Pensioners outside the EU/EEA

You must have voluntary membership to be entitled to coverage of expenses on healthcare both abroad and in Norway. This applies regardless of whether you are a disability pensioner, old-age pensioner or AFP pensioner (entitled to a public-sector contractual pension).

When you move out of Norway, you lose the right to a GP even if you have voluntary membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

Read more about voluntary membership on nav.no (in Norwegian).

Any family members supported by you and who are staying with you abroad are also eligible for voluntary membership subject to application.

If you are a pensioner living in Norway and are on holiday/temporarily resident abroad, you have the same rights as other tourists. Read about being a tourist outside the EU /EEA.

You will have to pay the expenses out of pocket and apply to Helfo for reimbursement. Your expenses will then be reimbursed to you at fixed rates. This typically means that the reimbursement you receive is less than what you paid for the medical care.

Read more about what you can be covered for when you are entitled to ordinary subsidisation.

As a pensioner with voluntary membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme you retain your right to receive health services during temporary residence in Norway. This means that you also have the option of travelling to Norway to receive treatment, but you will have to pay your own travel expenses.

Family members who have been granted voluntary membership will gain the same rights as you.

​You must obtain documentation of all the medical investigations/treatment you have undergone. You must retain the original receipts and the packaging of any medication.

In order for Helfo to consider the claim and reach a decision, the documentation must be comprehensible. This means that all documentation must initially be in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or English. You should therefore try to get the documentation issued in one of these languages. If the documents are in another language, Helfo can, if necessary, ask you to have them translated. You must pay for the translation yourself. If you send in a translated document, you must also send in the original.

As a voluntary member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, you can apply for a refund of some of your healthcare expenses using a digital form.

Deadline

The application form and documentation must be sent to Helfo within 6 months of each individual invoice date, i.e. the date on the invoice you receive. If you settle the treatment the same day you receive it, the time limit starts from this date.

Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet has proposed a change in the legislation regulating the application deadline for reimbursement for treatment received abroad. This means that if you have not settled on the spot, but received an invoice afterwards, the deadline is calculated from the invoice date instead of the treatment date.

Paper form

If you are unable to use our digital form, you can complete the following form instead:

Send the application to: Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg.

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.

Complete the power of attorney form and send it to Helfo as an attachment to a digital form, or send it by post to Helfo, PO Box 2415, 3104 Tønsberg. Remember to enclose a copy of valid identification for the person granting power of attorney.