Tourists in the EU/EEA and Switzerland

The easiest way to do this is to use the European Health Insurance Card. You will then not have to pay for the treatment, and you will only have to pay a user fee in the same way as residents of the country in which you are staying.

On the page about the European Health Insurance Card, you will find information about who is entitled to the card, how to apply for it, what the card entitles you to, when the card cannot be used, and what to do if you are unable to use it.

Helfo recommends that you take out private travel insurance in addition to your European Health Insurance Card.

If you are a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, but are not entitled to a European Health Insurance Card because you are a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, you may still be entitled to receive public health services when you are travelling in another Nordic country, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary or Austria. You will be entitled to subsidised healthcare subject to the same conditions as the country's inhabitants, and you will have to pay the same user fees. This is because Norway has separate agreements with these countries. You may need to show documentation. In the Nordic countries, for example, you will need to state your residential address in a Nordic country and show ID.

Have you paid for healthcare?

If you are a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme and have incurred expenses in excess of any user fees for healthcare in a country other than Norway, you can apply to Helfo for reimbursement. Find out more about this in step 2.

Other temporary stays

Find out more about your rights here:

• Tourists outside the EU/EEA
• Students in the EU/EEA and Switzerland
• Pensioners in the EU/EEA and Switzerland

If you plan to have a home office in another EEA country or Switzerland (nav.no) (in Norwegian), you should check whether this would affect your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. Without membership, you will not be entitled to use your Norwegian European Health Insurance Card.

This also applies if you have forgotten to use your European Health Insurance Card. When you return home, you can apply for reimbursement from Helfo. 

Read more about your rights to reimbursement of expenses and about documentation requirements for treatment within the EU/EEA.

Submit your claim to Helfo digitally

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 form 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.