Cross-border workers in EU/EEA countries

If you are a cross-border worker, you are entitled to health care services, including planned treatment, in both the country you work in and your country of residence.

Dentist at work

A cross-border worker is an employee or self-employed person who returns to the country they live in on a daily, or at least weekly, basis.

​Family members

Dependent family members of a cross-border worker are entitled to planned health care services in the country in which they live. These expenses shall be covered by the national insurance authorities in the country of work.

For stays in other EU/EEA countries, the family members can receive necessary medical assistance by presenting the European Health Insurance Card which shall be issued in Norway.

Pension

If you are a retired cross-border worker, you may be entitled to continuation of health care treatment that has already started in the country where you last worked or performed independent economic activity. This applies if you became a pensioner after 1 June 2012.

«Continuation of treatment» here means continued investigation, diagnosis and treatment of a medical condition.

Note that entitlement to this right does not apply to all types of pension, such as AFP (contractual early retirement) pension.

For confirmation of your entitlement to continuation of planned treatment, you must apply to Helfo for entitlement form S3:

Example

Gina lives in Strömstad in Sweden, but has commuted on a weekly basis to Fredrikstad in Norway where she has worked as a nurse for many years. After having been examined and diagnosed with coxarthrosis, she has chosen to retire; however in accordance with her own request she will have hip replacement surgery at a hospital in Norway. Gina applies to Helfo for entitlement form S3 and gets the Norwegian national insurance scheme to cover the treatment.

Content provided by Helfo

Helfo. Cross-border workers in EU/EEA countries. [Internet]. Oslo: The Norwegian Directorate of Health; updated Tuesday, March 26, 2024 [retrieved Monday, October 14, 2024]. Available from: https://www.helsenorge.no/en/foreigners-in-norway/cross-border-workers-in-eu-eea-countries/

Last updated Tuesday, March 26, 2024