• Information to passport applicants
• How to apply for/renew your passport
• Passport lost or stolen
• Personal number (Norwegian ID number)
• Change of name
• Collection of Norwegian passport
• Born outside Norway?
• Emergency passport
• Norwegian citizenship
Information to passport applicants
The Norwegian Embassy in Sofia is now in a position to accept applications for machine-readable passports.
It has been decided by American authorities that persons from certain countries would require either a visa or a machine-readable passport in order to enter USA from 1 October 2003. This deadline has been postponed to 26 October 2004.
For more information regarding machine-readable passports and USA, please read the following website: US Embassy
Machine-readable passports are not issued by the Embassy, but through the police in Oslo. Consequently, the application process takes normally 4– 5 weeks (2 weeks in Norway and postage to and from Norway).
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How to apply for/renew your passport
Applications for machine-readable passports must be lodged during the Consular Section’s opening hours, which are from Monday to Friday, between 10:00 hrs and 12:00 hrs. Emergencies may be dealt with outside those hours – provided prior appointment.
When you arrive at the Embassy, please bring the following documentation:
• 1 completed form for passport application (please click HERE ).
• 4 passport photographs (must be identical, white background, not older than 3 months, minimum 36 x 47 mm). This does also apply to minors.
• Old passport.
Fee – Adults: BGN 237 Children: BGN 100
Children under the age of 18 must in addition to the above supply the following:
• Old passport or if it is the first time; Extract from ‘Folkeregisteret’ in Norway (National Registry), which confirms the child’s full name and date of birth with personal number. Please note that in order to obtain machine-readable passport, one must have a personal number. For guidance on how to obtain such a number, please read the section regarding personal number.
• Birth certificate, which shows both parents’ names.
• Both parents passports. This also applies if one of the parents is not Norwegian.
• Parent’s marriage certificate.
You are kindly requested to read carefully through page 2 of the Passport application. Please remember that both parents must sign the form – this also applies if one of the parents is not Norwegian.
If the child is 10 years of age or older, the child must be present when submitting the application.
From December 1, 2009 it will no longer be possible to apply for a passport at honorary consulates. After this date applicants must come to an embassy to deliver an application. With this exception the procedure for issuing of passports will be the same.
The reson for these changes is that Norway is following a demand from Schengen that biometric datas in passports will no be compulsary. Applicants will no have to give a photo, two finger prints and a signature when applying for a passport.
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Passport lost or stolen
One is required to report the loss of passport to local police in Bulgaria and submit the following:
Another form of Norwegian identification, such as Norwegian driver’s licence, Norwegian banker’s card, Norwegian birth certificate, etc.
A special form for loss of passport must be completed in duplicate (this form may be obtained at the Embassy).
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Personal number (Norwegian ID number)
If you have ever been domiciled in Norway since 1964, you hold a personal number. If you are uncertain of what the number is, please contact the Special Registry in Kongsvinger on telephone number: 00 47 62 88 23 20.
If you were born abroad or have never been a resident in Norway since 1964, you must apply to obtain a personal number. An application must be made in the form of a letter and sent to the following address:
Oslo Likningskontor og Folkeregister
Personregisteret
Hagegt. 22
0653 Oslo
Tel: 00 47 22 66 19 20 (fax will not be accepted).
With the application for children, please enclose a certified true copy of the birth certificate and copies of parents’ passports. The birth certificate must be either in Norwegian, English, French or German.
For adults, a certified true copy of passport will suffice.
Please be aware that the application process for a personal number may take approximately 6-8 weeks.
From January 1, 2010 all applicants for passports must allready have a Norwegian personal number in Det Sentrale Folkeregister (The National Registry) before the procedure of application can be started. Application for a personal number and passport can no longer be delivered at the same time.
The application for a personal number can be delivered at the embassy like before.
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Change of name
Name(s) stated in passport application must be the same as registered in the Norwegian Public Register (‘folkeregisteret’).
If the above does not apply, the passport application will not be accepted and consequently returned.
Notification for change of name must be sent in form of a letter to:
Oslo Folkeregister, Personregisteret, Hagegt. 2, 0653 Oslo, Norway
Telephone number: 00 47 22 66 19 20
Website address: http://www.likningskontoret.oslo.no/
A confirmation of the change of name must be enclosed with the notification, such as copy of marriage certificate, statutory declaration, deed poll, etc.
If you are not registered as having moved from Norway, you must send notification of name change to relevant Public Register.
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Collection of Norwegian passport
When the machine readable passport has been issued, the passport may be sent to you directly from the Embassy (it will not be possible to have the passport sent directly from the police in Oslo). However, if you do not leave your old passport at the Embassy when you lodge your application for machine readable passport, you will be required to collect the passport in person during consular opening hours. It will be your responsibility to telephone the Embassy to find out when the new passport is ready for collection.
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Born outside Norway?
If you are a Norwegian national born abroad, please read carefully section 4 on the first page (old type) or the last page (new type) of your Norwegian passport.
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Emergency passport
You may obtain an emergency passport at the Embassy. However, it will only be valid for 3 – three – months and is a manually issued passport (i.e. it is not a machine-readable passport).
You will need to submit the same application forms and documentation as for a normal passport application. In addition, you should also enclose an explanatory letter.
The canges mentioned in the section about how to apply for a passport do not affect emergency passports. Consulates that have emergency passports can still issue them. New guidelines for emergency passports are about to be worked out.
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Norwegian citizenship
The Act of 8 December 1950 relating to Norwegian Nationality contains the provisions which define Norwegian nationality and describe how Norwegian nationality is acquired.
For Norwegians living abroad, it is important to note the following:
If you hold Norwegian citizenship, but were born abroad and have never lived in Norway, you may lose the right to Norwegian citizenship upon reaching the age of 22. You may, however, apply to keep your Norwegian citizenship.
Such an application must be lodged after the age of 21, but before the age of 22 through the nearest Norwegian foreign service mission.
If you live in Bulgaria, the application should be directed to the Embassy.
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Please note that if you are a second generation Norwegian having been born abroad, it may be more difficult to retain your Norwegian nationality.
Further information concerning Norwegian nationality may be obtained from:
Directorate of Immigration
P.O.Box 8108 Dep.
0032 Oslo
N O R W A Y
Telephone: 0047 23 35 15 00
The application for retention of Norwegian nationality should be made in the form of a letter, where it is explained why you want to keep your nationality. With the letter, the following must be enclosed:
- Norwegian passport. If you have never had a Norwegian passport; some of form of identification, such as your British passport
- Birth Certificate, which states both the child’s name and both parents’ names
- The passport of the parent who is Norwegian
- If the father is Norwegian and the mother is not; the parent’s marriage certificate.