When a child is born in Norway, the midwife or doctor automatically reports the birth to Skatteetaten (the Norwegian Tax Administration), and the child receives a fødselsnummer (national ID number). Barnetrygd (child benefit), a fastlege (regular GP) and contact from the helsestasjon (public child health clinic) also happen on their own for most families. But there are some things you as foreign parents must do actively: declare farskap (paternity) if you are not married, choose a name within seks måneder (six months) of the birth – and most important of all: apply for a residence permit for the child as soon as possible, because it does not come automatically. Here is the checklist in the right order.
Birth notification and fødselsnummer happen automatically
You do not need to report the birth yourselves when the child is born with a midwife or doctor present. The midwife or doctor sends the birth notification to Skatteetaten, the agency that maintains Folkeregisteret (the National Population Register) – the central register of everyone who lives in Norway.
Once the birth notification is approved in Folkeregisteret, the child receives a fødselsnummer of eleven digits. You will then receive a notice to choose a name, and once the name is registered, you will receive written confirmation of the child's name and fødselsnummer.
There is one exception: if the child was born without healthcare personnel present, the mother must report the birth herself within én måned (one month) by appearing in person at a skattekontor (tax office) with valid ID.
Not married? Declare farskap before the child is seks måneder old
If you are not married to each other, farskap (paternity) or medmorskap (co-motherhood) must be declared for the child to have a legal father or co-mother. You can do this digitally through NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, which manages welfare benefits), at https://www.nav.no/erklaer-farskap – from uke 22 (pregnancy week twenty-two) until the child is seks måneder old.
The mother starts the declaration, and both parents identify themselves with an electronic ID. Both must be over 18 år (eighteen years old) and have a Norwegian fødselsnummer or d-nummer (a temporary ID number for people without a Norwegian fødselsnummer). If you cannot use the digital solution, farskap can be declared on paper, for example at the skattekontor or NAV.
Farskap gives the child inheritance rights, child support and contact time – and if the father is a Norwegian citizen, farskap must be established for the child to become a Norwegian citizen. Read more in the guide on farskapserklæring and foreldreansvar (declaring paternity and parental responsibility).
Choose a name before the child turns seks måneder
Those of you with foreldreansvar (parental responsibility) must report the child's name no later than when the child turns seks måneder. The deadline is set out in navneloven (the Name Act) § 2, and you report the name digitally via Skatteetaten. If you share foreldreansvar, the other parent must approve the name digitally.
If you do not report a valid name by the deadline, the child automatically gets the mother's surname. You will not be fined, but the child could end up with a surname you did not choose. So report the name as soon as you have decided.
Apply for a residence permit for the child – this does not happen automatically
A child born in Norway to foreign parents does not automatically get a residence permit. UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet, the Directorate of Immigration), which processes residence applications, states that the parents must sort out the child's residence status as soon as possible after the birth. There are three paths:
- Apply for a residence permit for the child (familieinnvandring, family immigration) – the usual path when the parents are not EEA citizens.
- Register the child as an EU/EEA citizen – if the child is a citizen of an EU/EEA country through a parent.
- Apply for a residence card for the child as a family member of an EU/EEA citizen.
It pays to apply early: if you submit the family immigration application within ett år (one year) of the birth, the income requirement (underholdskravet, the maintenance requirement) does not apply. Note that ett år is not an application deadline – the rule is "as soon as possible" – but it is the cutoff for avoiding the income requirement.
The application costs a fee. From 1. januar 2026, children under 18 år pay half the fee: 5 950 kroner (Norwegian kroner, NOK) for a first-time family immigration application, versus 11 900 kroner for adults. If the parent in Norway has a residence permit following an asylum application and does not yet have permanent residence, the fee is 3 900 kroner for a child and 7 800 kroner for an adult. The fee for children is new as of 1. januar 2026, so older websites claiming children are exempt from the fee are outdated.
The application can be submitted from within Norway: the requirement of lawful stay to apply from inside the country does not apply to children born in Norway (utlendingsforskriften § 10-1, the Immigration Regulations). If you are unsure, ask UDI before travelling out of the country with the child.
Exception: Norwegian parent, EEA child or collective protection
If the mother or the father is a Norwegian citizen, the child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth (statsborgerloven § 4, the Citizenship Act). In that case the child needs no residence permit – you instead order a Norwegian passport. Place of birth alone does not confer Norwegian citizenship – it is the parents' citizenship that decides.
If the child is an EU/EEA citizen through a parent, it does not get a permit from UDI, but is registered under the EU/EEA rules with the police. A residence card as a family member of an EU/EEA citizen costs 0 kroner.
If the parents have kollektiv beskyttelse (collective protection), for example as displaced persons from Ukraine, the child likewise does not get protection automatically. If you live in a mottak (reception centre), you hand the hospital's birth confirmation to the staff, who forward it so that UDI registers an application for the child. If you live outside a mottak, you go in person to the local police with the birth confirmation. This, too, should be done as soon as possible after the birth.
Barnetrygd and other money
If the child is born in Norway and the mother is registered as resident here, she gets barnetrygd automatically – without applying. Barnetrygd is 2 012 kroner per month per child from 1. februar 2026 and runs from the month after the birth. If the mother is not registered as resident in Norway, the father is to receive the money, or EEA rules apply to the family, you must apply yourselves through NAV. Rates and details are in the overview of barnetrygd in 2026 (child benefit).
If you are not entitled to foreldrepenger (parental benefit), you may get engangsstønad (a lump-sum grant): a one-time payment of 92 648 kroner per child for births from 1. januar 2023. You must have been a continuous member of folketrygden (the National Insurance Scheme) for at least 12 måneder (twelve months) before the due date, and you must apply no later than 6 måneder after the birth – otherwise you normally lose the right. The mother can apply already from uke 22 of the pregnancy.
Foreldrepenger requires that you have had income in at least 6 of the last 10 månedene (ten months) before the period starts, and an annual income of at least half of grunnbeløpet (the National Insurance basic amount) – 68 275 kroner. A couple with one child can choose 49 uker (forty-nine weeks) at 100 percent coverage or 61 uker (sixty-one weeks) at 80 percent. Read more in the guide on foreldrepenger (parental benefit).
Helsestasjon and fastlege are arranged for you
The helsestasjon (public child health clinic) is a free, statutory health service run by the municipality for children from 0 til 5 år (zero to five years old). You do not need to register – the helsestasjon contacts the family itself. The first consultation is a home visit when the child is 7 til 10 dager (seven to ten days) old, and the standard programme has 14 consultations until the child is 4 år (four years old), with measurements and vaccines from the childhood vaccination programme. See the full programme in the guide on helsestasjon for babies 0–5 år.
The child also gets a fastlege (regular GP) automatically. If you do not choose one yourselves, children under 16 år (sixteen years old) are placed on the list of whoever has foreldreansvar – and if you share foreldreansvar and have the same address, the child is placed on the mother's list. You can change the child's fastlege at any time via Helsenorge.
Passport and travel document for the child
If the child is a Norwegian citizen, you order a passport through the police. From 1. januar 2026 the passport costs 510 kroner for children under 16 år. If you share foreldreansvar, both of you must attend in person to give consent.
If the child is not a Norwegian citizen, it usually needs a passport or travel document from the country it is a citizen of. Contact your home country's embassy or consulate in Norway to order a passport for a newborn – procedures vary from country to country. Check with UDI which documents the application requires, so the passport is ready in time.
