Arrival Checklist for Norway: ID Number, Tax Card, Bank and Police

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

In Norway, almost every practical step depends on one thing: a Norwegian identification number. This checklist follows the UDI and Study in Norway pages consulted in October 2026 and puts the steps in a sensible order. Your institution may give its own instructions, and some universities book the police appointments for new students, so follow them first. The permit itself is explained in the student visa guide for Norway.

1. Check your status and register

What you do first depends on your passport.

• Students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland hold a study permit and must go to the police to have the residence card made, as described in the visa guide.
• EU and EEA citizens are registered by the police. UDI describes the registration certificate as a document confirming that the police have registered you as an EU/EEA national living in Norway. It says you only register once, however long you stay, and that the certificate does not prove your right of residence. When you apply for registration you must also apply to the Tax Administration for an identification number and a tax deduction card.

The visa guide has the deadlines and steps for both groups.

2. Get your identification number

Norwegian authorities and companies ask for an identification number. UDI explains the two kinds:

• A national identity number is for people who are residents or hold a residence permit and will live in Norway for more than six months. The Tax Administration decides who is entitled to one.
• A D number is a temporary identification number from the Tax Administration, for people who need a number but do not qualify for the national one.

UDI says a D number can be used for services such as opening a bank account, getting a general practitioner, renting housing or paying taxes. For residence permit holders without a national identity number, the number can be issued by the Tax Administration, typically about two weeks after you meet the police to order your residence card. If you are later given a national identity number, use it instead of the D number. A DUF number is not a D number: it is only your registration number in UDI's application system.

3. Open a bank account

Study in Norway lists a Norwegian bank account among the things you need to work, because it is where your pay goes. Most new students begin with the institution's deposit account described in the visa guide, and move to an ordinary account later. Banks set their own requirements, so ask your bank which documents it wants. As UDI notes, an identification number is one of the things a bank may require.

4. Get a tax deduction card if you will work

Study in Norway says everyone who works in Norway needs an identification number, a tax deduction card issued by the Tax Administration, and a Norwegian bank account. Do the steps in that order. Non-EU students on a study permit are automatically allowed to work part time: up to 20 hours a week during the semester and full time in holidays, according to Study in Norway. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens may work as much as they like, but the site stresses that you are first of all a full-time student. See scholarships and student jobs in Norway.

5. Sort out health cover and housing

If you will stay for 12 months or more, the visa guide explains that you normally become a member of the National Insurance Scheme. For shorter stays you need private insurance, and EU and EEA students can check whether the European Health Insurance Card covers them. Housing is covered in student housing in Norway. You also need a postal address, because the authorities send letters there.

Order in practice

1. Police appointment (registration or residence card).
2. Identification number from the Tax Administration.
3. Bank account.
4. Tax deduction card, if you plan to work.

Our catalogue lists 885 programmes at 75 Norwegian institutions, and 27 of them are taught in English, but the arrival steps are the same wherever you study.

Where to look next

• Student visa for Norway
• Working in Norway after graduation
• How much it costs to study in Norway

Official sources

• UDI: D number: national identity number and D number
• UDI: Registration certificate for EU/EEA nationals
• Study in Norway: Working while studying: ID number, tax card, bank account

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.