French Republic vs Kingdom of Norway
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines French Republic and Kingdom of Norway government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- France-Visas — Official visa application portal
Ministry of the Interior (France) - verified
- UDI — Norwegian Directorate of Immigration
Utlendingsdirektoratet (UDI) - verified
- Service-Public.fr — Passeport talent
Direction générale des étrangers en France (DGEF) - verified
- UDI — Skilled workers
UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet) - verified
French Republic
France issues residence permits through préfectures inside France and consulates abroad. The headline skilled route is the Talent Passport (Passeport Talent) with multiple categories covering salaried workers, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and artists. The EU Blue Card (carte bleue européenne) is also available. Family reunification (regroupement familial), student visas, and the long-stay visa equivalent to residence permit (VLS-TS) are the other major categories.
- Official portal
- Ministry of the Interior (France)
- Languages
- French
- Currency
- Euro
Kingdom of Norway
Norway's immigration is administered by the Directorate of Immigration (UDI). As an EEA member (not EU), Norway participates in free movement for EU/EEA nationals. Third-country nationals require a residence permit for skilled workers, with employer sponsorship and a salary meeting the going rate. Self-employment, family immigration, and student permits are also available. Permanent residence after 3 years of continuous legal residence on a work permit.
- Official portal
- Utlendingsdirektoratet (UDI)
- Languages
- Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk)
- Currency
- Norwegian krone
How French Republic and Kingdom of Norway differ
| Dimension | French Republic | Kingdom of Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 6 | 4 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 2 | 1 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 5 | 1 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Talent Passport -> 10-year resident card around year 5 -> naturalisation from around 5 years where integration and language criteria are met. | Skilled worker permit -> permanent residence after about 3 qualifying years -> citizenship after meeting the UDI citizenship residence category. |
| Dominant skilled visa | Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié) | Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert) |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | €39,582/year | No fixed published floor |
| Skilled visa processing time | Service-Public.fr - Passeport talent does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. | UDI - Skilled workers does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route. |
| Skilled visa government fees | France publishes EUR 350 in residence-card tax and stamp duty for Talent Passport salaried workers. | Norway lists NOK 6,300 for an adult skilled-worker residence permit application, with NOK 3,150 for under-18 work applicants and separate first-time family immigration fees. |
| Official languages | French | Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk) |
| Currency | Euro | Norwegian krone |
| Primary regulator | CNB | Advokatforeningen |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 0 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
French Republic
Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié)
- Salary minimum
- €39,582/year
- Government fees
- France publishes EUR 350 in residence-card tax and stamp duty for Talent Passport salaried workers.
- Processing time
- Service-Public.fr - Passeport talent does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Kingdom of Norway
Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert)
- Salary minimum
- No fixed published floor
- Government fees
- Norway lists NOK 6,300 for an adult skilled-worker residence permit application, with NOK 3,150 for under-18 work applicants and separate first-time family immigration fees.
- Processing time
- UDI - Skilled workers does not publish one fixed, route-wide end-to-end processing time that can be stated responsibly for this application route.
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Routes unique to French Republic
Visa routes side by side
French Republic (6)
Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 4 years; renewable.
Talent Passport — Researcher (Passeport Talent Chercheur)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 4 years; renewable.
EU Blue Card (Carte Bleue Européenne)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Up to 4 years; renewable.
Long-Stay Visa — Salaried Worker (VLS-TS Salarié)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 1 year; renewable.
Student Visa (VLS-TS Étudiant)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · 1 year; renewable for duration of studies.
Family Reunification (Regroupement Familial)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · 1 year; renewable. Leads to 10-year carte de résident after 5 years.
Kingdom of Norway (4)
Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert)
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · 1–3 years initially; renewable.
Job-Seeker Visa (Oppholdstillatelse for aa soeke arbeid som faglart)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 1 year (previously 6 months — extended to support recruitment); non-renewable.
International Company Assignment Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 2 years at a time; up to 6 years total, followed by 2 years outside Norway before a new permit of this type.
Student Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse for studier)
Sponsor · Non-settlement · 1 year; renewable for duration of studies.
Frequently asked questions
How long does permanent residence typically take in French Republic vs Kingdom of Norway?+
French Republic: Talent Passport -> 10-year resident card around year 5 -> naturalisation from around 5 years where integration and language criteria are met.. Kingdom of Norway: Skilled worker permit -> permanent residence after about 3 qualifying years -> citizenship after meeting the UDI citizenship residence category.. Both timelines are route-dependent — see each country’s settlement page for the breakdown per visa.
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, French Republic or Kingdom of Norway?+
French Republic’s Talent Passport — Salaried Employee (Passeport Talent Salarié) requires a salary of at least €39,582/year; Kingdom of Norway’s Skilled Worker Residence Permit (Oppholdstillatelse som faglaert) requires No fixed published floor. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Does French Republic or Kingdom of Norway have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
French Republic has more: 2 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 1 for Kingdom of Norway. No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Is the main skilled visa cheaper in French Republic or Kingdom of Norway?+
Comparing the dominant skilled route in each country: France publishes EUR 350 in residence-card tax and stamp duty for Talent Passport salaried workers. By contrast, Norway lists NOK 6,300 for an adult skilled-worker residence permit application, with NOK 3,150 for under-18 work applicants and separate first-time family immigration fees. Those are government fees only and exclude relocation, qualification recognition, and living costs — open each fee page for the itemised breakdown.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "French Republic vs Kingdom of Norway immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/france/vs/norway. Last verified 27 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons