UDI does not set one salary floor for every work permit. Pay must be at least what is normal for the job in Norway, and for some university-level jobs UDI now points to two specific figures (according to EY, from 1 May 2026).
People often ask what salary they need to get a work permit in Norway. The honest answer from UDI's own texts is that there is no single number for everyone. The pay offered must not be worse than what is normal for that occupation in Norway, and how "normal" is worked out depends on whether a collective agreement or pay scale applies.
Short answer: For a residence permit as an employee, pay and working conditions must not be poorer than normal in Norway. A collective agreement or pay scale sets the minimum where one exists. Where none exists and normal pay cannot be shown for a job requiring higher education, UDI's guidance points to the level of the KS Basic Collective Agreement: NOK 545,400 per year for a three-year university or college level job and NOK 624,700 for a five-year level job (according to EY, from 1 May 2026). These two figures are not a general minimum salary for every work permit.
According to UDI's guideline, the rate in the agreement or scale is the minimum for the occupation, even if the employer is not itself covered by it.
Pay must not be inferior to what is normal for the occupation and the place. The employer and applicant must be able to show what that is.
UDI's guidance falls back on the KS Basic Collective Agreement level. The figures are NOK 545,400 (3-year) and NOK 624,700 (5-year), according to EY from 1 May 2026.
On its skilled workers page, UDI says that pay and working conditions for a skilled worker "must not be poorer than is normal in Norway". The page gives no salary figure for skilled workers. The one amount it does print, NOK 341,373 per year before tax, appears only for other categories: athletes and coaches, religious leaders in a special situation, and self-employed people with a company in Norway. It should not be read as the skilled-worker salary threshold. The page shows no update date. Our guides on the skilled worker permit and on whether work experience counts as skilled explain the other conditions.
The detail sits in UDI guideline 2010-129, which describes what counts as pay for permits as an employee or service provider. As we read it, the main points are:
The guideline is addressed to the police, the foreign service missions and UDI, so it describes how the authorities assess applications. The page shows no publication date.
A separate UDI guideline page, 2010-129V on pay when there is no collective agreement and normal pay has not been substantiated, sets the minimum by reference to salary grades in a Basic Collective Agreement (grade 42 for a bachelor's level, grade 47 for a master's level). UDI's page on pay and working conditions states the amounts directly:
That page covers only university and college level positions. It says nothing about vocational skilled workers, explains no deductions or exceptions, and shows no date. An advisory firm, EY, reported in June 2026 that UDI had raised salary thresholds for work-purpose residence permits, announcing the change on 4 June 2026 with effect from 1 May 2026. We could not confirm the wording of that announcement on a UDI page, so the figures above are taken from the UDI guideline pages themselves.
Related guides: Work and residence permits: an overview · Work in Norway without a job offer
General information can help you understand the rules, but it cannot determine whether you personally qualify to work in Norway. Your citizenship, current residence status, education, work experience and professional qualifications can all affect your options.
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About this guide. Written by JobsNorway (Gravityrock AS, Norway) from the official sources listed above. We use AI tools to help with research and drafting; every statement about the rules is checked against its source before publishing, and the date at the top shows when that was last done. We are not lawyers, and this is general information, not legal advice. Found an error or an outdated rule? Email support@jobsnorway.no and we will correct it.