Employees from the EU/EEA or Switzerland who live and work in Norway
This page explains your rights to healthcare services if you live and work in Norway.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
Membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme
If you are resident and work in Norway, you will be enrolled as a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.
This means that you will be covered for essential expenses for healthcare services from the national health service and that you will have to pay user fees for any treatment you receive.
You will normally be considered to be resident wherever your immediate family (your spouse, cohabiting partner and/or children) live. In some cases, you will still be considered to be resident in Norway even if you have family members who live in another country.
Example
Katrin from Germany has a Norwegian husband. She has moved to Norway and is now working as a physiotherapist. She has therefore been enrolled as a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. When she is bitten by a cat and goes to the Accident & Emergency department for a tetanus injection, she pays the same user fee as citizens in Norway.
Do you have a dependent family who live in a different country to you?
If you have dependent family members who live in Switzerland or another EU/EEA country than where you live, they will also have the right to be reimbursed for health care expenses.
These family members will be entitled to receive healthcare services affiliated to the national health service in their country of residence at Norway's expense.
This is documented using an S1 certificate which you have to apply to Helfo for.
You can apply using a digital form:
Log in to Helfo's digital form
You must attach the following:
- a copy of your employment contract
- confirmation from your employer that you are still an employee if the employment contract is more than one year old
You or your family members must submit certificate S1 to the National Insurance authorities in the country in which your dependents live. The form will not be valid until Helfo has received feedback from the National Insurance authorities in your country of residence.
Paper form
If you are unable to use our digital form, you can instead complete the following application form and send it to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg:
Example
Katrin has a teenage daughter who is living with her grandmother in Hamburg so that she can complete upper secondary school. However, Katrin is still responsible for supporting her. When the daughter develops glandular fever, she will be entitled to receive healthcare services in accordance with the rules applicable in Germany because certificate S1 from Norway has been registered and approved in Germany.
Health care expenses in The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom left the EU/EEA (Brexit) in 2020. This entailed changes in entitlement to have healthcare expenses covered. From 1 January 2024, a new social security agreement between the United Kingdom and Norway applies.
Read more about subsidies for health care in The United Kingdom.
Guidance Helsenorge
If you have any questions, please call Guidance Helsenorge: +47 23 32 70 00
The European Health Insurance Card
You can use your European Health Insurance card from Norway if you are temporarily staying in another EU/EEA country.
You are entitled to a European Health Insurance Card from Norway. You may use this card in any EU/EEA country except for Norway. You can also use the card in your former home country.
Dependent family members also be entitled to a European Health Insurance Card from Norway.
Example
Katrin is at home on holiday in Germany with her family. She is suffering such severe stomach pains that she decides to see a doctor. To document her rights, she uses her European Health Insurance Card which she received in Norway.
Guidance Helsenorge
If you have any questions, please call Guidance Helsenorge: +47 23 32 70 00
Power of attorney in connection with enquiries to Helfo
If you contact Helfo on behalf of anyone else, you must have power of attorney for them.
Parents/guardians must also have power of attorney from any children aged 18 or over. In the case of health information, you must have power of attorney from any children aged 16 or over. This is because the age of majority under health law is 16.
Health information is sensitive information and should not be sent by e-mail. You should therefore send the power of attorney to Helfo as an attachment to a digital form, or by letter post to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg. Remember to enclose a copy of valid identification.