Waiting phase

Most applications for collective protection are processed automatically and not by a case officer. 

Some applications must be considered by a case officer. A case officer will consider your application if

• there is documentation or information missing,
• you are not a Ukrainian national, or
• you have not provided the correct address in Norway.

If your application is processed automatically, you can expect to receive an answer within a short period of time. 

If your application is considered by a case officer, the waiting time will be longer. 

• On The Directorate of Immigration's website you can read about waiting times for applications for collective protection.

If your application does not meet the criteria for collective protection and your application is considered on an individual basis, the waiting time will be significantly longer. Unfortunately we cannot indicate how long it will take for your application to be decided. 

You are not allowed to work as long as your application for collective protection is being processed. Nor can you apply to work while your application is being processed.

You are only allowed to work if you are granted collective protection.

• Read information from the Norwegian Tax Administration about what you have to do if you want to work after you have been granted collective protection.

As an asylum seeker, you can only work if you have been granted a work permit.

• Read about how to apply for a work permit while waiting for an answer to your application for ordinary protection on The Directorate of Immigration's website.

The UDI is responsible for your subsistence while you are staying in a reception centre and until you are settled in a municipality. 

If you are staying in private housing and are granted alternative accommodation by the UDI and the municipality, you can receive money for living expenses and subsistence from the municipality. 

If you are not staying in a reception centre, and are in a situation without money for food or a place to stay right now, you can contact the NAV office in the municipality you are staying in. 

• Read more about financial assistance and who is eligible on NAV’s website.

Children aged between 6 and 16 have a right and obligation to take primary and lower secondary education in Norway. This also applies to children staying in an asylum reception centre who are waiting for a decision on an application for residence. The municipality is responsible for providing primary and lower secondary education. 

Young people under the age of 18 who have completed primary and lower secondary education are entitled to upper secondary education on application. Contact the county authority for information about applications and the education available. 

Children under school age will be entitled to a kindergarten place when the family has been granted a residence permit and have been settled in a municipality.   
Many reception centres offer different activities adapted to children’s age and development. Ask the reception centre you are staying at about the activities it offers. 

• Read a description of what asylum reception centres offer on the Directorate of Immigration's website.
• You can read more about the Norwegian kindergarten and education system here. 

Different applications for residence trigger different rights to Norwegian language tuition for adults during the waiting phase. People seeking collective protection will be entitled to tuition in the Norwegian language and social studies only after they are settled in a municipality. If you apply for collective protection and want to learn Norwegian during the waiting phase, there are several voluntary organisations that may be able to help you.

• Read more about learning Norwegian here.

An asylum reception centre is a voluntary, simple and temporary place to stay while you wait for an answer to your application for collective protection. 

• Read a description of what asylum reception centres offer on the Directorate of Immigration's website.

How long people stay in an asylum reception centre varies. We do not know how long it will take before you can move from the asylum reception centre to a municipality. 

Many people are arriving in Norway from Ukraine now, and the UDI is unable to consider applications to relocate between asylum reception centres.

Even if the UDI does not consider relocation applications between reception centres, you can still choose to stay in private housing once you have registered at the National Arrival Centre or have stayed at a reception centre.  In such case, you must notify the reception centre/UDI and the police of your new address.  

• Read more about moving from an asylum reception centre on The Directorate of Immigration's website.

Emergency accommodation is an accommodation option for asylum seekers. It is used when many asylum seekers arrive at the same time in Norway. The accommodation is of a simple standard and will ensure your basic needs.  

• Read a description of what emergency accommodation you will be offered on The Directorate of Immigration's website.

You will be notified about when and where you will move to from the emergency accommodation. How long people stay there varies. We do not know how long it will take before you can move.