Norwegian Residence Card Photo (oppholdskort, Politiet takes it): size and requirements
The Norwegian Residence Card Photo size is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches). Bakgrunnen skal vere jamt belyst (evenly lit); no colour named, light grey is our rendering choice; head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height. Photo taken within the last 6 months. Last verified 2026-10-07 against Utlendingsdirektoratet (UDI, Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) and Politiet, with ICAO Doc 9303.
For the oppholdskort (residence card) issued to non-EU/EEA nationals with a Norwegian residence permit, photographed by the police when the card is ordered. Not for a Norwegian passport or ID card, and not for a visa, which the mission photographs.
The police take the residence card photo at your appointment. See all Norway documents.
Requirements at a glance
- Size
- 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 inches)
- Head height
- Head 70 to 80 percent of the photo height (No millimetres are published (the police take the photo; the UDI applies Politiet's quality sheet, 'Hodet dekker ca 70% av bildet'); ICAO Doc 9303: 70 to 80 per cent)
- Background
- Bakgrunnen skal vere jamt belyst (evenly lit); no colour named, light grey is our rendering choice
- Expression
- Neutral, mouth closed, eyes open, looking at the camera
- Glasses
- Not allowed
- Head covering
- Only for religious or medical reasons; full face visible
- Photo age
- Taken within the last 6 months
- We deliver
- 827 x 1063 px (600 DPI), plus a 4 x 6 inch print sheet
What trips people up
- CheckYou do not bring a photo: 'Politiet vil ta bilde av deg til kortet.' If you applied at a mission abroad, the police take a fresh picture for the card once you are in Norway.
- CheckUDI's general rule covers every immigration document: 'Du skal ikkje ha med eige bilde når du søker om visum, opphaldsløyve eller reisedokument. Politiet eller utanriksstasjonen tar bilde av deg.' It applies to children as well.
- CheckThe picture must meet the same quality requirements as a passport photo: glasses and head coverings off (religious or medical exceptions aside), ears and eyebrows visible, neutral expression, mouth closed, face evenly lit.
- CheckThe card carries your photo, signature and fingerprints and is valid as long as the permit (two years for permanent residence, ten for permanent right of residence); order a new one before it expires.
Source and verification
No national rule published; ICAO 9303 standard applies. Last checked 2026-10-07 (archived copy dated 2026-04-12) at Utlendingsdirektoratet (UDI, Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) and Politiet, with ICAO Doc 9303.
Politiet vil ta bilde av deg til kortet. Se vår informasjon om krav til bildet.
Kortet inneholder blant annet et foto av deg, din signatur og fingeravtrykk.
Du skal ikkje ha med eige bilde når du søker om visum, opphaldsløyve eller reisedokument. Politiet eller utanriksstasjonen tar bilde av deg når du møter opp til timen din. Dette gjeld alle, også barn.
Viss du får opphaldsløyve i Noreg, vil politiet ta eit nytt bilde av deg til opphaldskortet ditt, viss du leverte søknaden din ved ein utanriksstasjon.
Krava til bilde for visum, opphaldsløyve og reisedokument er dei same som krava til ansiktsfoto i pass og nasjonale ID-kort.
Briller og hodeplagg* skal ikkje nyttast.
Submitted portraits should be 45.0 mm x 35.0 mm (1.77 in x 1.38 in) in dimension.
The crown-to-chin portion of the facial image shall be 70 to 80 per cent of the longest dimension defined for Zone V, maintaining the aspect ratio between the crown-to-chin and ear-to-ear details of the face of the holder.
Quotes 1-2 are Norwegian (Bokmål) from the UDI page 'Oppholdskort' at source.url; quotes 3-6 are Nynorsk from the UDI page 'Bilde/passfoto' https://www.udi.no/ord-og-begreper/bildepassfoto/ that it links. udi.no answers an Azure WAF captcha to curl and to the text proxy, so both were read from Wayback snapshots: 2026-04-12 (sources/no/udi-oppholdskort.txt) and 2026-03-14 (sources/no/udi-bilde-passfoto.txt). Quotes 7-8 are ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3 (sources/icao/, Wayback 2024-09-12). UDI publishes no millimetres; size, dpi, background and photo age are ICAO-style defaults and our rendering choices, glasses and head covering follow the UDI/Politiet quality list. printsRequired is left undefined. udi.no is not matched by the validator host rule; the icao-default confidence exempts it.
We are an independent service, not a government website. Applying for a passport or visa is done with your government; we only prepare the photo.
Frequently asked questions
