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The dissertation examines the friction between the sedentary, national design of the Norwegian welfare state and the increasing prevalence of transnational living. Through interviews with 39 bureaucrats, the author finds that while transnationalism is viewed as a 'new norm' and approached with general inclusivity, there is significant institutional uncertainty and a lack of a coherent national policy. The study highlights how bureaucrats use a mix of formal and informal categories to manage complexity and how the system adapts through a combination of individual bureaucratic entrepreneurship and top-down restructuring that seeks to mainstream transnational work into national structures.