Different types of permit....

Hi Danielrushton, welcome on Expat-blog!

Concerning your job search, i suggest you to have a look at this article : Work in Norway, there are information and useful links that i am sure will help you to find a job in Norway.

You should view the Visas in Norway as well.

I wish you good luck and i hope other members will be able to advise you.
Christine

danielrushton wrote:

So...I am a 22 year old male looking to move to Norway (Grimstad, Agder) to live with my Norwegian girlfriend, and I'm a little confused about how best to go about finding work and especially gaining a permit. I have around £3000 savings and my girlfriend is a trainee healthcare worker on around 200,000kr per year. Would this be sufficient to allow me to stay longer than the 90 day 'finding work' period I'm normally allowed? because im nervous that wont be long enough to find a job, especially as I am only just learning Norwegian. Also, should I just register with the police when I've found a job or straight away, or even online in England? And what are my chances of finding work? My girlfriend seems fairly positive, but with only very basic Norwegian I'm not so sure! Also if it helps with the permits I have a batchelors degree...thanks for any replies in advance!

EU citizens are no longer required to register for residency permits at all.  EU citizens don't need work permits either.  When I came to Norway two year ago, I got a job first, then a personnummer (National Insurance number) by registering with the police/tax office, then I opened a bank account.  Opening the bank account was harder than the other two put together, to be honest.

Your chances of finding work will vary depending on what your degree is in, and what sort of network you have in place to help you find a job.  Generally speaking, having a native English speaker on board is something Norwegian companies /want/.  A native English speaker showing a great willingness to learn Norwegian as an absolute must.  Of course, this gives you a competitive advantage (not only over other immigrants, but also over other Norwegian applicants), not a right to a job; you'll still need to jump through all the usual hoops.

When I moved to Bergen two years ago, I was in the same position as you: newly graduated, very little local knowledge, very little Norwegian.  I've left advice in other threads abut how I found a job, and what I would do differently now, so take a look/do a search.  If there is anything specific, the people on this forum are great at giving advice based on their experience of Norway.

Thanks sctld, hopefully I'll have some luck in finding a job then will sort out the personnummer and dreaded bank account, but at least I don't have to worry about any permits. My degree is in history and politics by the way, not exactly much use! but I will take any job that pays the way to start with then work from there. Thanks again, I'll keep the forum updated!