Organisations helping migrants in Norway: NOAS, SEIF, Juss-Buss, Red Cross, who to contact

Information checked on 2 November 2026.

In an emergency in Norway: call 113 if a life is in danger (medical emergency), and 112 for the police. For a doctor outside opening hours, 116 117 puts you through to the nearest out-of-hours medical service (legevakt). For free legal aid on asylum, contact NOAS; for free help with your paperwork, SEIF.

Organisations helping migrants in Norway divide the roles clearly: legal aid, administrative support, health, integration. This guide tells you which one to contact. It is part of our guide to organisations helping migrants in Europe and the Americas.

Organisations helping migrants in Norway, in one table

Compatri is not linked to any of these organisations: we list them because they are recognised references in the country.

The public service, listed separately: UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet), the Directorate of Immigration, handles applications for residence permits, asylum (protection), citizenship, work, study and family immigration, as well as assisted return. Its website is available in English: udi.no.

Asylum and residence: free legal aid

NOAS (Norsk organisasjon for flyktninger og asylsøkere) defends the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Norway. It offers free legal aid in asylum, residence and protection cases, and also covers family immigration, permanent residence, citizenship, assisted return and revocation of status. You can ask it for a non-binding assessment of your case from its legal aid page.

Juss-Buss is a legal aid service run by law students at the University of Oslo. It helps free of charge in individual cases, in immigration law but also employment law, social welfare, tenancy and debt. It takes requests from people living anywhere in Norway, by phone, in person in Oslo or through an online form. It does not handle requests by email.

Everyday paperwork: SEIF

SEIF (Self-help for Immigrants and Refugees) is an independent organisation founded in 1986, with its head office in Oslo and offices in Kristiansand, Ålesund, Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger and Tromsø. All its services are free and confidential. Its staff, from many nationalities, often speak your language. They give information on family reunification, residence permits, work, NAV (social security), taxes, school or housing, refer you to the right office or a lawyer, and help in practice: filling in a form, writing an appeal against a decision, reaching your caseworker, accompanying you to an appointment. SEIF also helps young people threatened with forced marriage or honour-related violence.

Health: getting care without a residence permit

The health centre for undocumented migrants (Helsesenteret for papirløse migranter) in Oslo has been run, financed and governed jointly by Kirkens Bymisjon and the Red Cross for sixteen years. It treats people without a residence permit in Norway: those whose permit or citizenship was revoked, those who stayed after a visa or temporary permit expired, and visiting EEA citizens without a health insurance card. Doctors, psychologists, dentists, midwives and physiotherapists see patients there, largely as volunteers. It also helps patients deal with medical bills.

In an emergency, whatever your status, call 113.

Family, integration and poverty

Røde Kors, the Norwegian Red Cross, helps you trace a relative you lost contact with because of war, conflict, disaster or migration. Its Flyktningguide volunteers meet a refugee a few hours a week to help them learn about the language, culture and local area. It also offers free homework help for children and young people, meetups to practise Norwegian and a free talk line for under-18s (Kors på halsen). Find your local branch on its website.

Kirkens Bymisjon is present in more than sixty towns and municipalities. It runs street teams, emergency overnight shelter and housing support, language classes and cultural centres, and works on the rights of undocumented people.

Beware of scams

• A genuine organisation never promises you a residence permit. Only the authorities, starting with UDI, decide.
• NOAS, SEIF and Juss-Buss help for free. Someone asking for money to "get" an appointment or a permit does not come from these organisations.
• Applications are made on udi.no. Be wary of any site that charges for an official form.
• Legal advice comes from a lawyer or a recognised organisation, not from an intermediary who promises a result.

Finding your compatriots in Norway

Winter is long, and so is a procedure. On Compatri, the Norway page brings together cities and meetups, and diaspora pages lead to communities, for example Somalis in Norway or Eritreans in Norway. Join your country's community from the communities page, and read how mutual aid between compatriots works. The directory of associations also lists diaspora associations.

Elsewhere in Scandinavia, see organisations helping migrants in Sweden and in Denmark. Compatri gives no legal advice: for your situation, contact one of the organisations listed here or a lawyer.

Sources

• UDI: Directorate of Immigration
• Norwegian Police: emergency number 112
• Helsenorge: where to get medical help (113, 116 117)
• NOAS
• NOAS: legal aid
• Juss-Buss
• SEIF
• Kirkens Bymisjon: 2025 annual report of the health centre for undocumented migrants
• Kirkens Bymisjon
• Røde Kors: services