Settlement in Norway for refugees

People who have been granted a residence permit in Norway must live in a municipality. You can either get help from IMDi to find a settlement municipality, or find accommodation yourself and apply to the municipality to get the lease and settlement approved.

From decision to settlement (the settlement processes)

If you can find accommodation and manage financially on your own, you can live in any municipality in Norway. In order to be eligible to take part in the Introduction Programme, receive introduction benefit and other financial benefits from the municipality, settlement must take place through an agreement between the municipality and the state (IMDi).

Settlement with public assistance

Settlement with public assistance is a voluntary service offered by the Norwegian state. You will only receive one offer of settlement in a municipality, and this could be in any municipality in Norway. Under Section 46 of the Integration Act, applicants cannot appeal the decision on settlement. 

You must have a residence permit in order to be settled with public assistance, and the permit must have been granted on the basis of an application for protection. To the extent possible, IMDi will take into account close family, education and career plans and any other needs in the choice of settlement municipality. 

Do you live in an asylum reception center or emergency accommodation?

If you are staying in an asylum reception centre, in emergency accommodation or in alternative accommodation, you don't need to apply to be settled, as you will automatically be allocated a settlement municipality. This happens after the asylum reception centre or emergency accommodation has held a settlement interview with you. During the interview, the reception centre staff will register relevant information about you that is shared with IMDi and the settlement municipality, and you will receive information and guidance about the settlement process. IMDi and the municipality cooperate if you live in alternative accommodation, and it varies which of them registers the relevant information used in the settlement work.

The Norwegian Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) will decide which municipality you are going to be settled in. 

If you are staying in private accommodation, you must apply to be settled with public assistance. 

Agreed self-settlement

If you find a place to live on your own, you must contact the municipality where the accommodation is located to clarify the possibility of being settled there. You should not sign a housing contract until you have clarified this with the municipality. It is up to the individual municipality to decide whether to allow agreed self-settlement and, if relevant, whether to impose restrictions on the number of such agreements. 

The municipality will then contact IMDi to determine whether you can be settled with public assistance in the municipality. If you are not in the asylum reception centre system, you must nevertheless apply for settlement with public assistance. 

If you are already staying in private accommodation (not at an asylum reception centre) that you would like the municipality to consider with regard to the ‘agreed self-settlement’ scheme, please contact the relevant municipality. If the municipality accepts the accommodation, the municipality will contact IMDi. In addition to contacting the municipality, you must also remember to apply for settlement with public assistance with IMDi 

When you are staying in private accommodation

The fact that you are staying in private housing means that you are not using the UDI’s accommodation services (asylum reception centre, emergency accommodation or alternative accommodation) while you are waiting to be granted a residence permit. You must have a residence permit in order to be settled with public assistance, and the permit must have been granted on the basis of an application for protection.

Examples of places to stay include: 

• with family members who already live in a municipality                             
• with other private individuals who have offered you a place to stay               
• in your own, rented accommodation

If you are staying in private accommodation, you must contact IMDi and apply to be settled. The application form is a little further down the page.

If you don’t contact IMDi within six months of being notified by the police that you have been granted a residence permit, you will lose the opportunity to be settled with public assistance.