You are entitled to reimbursement of your expenses on assisted reproductive treatment/infertility treatment provided in another EU/EEA country. Go through all the steps in this guide to understand your rights and what you need to do. The claim form is included in Step 6.
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You are entitled to claim reimbursement of your expenses on assisted reproductive treatment/infertility treatment provided in another EU/EEA country. You can claim for expenses up to the amount you would have been entitled to in Norway.
You must be in a marriage or cohabitant in a marriage-like relationship. If you are a single woman living alone, you can apply for reimbursement of expenses you incurred after 1 July 2020. You are also required to have been referred for treatment by a healthcare provider practising in Norway. You, and your partner if you have one, must meet the requirements for treatment of involuntary childlessness in the Norwegian Act relating to the application of biotechnology in medicine.
Whether you receive treatment in Norway or abroad, you will only be eligible for reimbursement of your expenses on a total of three cycles ('attempts') per child. Learn more about involuntary childlessness, eligible types of treatment and the definition of 'a cycle'.
If you will be receiving treatment, you must be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. In many cases, the scheme also applies to family members.
You are not entitled to a subsidy from Norway for treatment in an EU/EEA country you are regarded as ordinarily resident in. Click here for important information on who qualifies for this scheme.
Are you planning to receive health care in the UK? Click here for information about the consequences of Brexit (in Norwegian).
If you intend to travel abroad to receive healthcare, you must first obtain a referral from a healthcare professional in Norway.
You must also obtain a childcare certificate of conduct from the police in Norway and take that with you to the doctor who will treat you abroad.
To reduce your financial risk, you have the option of applying to Helfo for prior authorisation. Learn more about this in the online article: «Hospital treatment and other specialist health services in EU/EEA countries». This also provides information about the risks of opting for treatment outside Norway.
Before commencing treatment, you may need to take fertility drugs. For more information about reimbursement of expenses on this medication, click here (in Norwegian).
Tina and Louise live together and are hoping for a baby. They have a referral from a specialist, and the hospital in Vestfold has confirmed that they are entitled to assisted reproductive treatment. The couple have friends who received treatment in Denmark, and they would like to try this.
It is up to you to find a treatment provider in another EU/EEA country.
Once you have decided on a hospital or clinic abroad, you must verify that the treatment provider is an authorised specialist and holds a licence in the country in question. This means that the treatment provider must be entitled to practise in the country in which the treatment will be provided. It is your responsibility to obtain documentation to prove this.
You must also document that the place of treatment or the treatment provider is licensed to provide assisted reproductive treatment/infertility treatment in accordance with that country's legislation.
Tina and Louise have found a private fertility clinic in Denmark they would like to use. They contact the clinic and receive an offer showing the cost and detailing the treatment. Tina and Louise decide to apply to Helfo for prior authorisation. This is their guarantee that their expenses will be covered. Their application is granted by Helfo. The couple then goes ahead and arranges treatment from the fertility clinic. The couple has verified that the treatment providers and the place of treatment holds the necessary licences, authorisations and specialist approval. They know that they will need to bring documentation back to Norway as proof that any treatment provider they received services from has the right to practise in Denmark.
If you meet all the conditions, you can claim a reimbursement of expenses equivalent to the amount the healthcare would have cost within the national health service in Norway.
Please therefore bear in mind that the reimbursement you receive from Norway may be lower than what you actually paid abroad. If your expenses turn out to be lower than the estimated cost in Norway, the reimbursement you receive will match your actual expenses.
The treatment must be either identical or comparable to the treatment you would have received within the national health service in Norway. In other words, you will not be able to receive any other or any more treatment than what the Norwegian specialist health service would offer you.
Tina and Louise go through with the assisted reproductive treatment equivalent to what they would have been offered in Norway. This means that they will be reimbursed for their expenses up to the amount the treatment would have cost within the Norwegian national health service.
You will not be able to claim for more than if you had travelled to the nearest place of treatment in Norway.
You, and your partner if you have one, may be granted reimbursement of your travel expenses, corresponding to what you would have received in Norway.
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 healthcare can be provided. In order to be reimbursable, your journey from home must be longer than ten kilometres each way and cost more than the local minimum fare by scheduled public transport.
Claims for travel expenses reimbursements must be sent to Helfo on this claim form:
(The form is in Norwegian, but click here for an English guide with instructions for filling out the form “Reiseregningsskjema".)
Send the claim form with the other documentation – see steps 5 and 6. If Helfo grants you reimbursement of your expenses, Helfo will forward your travel expenses claim to Pasientreiser (Patient Travel).
Tina and Louise live in Holmestrand. The nearest place of treatment to their home in Norway would have been Oslo, so their travel expenses in Denmark will be reimbursed up to the equivalent of Holmestrand-Oslo-Holmestrand.
It is important to ensure that you obtain all the necessary documentation from the place of treatment abroad.
This is the documentation you must send to Helfo after you have received the treatment:
If you will be claiming reimbursement of your expenses for any infertility drugs, you must include
If you will be claiming reimbursement of your expenses on drugs that are not marketed in Norway, you must have the following form completed and signed by your specialist: «Statement from specialist regarding need for drugs not marketed in Norway - assisted reproductive treatment. (05-24a.08)» (see further down on this page).
This is the personal statement you must enclose with your reimbursement claim:
This is the form you must have signed by the treating physician abroad:
If you will be claiming reimbursement of your expenses on drugs that are not marketed in Norway, you must have the following form completed and signed by your specialist:
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 ask you to have them translated by a state-authorised translator. You must pay for the translation yourself. If you enclose a translation, you must also enclose the original.
The treatment proceeds as planned, but Tina and Louise have to have a second cycle of treatment (another attempt). They receive a new offer from the fertility clinic for cycle number 2, and they apply for, and are granted, a new prior authorisation from Helfo. They complete the second cycle and take care to bring all the necessary documentation back from Denmark.
You must send in your claim for reimbursement of expenses within six months of each individual treatment date.
To claim reimbursement, you must complete the claim form and send it with supporting documents to Helfo.
For details of documentation requirements, see under «Don't forget the documentation!».
The claim must be made within six months of each treatment date.
Send your claim to: Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg
The claim processing time is up to twelve weeks.
Tina and Louise completed two treatment cycles over a period of eight months, and are now expecting a baby. They have submitted a claim for reimbursement of their expenses on treatment together with the required documentation as proof of the payments they made. They have taken care to ensure that they sent in their bills and receipts to Helfo no later than six months after each treatment date.