MovingtoNorwayFrequentlyAskedQuestions

byDavidNikel
www.lifeinnorway.net

SoyouwanttomovetoNorway?

I'mnotsurprised!

Norwayisawonderfulcountrytomakeahomeand
raiseafamily.

OriginallyfromtheUK,ImovedtoOsloin2011andnow
liveinTrondheimworkingasafreelancejournalistand
blogger.

IlaunchedLifeinNorwaytochroniclemymovetoforeignlands.Asreadershipgrew,it
quicklybecameobvioustherewasaneedforfarmoreonlineinformationforpeoplewho
wantedtoknowmoreaboutlivinghere.Peoplejustlikeyou!

Istartedtoreceiveemailsonadailybasisaskingallsortsofquestions:

DoIneedavisa?
HowdoIgetaworkpermit?
HowcanIfindajobinNorway?
IsitfreetostudyinNorway?
WillIhavetolearnNorwegian?

Theemailsweretakingupmoreandmoreofmytime,soIdecidedtoproducethisfree
guideansweringthemostcommonquestions.

FollowingonfromthisguidewillbeaseriesofblogpostsaboutmovingtoNorwayinmuch
moredetail.Watchoutforthem!

Ihopeyouenjoyit.

David

Whatistheweatherlike?

AhtheNorwegianclimate!Ibetyoureusedtoseeingpicturepostcardviewsofthefjords,
right?

Well,thetruthistheydoexist,butdayslikethataretheexception,nottherule.

Theweathervariesalotaroundthecountry,withthecitiesonthewestcoasttypicallycooler
andwetter,butwithmilderwinters.Asageneralrule,thefurtherinlandyougo,theharsher
thewinterswillbe.

Expectcoolsummerswithacoupleofdaysofsunshineeverycoupleofweeks,andcold
harshwinterswithtemperaturesdroppingbelow20C(4F)inOsloandevencolderinrural
areas.Butmostofall,expectwindandrainallyearround.Onaverage,thecityofBergen
experiencesrainfallon220dayseveryyear.

Ifyou'recomingfromCanada,thenorthernUSstatesorScotland,thenitshouldn'tbea
problem.Butifyoulivesomewherewithlittleornosnow,iceandwind,oryou'reasun
worshipper,beprepared.

Readmore:Theresnosuchthingasbadweather,onlybadclothes

Doesthesuneversetinthesummer?

IfyouliveabovetheArcticCircle,youwillexperiencetheMidnightSun,wherethesundoes
notdipbelowthehorizonatnight.Thefurthernorthyougo,themorenightsofthe
phenomenonyouwillexperience.

Butevenatlowerlatitudes,thedayslastwellintotheeveningandtwilightmaybeasdark
asitgets.Ittakessomegettingusedto.Blackoutcurtainsand/oreyemasksareessential!

Readmore:JuneTheMonthofEndlessDays

IsNorwayreallythatexpensive?

Theshortanswerisyes.Norwayisoneofthemostexpensivecountriesintheworld.Oil
wealthandasocialistviewofsocietyhasitsprice!

Thewaytodealwiththestickershockissimple:stopconvertingtoyournativecurrencyin
yourheadeverytimeyoubuysomething,andstartearninginNorwegianKronerassoon
aspossible.

Someitemsaremoreexpensivethanothers.Alcohol,freshmeat,dairy,fruit,vegetables
andanythingwithaserviceelement,suchaseatinginarestaurant,willappearexpensive
toalmosteveryonewhomovestoNorway.

AnotherfactorinfluencingpricesinNorwayisMVA(theequivalentofVATorsalestax)
whichis25%onmostgoodsandservices.UnlikeintheUSA,thisisincludedintheprices
youseeinstores.

ImanEUcitizen(British,Spanish,Greek,etc)canImovetoNorway?

Theshortanswerisyes.

AlthoughNorwayisnotamemberoftheEuropeanUnion,itisamemberoftheEuropean
EconomicArea(EEA)andisthereforeboundbythesamefreedomofmovementrulesas
therestofEurope.

Therefore,citizensofanyEUorEEAcountrydonotrequirearesidencepermittolivein
Norway.Sothat'sgoodnewsforcitizensofAustria,Belgium,Bulgaria,Cyprus,Czech
Republic,Denmark,Estonia,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Hungary,Iceland,Ireland,
Italy,Latvia,Liechtenstein,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Malta,Netherlands,Poland,Portugal,
Romania,Slovakia,Slovenia,Spain,SwitzerlandandtheUnitedKingdom.

However,therearesomeconditions.Anyonefromtheabovecountriesisentitledtobein
Norwayforaperiodofuptothreemonths.Afterthatpoint,youmustregisterwiththePolice
inoneofthefollowingcategoriesforyourrighttoresideinNorway:

Employee

Student(arecognisededucationalinstitution)
Personwithownfunds

Employeeofforeignenterprise
Selfemployedperson

FamilymemberofEU/EEAnationalwithresidence(spouse,registeredpartner,
cohabitantorchildundertheageof21)

Thismeans,forexample,youcancometoNorwaytolookforworkfornomorethanthree
months.

ImnotanEUcitizen(American,Canadian,etc)canImovetoNorway?

Thisoneismuchmoredifficulttoanswer.Generally,unlessyouareinNorwaytostudythen
youwillrequireaworkpermit.Gettingaworkpermitcantaketime,andNorwegian
companiesareoftenreluctanttohireforeignerswhoarenotalreadyinthecountry.

Thefollowingcategoriesofpermitareavailable:

Familyimmigrationintendedforspouses,registeredpartners,thosewhoare
gettingmarried,andchildrenofthosemovingtoNorway.Alsoavailableforthose
withaNorwegianparent,withrestrictions.
Workimmigrationyoumustnormallyhavereceivedajobofferfirst
Studypermitavailableforuniversitystudents,alsoallowsyoutoworkupto20
hoursperweektosupportyourselfduringyourstudies
PermanentresidenceonceyouhaveresidedinNorwayforthreeyears,youmight
beabletoapplyforthis,dependingonyourpermit
Visitupto90days
Aupairforthosebetween18and30.Lowpaybutavaluableexperience.

Formoreinformation,seethewebsiteoftheUtlendingsdirektoratet(UDI)atwww.udi.no.
Thewebsiteisavailableinseverallanguages.

WhatjobsareavailableinNorway?

UnderstandthatNorwayisasmallcountryinpopulationterms,thereforetherangeand
choiceofavailablejobsmaybemorelimitedthanyouareusedto,especiallyifyouare
comingfromtheUKorUSA.

TheNorwegianeconomyisbuiltonoil&gas,engineeringservicesandtourism,soalarge
percentageofjobsareinthoseindustries.

ThereisashortageofskilledengineersinNorwayandIwouldgoasfartosaythatwith
professionalengineeringqualificationsandsomequalityworkexperience,youshouldhave
littleproblemfindingasuitablewellpaidjob.

Outsideofengineeringandtourism,thepublicsectordominates,buttofindemployment
thereyouwillneedadvancedlanguageskillsandlikelysomepriorexperienceinthe
Norwegianworkplace.

Ofcourse,therearemanyotherpossibilitiesforemploymentinNorway,forexamplein
agriculture,ICT,finance,theservicesectorandgeneralofficeadministration.Butasstated
previously,languageislikelytobeabarrierinallareasoutsideoil&gas,research,and
tourism&hospitality.

HowcanIfindajob?

Firstthingsfirst,therumoursaretrue.OverhalfofallNorwegianvacanciesarenot
advertised.

Youhavethreemainoptionstoapplyforadvertisedpositions:

Onlinejobboards(e.g.www.finn.no)
Recruitmentcompanies(e.g.www.manpower.no)
Companydirect(e.g.www.statoil.com/en/careers/)

Forunadvertisedpositions,youmustlearntheartofnetworkingandmeetinfluentialpeople
inyourpreferredindustry.Assuch,beinginthecountryisabsolutelyessential.

Itishardtogivemanyconcretetipsontheunadvertisedjobsmarket,butit'sthereandyou'll
onlybeabletoaccessitthroughhardworkandtime.

HowmuchholidaydoNorwegiansget?

Rulesarecomplicated,especiallyaboutholidaypay,butthebasicruleisthatall
employeesareentitledto25workingdaysholidayperyear.Everyemployeeisentitledto
takethreecontinuousweeksduringthesummerperiod(definedas1Juneto30
September)

Holidaypayisaccruedtheyearbeforeitispaid,sothefirstyearyouworkinNorwayyou
willnotbepaidfortheholidays,eventhoughyouareentitledtothetimeoff.Differentrules
applyifyoubeginworkingpartwaythroughayear.

WhataretheworkinghoursinNorway?

Againtherulesarecomplicated,butthemaximumweeklyamountofworkinghoursis
typically40.However,manycompaniesoperateflexiblearrangementsanditisnot
uncommontowork3537hoursduringaweek,leavingearlyonFridayandstartinglateron
Monday.

ThereislessofafocusontheamountoftimeyouarestuckbehindyourdeskinNorway,
aslongasyougetyourworkdone.

DoIreallyneedtolearnNorwegian?

AlmosteveryNorwegianunderstandsEnglishperfectlyandmostalsospeakitfluently.
However,mostjobsrequireatleastaworkingknowledgeofNorwegian.

Andmostofall,ifyoureallywanttorelocateandcreateanewlifeforyouandyourfamilyin
Norway,whywouldntyoulearnNorwegian?

Iadviselearningatleastthebasicsbeforeyouarrive.Manyonlinetoolscanhelpwiththis,
includingNorwegianClass101.

Pleasenote,ifyoudon'tspeakNorwegian,thenfluentEnglishisabsolutelyessential.

Ishealthcarereallyfree?

Absolutelynot!

Norwayheavilysubsidisesitshealthcaresystem,butyoustillpayatthepointofaccess.If
youvisityourGPjustafewtimesayear,youwillpayasetamountoneachvisit.Onceyou
reachanannuallimit,youpaynomore,whetheritsforaGPvisitorsubstantialtreatment.

Soyoupayifyourealittlebitsick,butdontpaymuchmoreifyougetseriouslysick.

Howmuchdoesitcosttorentahome?

Thecostofrentedaccommodationvariesenormouslybetweencitiesandthecountryside.
Generallytheclosertothecitycentreyouare,themoreyouwillpay.OsloandStavanger
tendtocommandthehighestrents,butothercitiesarenotfarbehind.

TherearetwoimportantpointstonoteabouthousinginNorway.Firstly,accommodation
willprobablybesmallerthanyouareusedto.Ifyouaremovingfromafourbedroom

detachedhomewithramblinggardens,dontexpecttofindsomethingsimilarinNorway.
Youmayhavetosettleforatwobedroomapartment.

Secondly,almostallrentalagreementsrequirealargedeposit,typicallythreemonths,to
bepaidwiththefirstmonthsrent,allbeforeyouevenmovein.Thissurprisesalotofnew
arrivals,butitisjustthewaythingsworkhereyouarenotbeingrippedoff!

HowmuchincometaxwillIpay?

Norwayoperatesaprogressivetaxsystem,wherebythemoreyouearn,themoretaxyou
payasapercentageofyourincome.Therateyoupayincludesincometaxandsocial
securitycontributions.

Itsimpossibleformetogiveyouataxestimateasitdependsonsomanyvariables,but
youcanexpecttopayintheregionof3035%infulltimeemployment,butveryhigh
earnerscouldpayasmuchas40%ormore.

IsitreallyfreetostudyinNorway?

Yes,allpublicuniversitiesandcollegesdemandnotuitionfees,evenforforeignstudents.
However,bearinmindthecostoflivingishigh,soalmostallstudentswillrequiresome
formofincomeorparttimeemployment.

Thefreetuitionalsoattractsahighnumberofapplicants.Internationalmasterdegrees
(taughtinEnglish)areheavilyoversubscribed,soyourapplicationreallyneedstoimpress
inorderforyoutobeconsidered.

Pleasenotetherearesomeprivateuniversities(e.g.www.bi.edu)thatdochargetuition
fees.

AreNorwegiansunfriendly?

Ah,stereotypes!Norwegiansarenotunfriendlyperse,buttheycanbeinsular,creaturesof
habitanddifficulttogettoknow.Thistakestime.Ifyoudomanagetogettoknowsome
Norwegians(forexample,beinvitedtotheirhome),yourstayinNorwaywillbefarmore
rewarding.