Legality
Lauren (formerly known as L.J.) was notified today that her visa has been granted!! Yay, we’re both legal now and can be paid.
Well, there are a few more steps she has to go through. She takes her passport and notification to the UDI (Directorate of Immigration). There an employee will apply the visa “sticker.” Next she’ll have to go to Folkeregistrat/Likningkontoret and apply for a personal number, a tax id number, and register herself and her address in Oslo. It’ll take about 4 weeks and she’ll get a paper giving her personal number (birth date [mine is 040881]+ digits gathered from b’d digits) and within the next week she’ll get her skattekort. This lists her tax “bracket” and tells the government how much her of paycheck to take for taxes. Personal number is similar to a ssn and shows you are a legal resident.
Wahoo! It’s so nice to be legal! Ideally, you should apply for your visa at least 5 months before entry to the foreign country, this applies at least to residential visa requests. While Americans can visit Norway w/o a visa for 3 months as a visitor and will not be “hunted” down on the last day, if you leave after that time they may detain you. They even have the right to arrest you as you have extended your stay illegally.
For both Lauren and I, add all the marriage and name change documents(more complicated if you amend your first name like I did). For me, and Lauren someday, there is paperwork to give a child born abroad dual or American citizenship. Thankfully the stack of papers I have looks more menacing than it is. The hospital will give a certificate of birth of course but then there is something to be done at the Folkeregistrat and then application for passport, etc. Phew.
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