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.