Nina's Blog - Monday 16th February 2026

Monday 16th February 2026, 11:52

A couple of days ago I suddenly thought about my residence card. When I checked it I discovered that it expires in October. As I am expecting to be out of the country from May to September I think I really should renew now it just in case of unexpected changes to travel plans.

So that's today's must do task. I got part way through the application and found that UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet, Norwegian Direktorate of Immigration) wants to know where I have been travelled outside Norway for the last four years if it adds up to more than a year. I really don't know so now I'm trawling through my picture archive and blog to try to figure out what my entry and exit dates were since the beginning of 2022.

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ninalanyon · 61-69, T

Monday 16th February 2026, 20:28

It took me ages to trawl through my pictures and blog to track down my entry and exit dates for the last four years. But that's now done and I have an appointment at the police station to get a new card. Can't do it all online because they take a photograph there and that interesting because for a passport you can take a digital picture with your mobile and send it to the passport office via their web page. I wonder if it makes any meaningful difference to the security of the system.

Also I don't really understand the purpose of the card as it has to be accompanied by one's passport if it presented at the border. The UDI website even pints out that losing the card or failing to renew it doesn't affect my permanent resident status. Seems like a pointless waste of effort for all concerned. And it's even worse for most immigrants to Norway, they have to renew their residence cards every two years whereas Britons only have to do it every five years as specified in the separasjonsavtale after Brexit.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

It rather looks like a system that might have had a real purpose once but has been overtaken by rules, requirements and methods, so the Police are left lumbered with a bit of bureaucracy as much a nuisance to them as you!

Anyway, why are the Police involved? It doesn't seem their remit.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArishMell The police in Norway are simply the state organization that has facilities to do such things. They are by design present all over the country so why not use them. For instance if I want an attested copy of a document I can simply go to the nearest police station and ask. They will make a photocopy and stamp and sign it, no need for a notary public, etc. I did that last year when my solicitor in the UK asked for a certified copy of a document for a probate case. By the way it was free.

In the case of applying for residence cards, etc., it is slightly more involved and the larger police stations have a dedicated office for it with personnel who only deal with immigration matters.

Someone has to do it and it must be done in secure locations by appropriately authorized people so why not use an existing organization that already has that?

How would a foreigner deal with immigration matters in the UK?

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@ninalanyon Ii see. Thankyou! The UK leaves individual services to be run by their own offices, but I don't how immigration matters are dealt with. The Police are involved only with the law.

(I think in Germany you even have to register your address with the Police, whether native or immigrant.)

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@ArishMell I think registering one's address with the police in Germany is the same logic as the face to face part of immigration services being handled by the police in Norway. Change of address here is done online. But it's probably slightly different in Germany because of there greater sensitivity regarding privacy. Here we have a national population register (folkeregister) that lists all residents and their primary address. If you move you are required to inform the registry with three months. I'm not sure if there is a national population register in Germany or if it is done separately by each state.

Such registers are common in European countries.

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