on a different visa?
I contacted UDI via email, but unfortunately their answer was rather vague so I was hoping someone here may have some insight on this.
Job Seekers Visa Terms
Welcome to the Forum 
You can't apply for a job seekers visa while you are in Norway, you can only do that when you are in your home country.
I hope that is of help,
SimCityAt
Expat Team
UDI actually has this information on their website. I just plugged in all the information you stated above:
- skilled worker
- from the USA
- want to apply from within the country
- didn't study here, haven't been on another residency visa
and it says you cannot apply for this type of visa from within Norway, as the previous post says. I can't add the screenshot I made but possibly this URL will show the results I got:
https://www.udi.no/en/want-to-apply/wor … &c=usa
Interesting, maybe I misinterpreted the requirements? Because previously I selected that I qualified as a skilled worker and have legal stay due to the fact that when I clicked on the link providing the qualifying criteria, I thought I fulfilled them. I'll quote the sections which I thought pertained to me, maybe you could help confirm whether or not they do.
According to the UDI explanations, skilled workers must have:
- completed education or degree from a university/ university college, for example a bachelor's degree as an engineer or nurse
(in my case, I have a bachelors of dental surgery from Poland, for which I have received a qualification from the Norwegian health ministry stating that I have equivalency and can work as a dentist in Norway)
As for legal stay:
Either of the following:
- hold a residence permit in Norway, or
- already have a visa for Norway or another Schengen country, or
- do not need a visa to visit Norway and have been in the Schengen area for less than 90 days when you hand in the application to the police in person, or
- hold a residence permit in another Schengen country and have been in Norway for less than 90 days when you hand in the application to the police in person.
(In this case, I believe the third would qualify me? According to the link for "do not need a visa to visit Norway", it states that the USA is one of the countries which does not require a visa)
I apologize for the wall of text, but I'd like to confirm that I haven't misunderstood their criteria for handing in the app from within Norway.
Given that getting this wrong has potential legal repercussions for you, I definitely do not want to say you have it right or wrong as you understand it. I also don't personally know anyone who came to Norway on that type of visa (my friends are mostly EEA citizens already or came as spouses), so I don't have any anecdotal experiences I can share.
You said that the email was vague- in what way was it vague?
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