Posted workers outside the EU/EEA

You are considered a posted worker when you work temporarily abroad for your employer in Norway and receive your wages from this employer.

Woman at her desk

Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo

1

Membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme

You are considered a posted worker when you work temporarily abroad for your employer in Norway and receive your wages from this employer.

​This presupposes that your employer pays employer's National Insurance contributions to Norway. You retain your mandatory membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme during your temporary period of work abroad and will be entitled to reimbursement for medical expenses from Norway. Read more about working abroad at the website of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV).

Dependent spouses and children or dependent cohabitants and shared children will have the same health care entitlements as yourself in the country in which you are working.

Your rights to health care services abroad depend on your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. NAV Social Insurance and Contributions determines whether you have the right to membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme when you are working outside of Norway.

Example

Cecilie works for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is posted to the Norwegian Embassy in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. She is therefore entitled to reimbursement for healthcare expenses from Norway for treatment she receives in Tanzania.

2

Confirmation of healthcare entitlements

Helfo can send you a letter to confirm that you are entitled to healthcare during your stay abroad.

​In some countries, the authorities may require you to have confirmation of your entitlement to healthcare in order to grant you a visa or residence permit.  Helfo can send you confirmation of your healthcare entitlements during your stay outside the EU/EEA.

Send in the form

to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg.

Example

Cecilie has not needed any confirmation of her healthcare entitlement during her stay in Tanzania.

3

If you become sick

Your employer can pay for the treatment if you become sick.

​If you require health care services during your period of work, your employer can pay for the treatment and then afterwards apply to Helfo (Norwegian Health Economics Administration) for reimbursement. It makes no difference if you use the public or private health care system.

Example

Cecilie contracts blood poisoning while she is working in Tanzania. She visits a doctor, who is of the opinion that the nearest appropriate healthcare is in Mombasa in Kenya. She gets this documented by the doctor. The employer pays for her treatment.

4

What can you be covered for?

For workers posted outside the EU/EEA, the rules on extended benefits apply.

Posted workers outside the EU/EEA have the right to extended benefits. Expenses for necessary hospital stays and hospital treatment are fully covered.

Coverage is provided for 75% of the necessary expenses for:

Two young women carrying books talking with each other

Membership of Optum for employees and students in the USA

In the USA, Helfo has an agreement with the insurance broker Optum (previously known as Equian). Read more about what this involves here.​

Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
Blid mann med PC under armen

Posted workers in Quebec (in Norwegian)

Separate rules apply for coverage for health care services for posted workers in Québec in Canada. Read more about what that involves here (in Norwegian).

Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo

Example

For the help Cecilie receives from the doctor in Dar es Salaam, 75% of the costs are reimbursable. The costs of the hospital treatment in Mombasa are fully reimbursed.

Are you entitled to have your Covid-19 test / vaccination expenses from abroad covered?

The basic criteria of disease / medical condition for rights to health care coverage applies. This means that testing for formal reasons, e.g. for school attendance or in order to cross a border is not covered. Only testing when there is a suspicion of actual contagion will be covered. Read more about applicable test criteria here.

When it comes to vaccination the same criteria as for other treatments apply. This means that only if you would have been eligible for a vaccination had you stayed in Norway, are you eligible for coverage of expenses for a vaccination abroad. Read more about vaccination and priority groups here. 

5

Travel expenses may be covered

Travel expenses are reimbursable under the same rules that apply in Norway.

As in Norway, the main rule is that your travel expenses are reimbursed at a standard rate per kilometre regardless of which means of transport you use. You must travel to the geographically closest location at which the health service can be provided.

If appropriate healthcare is not available where you are staying, this must be confirmed by a doctor at that location in order for travel and accommodation expenses connected with your treatment to be reimbursed. The confirmation must include information on the medical necessity of travelling to another town or another country, and the location of the nearest available appropriate healthcare.

If a companion is necessary for medical or treatment-related reasons, this person's travel expenses will also be reimbursable.

In order to be reimbursed, the journey must be longer than ten kilometres each way and cost more than the local minimum fare by scheduled public transport. You will have to pay a user fee per journey.

If you are applying for reimbursement of travel costs, use the same form as for claiming your healthcare expenses. The form is available at step 6.  

Example

Cecilie is taken by ambulance to the hospital in Mombasa, which is 500 km from Dar es Salaam. She obtains documentation from the doctor that the hospital she is taken to is the nearest location offering appropriate healthcare and that use of an ambulance is necessary.

6

Submit an application

When the treatment is completed, the application must be sent to Helfo. This must be done within six months from each treatment date.

The application must contain:

  • necessary original documentation relating to state of health, examinations and any treatment
  • documentation of the types of treatments carried out
  • original and legible receipts for all expenses
  • documentation that the expenses have been paid

All documentation must be in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or English. You should therefore try to get the documentation issued in one of these languages. If the original documents are in another language, Helfo may, if necessary, ask you to have them translated. You must pay for the translation yourself. If you enclose a translation, you must also enclose the original. 

Send in

enclosing the required documentation, to Helfo. This must be done within six months from each treatment date. The employer must complete item 4 on the application form if they have covered the expenses.

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

NB!  If you are filling out this form on behalf of a child under the age of 16, be aware that it is the child's personal information that is to be entered. However, the parent/guardian must sign the form.

To fill out the form:

  • Use a black or dark blue pen.
  • Place the form on top, with enclosures/receipts behind.
  • Attach any enclosures/receipts using paper clips. Do not use glue, tape or staples.
  • Please include your signature.

Separate rules apply for entitlement to an exemption card as a posted worker.

Example

Cecilie’s employer sends the application form to Helfo, and makes sure to enclose all required documentation.

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

Veiledning helsenorge.no

If you have any questions, please call Veiledning helsenorge.no (user service): +47 23 32 70 00