Working

If you are unemployed, you may be entitled to unemployment benefit. To get unemployment benefit, you must be registered as a job seeker with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). You can register as a job seeker and apply for work on the website Nav.no.

Looking for work

If you are unemployed, you can find job advertisements and advice on how to apply for jobs on Nav.no.  On the same website, you can register your CV and information that might be relevant for employers looking for new employees. 

When you have registered yourself as a job seeker with NAV, your need for assistance will be assessed to help you get a job as quickly as possible.  
You can find more information about what to do if you find yourself unemployed on Nav.no 

Starting your own business?

You can get financial support and advice from Innovation Norway to start your own business.

Unemployment benefit

Unemployment benefit is partly a compensation for lost income. In order to qualify for unemployment benefit, your working hours must have been reduced and you must have had a minimum income. You must also be an active job seeker and live in Norway. 

Citizens from EEA countries who have had a Norwegian employment contract may apply for Norwegian unemployment benefit.

Employment status report

As a job seeker, you must submit an employment status report every 14 days to NAV. The report describes what you have done the past 14 days to find work. The status report can be submitted electronically via Nav.no.

Redundancy

You can find information about your rights as a worker on the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority’s website. 

Financial assistance (social assistance)

If you do not qualify for unemployment benefit, you may apply for financial assistance by contacting your local NAV office. The assistance is intended to secure people an income on a temporary basis, so they may be financially independent. You may also be entitled to housing allowance. 

 

Apply for housing allowance

Norwegian State Housing Bank
Housing allowance is a government-financed support scheme for partial coverage of housing expenses for households with low income.

Resumption of unemployment benefits

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
If you received unemployment benefits in the past but have not received them for a while, you can reapply for these benefits by submitting the simplified application form. You may not submit a simplified application if more than 52 weeks have passed since you last received unemployment benefits.

Payment dates - NAV

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Here you’ll find some general information about payments from NAV. The summary for each benefit has information about payment dates, holiday pay and months with reduced or no tax withholding.

Apply for unemployment benefits

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
In order to become eligible for unemployment benefit, you must first register as a job seeker at NAV. The earliest you can submit your claim for unemployment benefit is one week before the first day on which you become totally or partially unemployed. It is important that you do not submit your application too early, as it may be rejected.

Apply for recognition of foreign education

Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education
Here you can apply for recognition of higher education, tertiary vocational education, vocational education and training or teacher qualifications – school and kindergarten.

Are you intending to work in Norway?

Norwegian Tax Administration
As an employee in Norway, you must have a tax deduction card, submit tax returns and receive tax assessment notices. Here, you will find information including what you must do in order to start work in Norway and what you need to take with you when you go to the tax office.

Writing a good CV

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Your CV tells potential employers who you are, what you have done in life, and provides them with information about your education and work experience.

Register as a jobseeker

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Here you can register as a jobseeker with NAV. You might have rights to unemployment benefits (dagpenger) if you are temporarily laid off (permittert) or unemployed.

Financial advice - digital wizard

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
NAV can give you financial advice if you have payment or debt problems. The purpose of this service is to help you so that you are able to manage your own finances.

Measures to get to work - NAV

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
If you are at risk of dropping out of working life or want to get a job, NAV can consider several measures and instruments. (In Norwegian only)

Misinterpretation of the EØS-ruling

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Here you will find information about the processing of cases regarding misinterpretation of the EØS-ruling, if you have been received arbeidsavklaringspenger, sykepenger og pleiepenger. If you have any questions, that’s not answered further down on the page, and think that the misinterpretation may have affected you, you can call the phone number: 21 05 21 05

Housing allowance calculator

Norwegian State Housing Bank
If you live in a low-income household, you may be entitled to receive housing allowance. Here you can calculate how much housing allowance you may be entitled to.

Diploma registry

Ministry of Education and Research
By using the Diploma Registry, you can collect your results from higher education in Norway and share them with potential employers, educational institutions and other relevant recipients. The Diploma Registry is free of charge.

Submit an employment status form online - NAV

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
To register as a job seeker or to receive unemployment benefit while you are seeking work, you need to report to NAV every 14 days. You can do this by submitting an employment status form online.

Nordic term base

Språkrådet
Here you will find information about words and terms that is often used by important community area. It can also be at help if you should work or study in another nordic country.

Financial assistance - a guide

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Financial assistance is a temporary form of income. The objective of this type of benefit is to help you manage on your own as soon as possible. Before you can qualify for financial assistance you must consider every other possibility for you to provide for yourself. This could include employment, other means of income or using your own savings. 

Interest tests

Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training
What are you interested in? Use these aptitude and interest tests to find out more about which jobs or studies that may suit you. (In Norwegian only)

Order an exemption card

Norwegian Tax Administration
An exemption card is a tax deduction card that shows that your employer should not deduct tax if you earn NOK 65,000 or less during the year (2022). If you at one point have received an exemption card, you do not have to apply for a new one. If you earn more than NOK 65,000, you must order a tax deduction card instead.

Info Norden - Nordic cooperation

Nordic Council of Ministers
Info Norden is the Nordic Council of Ministers' information service for persons moving, working and studiing in the Nordic region. 

Find job vacancies in Norway

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Here you will find all publicly advertised vacancies in Norway and all the jobs that employers have registered to nav.no. (In Norwegian only)

Working abroad

European Commission
Are you a cross-border commuter? A posted worker? Or do you work seasonally in another EU country? Or are you just planning to go abroad? No matter what, you have the same rights as the nationals of your host country. Check on the Your Europe portal where to start and what your rights are.

Workinnorway.no

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV)
Workinnorway.no is a guide for job seekers from the Nordic countries, as well as countries within and outside the EU/EEA area, who want to work in Norway. The website also provides advice for Norwegian employers wishing to recruit foreign workers.

Work voluntarily in Europe

Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir)
The European Solidarity Corps is the new European Union initiative which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.

Life situations