What is covered under the National Insurance Scheme?
Will I be covered under the National Insurance Scheme during a stay in an EU/EEA country?
Will I be covered under the National Insurance Scheme during a stay outside the EU/EEA?
Am I eligible to apply for voluntary membership of the National Insurance Scheme?
What do social security agreements cover?
What coverage will members of my family be entitled to?
Am I eligible to receive child benefit while I am abroad?
How do I check if I am a member of the National Insurance Scheme?
Do I need private insurance?
How do I apply for a refund from the National Insurance Scheme?
Will I earn pension points while I am abroad?
What should I do if I am not a member of the National Insurance Scheme?

What is covered under the National Insurance Scheme?

Members of the National Insurance Scheme receive coverage under:

• The health section, which includes health service benefits and lump sum grants for births and adoptions. Applications for sickness benefit and parental benefits are dealt with under the health section.
• The pension section, which includes old-age pensions, disability pensions, benefits for surviving spouse, orphan’s pensions, unemployment benefits, single mother or father benefits, funeral grants, basic and auxiliary benefits, medical rehabilitation and occupational rehabilitation, and grants to former family carers.

If you retain your membership of the National Insurance Scheme and are working abroad in a full-time position, you are entitled to extended coverage for health services. All expenses connected with admission to hospital in another country will be covered. For other health services you usually have to pay an excess of up to 25 per cent.

  Stays in EU/EEA countries

Your membership of the National Insurance Scheme usually ceases from the first day you start working abroad. However, you will retain your membership of the National Insurance Scheme if:

• you are employed in Norway and are going to work for the same employer abroad;
• you receive a salary from Norway out of which your employer pays compulsory employer’s contribution; 
• you are employed outside Norway for a period of less than 12 months.

You should take with you form E101 (for stays of up to 12 months) or form E106 (for stays of 1-6 years), available from NAV. The relevant form should be submitted to the social security office in the country where you will be working. This is also necessary if you are going to work in two countries at the same time.

If you are going to work for a foreign employer, you will become a member of the social security system in the country in which you will be resident. Read more (in Norwegian)

In Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and the standard of public health facilities has been assessed and you are entitled to apply for refunds in accordance with the National Insurance Act.

For temporary stays in EU/EEA countries you will be able to use the European Health Insurance Card as documentation of the fact that you are entitled to receive the same health services as citizens of that country. However, in many countries the excess you have to pay is high and it is often a good idea to obtain private health insurance as well.

Find out more and compare social security systems in Europe through the EU Mutual Information System on Social Protection.

Stays outside the EU/EEA 
 

If you are going to work for a foreign employer, you will not retain your membership of the National Insurance Scheme.
One exception to this is if:

• you are employed abroad and the duration of your contract is less than 12 months and your employer pays compulsory employer’s contribution in Norway.

You are eligible to apply for voluntary membership of the National Insurance Scheme if:

• you are employed abroad in an organisation that has its head office in Norway;
• you are on a government assignment or government grant abroad; 
• there are special grounds to warrant this.
   

To be eligible for voluntary membership you must have been a member of the National Insurance Scheme for three of the preceding five calendar years. Only whole calendar years from 1 January to 31 December inclusive will be taken into consideration. Read more (in Norwegian)

When applying for voluntary membership of the National Insurance Scheme you must specify coverage under both the health and the pension section; see point 6 of the application form. (PDF-287.4 KB)

If neither tax nor employer’s contribution are paid in Norway, the fees will be deducted from your personal income:

• Health section: 9.1 %
• Health section with entitlement to sickness benefit: 13.8 % 
• Pension section: 21.7 %

Social security agreements

Norway has social security agreements with countries both in and outside the EU/EEA.

The US
The social security agreement between Norway and the US gives employees posted from Norway to the US the right to membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme and the right to treatment in the US. You must also obtain insurance that covers such costs as transport home in the event of sickness or death.

If you work for a US employer, you will usually not be eligible to retain your membership of the National Insurance Scheme.

Family members 

If the period spent abroad is under 12 months, family members that accompany you from Norway are automatically members of the National Insurance Scheme, assuming they will not be working abroad. For longer stays, family members supported by the employee may be covered under the employee’s membership. At the time of application the employee’s spouse must have been a member of the National Insurance Scheme for at least three of the preceding five calendar years.

It is possible to acquire pension points for unpaid care of children under the age of seven. More information and an application form can be obtained from NAV International. Pension points will be automatically awarded to the person who is entitled to receive child benefit.

Taking children abroad

You may be entitled to the following financial benefits:

• Maternity and parental benefits: check with NAV International to find out if you retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme while you are abroad. Membership entitles you to maternity and parental benefits. Read more
• Child benefit: for stays of up to six months in EU/EEA countries, you will continue to receive child benefit. In exceptional cases you may be eligible to receive child benefit for stays of more than six months in the EU/EEA and in countries outside the EU/EEA with which Norway has a social security agreement. If you retain your membership of the National Insurance Scheme you will also continue to receive child benefit in countries with which Norway does not have an agreement. Read more
• Cash benefit for families with small children: only in exceptional cases can you continue to receive cash benefit abroad, if you are staying in another Nordic country or staying no more than three months in an EU/EEA country. Read more
  Remember to inform NAV in writing when you return to Norway.

How do I check whether I am a member of the National Insurance Scheme?
 

Contact:

NAV International
Postal address: PO Box 8138 Dep, NO-0033 Oslo, Norway
Visiting address: Langkaia 1, 0150 Oslo
Tel: + 47 21 07 37 00
Email: nav.internasjonalt@nav.no

Refunds from the National Insurance Scheme 

In some cases you will have to cover health expenses first and then apply for a refund from the National Insurance Scheme. You should send bills within six months to NAV International together with a claims form.

Private insurance

In most cases it is a good idea to obtain private insurance as well as membership of the National Insurance Scheme or similar schemes in other countries. This applies both to health insurance and other types of insurance that cover theft, costs associated with transport home, accidents etc.

Bear in mind that annual travel insurance usually offers coverage for a certain number of days at a time and it is often a requirement that you return to Norway in order for it to be valid again.

Look for insurance that covers you for the entire period of your stay abroad. Most Norwegian insurance companies also require you to be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. If you are employed in the sciences you can obtain favourable insurance rates through theAssociation of Norwegian Students Abroad (ANSA) (in Norwegian)

If you are not a member of the National Insurance Scheme during your stay abroad, it may be a good idea to obtain insurance in the country in which you will be working.

Pension 

If you retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, you will continue to earn pension points while you are abroad.

If you are not a member of the National Insurance Scheme while you are abroad you cannot earn national insurance credits or pension points. This may have implications for old-age pensions, disability benefits and survivor’s pensions. Find out if you can earn pension points in the country in which you will be working and look into the various private saving schemes available.

If you are not a member of the National Insurance Scheme 
 

You will become a member of the social security system in the country in which you are working and your entitlements will be in line with the provisions of the individual country. Find out what kind of coverage you will be entitled to and consider obtaining private insurance as well. Usually you have to obtain insurance in the country in which you are going to work.

Also find out if you can earn pension points in the country in which you will be working and look into the various private saving schemes available.
Remember to inform NAV in writing when you return to Norway.

See also: The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Exchange (NAV) The Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO) The Nordic Social Insurance Portal The EU Mutual Information System on Social Protection