Tips on renting out your home
What do I do about my post?
Do I have to register the move?
How can I take my belongings with me abroad?
Can I bring my car and electronic equipment back to Norway on my return? 

 

Renting out your home

• Check with your home institution to find out if there is an accommodation service that deals with renting out properties in connection with stays abroad.
  You can also find out directly from your own and other institutes if there are any international researchers coming to Norway who could be interested in renting your home.
• Property advertisements can be posted on the following websites:
  www.finn.no – the most popular website for property advertisements. (Norwegian only)
  www.hybel.no – a website that provides information about smaller, less expensive accommodation alternatives, often with shared bathroom and kitchen.
  www.sabbaticalhomes.com – an international website that provides information about home exchanges or home rentals for the academic community.
• The National Federation of House Owners in Norway (HL) has some useful tips on renting out accommodation.
• Rental income is not taxable for lets of up to six months in a calendar year. If the lease is longer than this, rental income for the entire period is subject to tax.
   

Registering the move

You must notify the National Registry (Folkeregister) (Norwegian only) of the move if no-one in the family is going to be living at your home address and if you are planning to stay abroad for more than six months.

Post

The Norwegian postal service (Posten Norge AS) provides a service for temporary redirection of post to private individuals. Redirecting post to an address abroad can take time. It is worth considering having your post redirected to other members of your family, a neighbour or maybe your own institute, who could then forward important post on to you.

Moving transport

 If you want to take your belongings with you, you will have to send them as freight by air, sea or road. Most airlines offer a service for transport of personal belongings. Transport by road or sea is often cheaper than by air. An overview of the various freight companies can be found in the Yellow Pages (Gule Sider).

Insuring your personal belongings
You usually have to obtain separate baggage insurance through the freight company because normal travel insurance and other types of insurance do not cover belongings sent as freight. Check whether your insurance covers this and what sort of insurance rates the freight company can offer.

Customs and customs papers

Documentation of items taken out of Norway
Items you have taken abroad with you from Norway may be re-imported and are not subject to customs and excise duties.

You must obtain documentation from the customs authorities that states that the items were not purchased abroad. This type of documentation may be relevant for items such as personal computers and other electronic equipment.

Refund of VAT
If you live abroad you may claim a refund of value-added tax (VAT) when you buy goods in Norway and take them with you out of the country. Read more

Importing a foreign-registered car to Norway
If you have bought a car during your stay abroad and want to bring it back to Norway, it must be cleared through customs and registered with Norwegian licence plates.

Read more about customs and customs papers

See also: The National Federation of House Owners in Norway (HL) Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) Norwegian postal service (Posten Norge) Norwegian Customs and Excise (Tollvesenet)