Assisted reproductive treatment outside the EU/EEA
You can apply for reimbursement for your expenses for assisted reproductive treatment provided outside the EU/EEA if you are entitled to extended subsidisation. Go through all the steps in this guide to understand your rights and what you need to do. You will find the claim form in step 5.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
Your rights
You can apply for reimbursement of your expenses for assisted reproductive treatment that is provided outside the EU/EEA if you are entitled to extended subsidisation.
As a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme with the right to extended subsidisation, you can claim reimbursement of your expenses for assisted reproductive treatment outside the EU/EEA.
You must be a woman who is married, cohabiting in a marriage-like relationship or single. You will only be considered to be single if you do not live with any other adults.
You and your partner, if you have one, must fulfil the conditions for the treatment of involuntary childlessness set out in the Norwegian Biotechnology Act (lovdata.no). Please note, among other things, that the upper age limit for women is 46 and that there are strict conditions for being granted permission for Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).
Regardless of whether you receive the treatment in Norway or abroad, you will only be eligible for the reimbursement of your expenses for a total of three cycles (‘attempts’) per child. Find out more about involuntary childlessness and what is considered to be one attempt here.
Example
Caroline works at the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. She is married to Bjørn and they have tried unsuccessfully to conceive for many years. They need treatment from a fertility clinic and, as Caroline is entitled to extended subsidisation, the couple are eligible to have their expenses reimbursed.
For what can you be reimbursed?
If all the conditions for the treatment of involuntary childlessness are fulfilled, you can have part of the cost of necessary expenses for drugs and assisted reproductive treatment reimbursed.
There are various rules for the reimbursement of expenses for drugs and assisted reproductive treatment.
If you have incurred expenses for assisted reproductive treatment, the user fee is 25 per cent of the actual expenses. The user fee limit for healthcare expenses abroad is NOK 2,374 in 2024. After you reach this limit, you will no longer have to pay user fees for the rest of the calendar year. The user fees paid abroad are not coordinated with any user fees you pay in Norway.
If you purchase drugs for assisted reproductive treatment, you will have to pay a user fee of NOK 20,176 (in 2024). After this, expenses for the drugs will be covered in full. The drugs must be marketed in Norway or contain the same active ingredient as drugs covered by a marketing authorisation in Norway.
Example
Caroline and Bjørn will receive assisted reproductive treatment with IVF treatment (in vitro fertilisation) which is in accordance with the Biotechnology Act. In connection with the IVF treatment, Caroline must take drugs that stimulate ovulation. Caroline and Bjørn know that they can have some of the cost of the drugs and the treatment itself reimbursed.
Don’t forget the documentation!
It is important that you obtain all the necessary documentation.
You must send the following documentation to Helfo together with your application:
- a childcare certificate of conduct from the Norwegian police or equivalent documentation from your country of residence and/or the country you are staying in – the certificate cannot be older than three months
- the necessary documentation of your state of health, examinations and any treatment
- documentation from the healthcare provider concerning the types of treatments performed, such as medical records
- the original itemised invoice from the healthcare provider showing the type of treatment, treatment date and price per treatment
- original receipts for all expenses or other documentation showing that the expenses have been paid and when
- a completed and signed declaration from the treating physician – the declaration must indicate that the treatment complies with Norwegian legislation (see the form below)
You will also need a signed personal statement from you and your partner as an attachment to your reimbursement application:
This is the form you must arrange to have signed by the treating physician:
In order for Helfo to reach a decision concerning a claim, we must be able to understand the documents. This basically means that they must be in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or English. You should therefore try to get the documents issued in one of these languages. If the documents are in another language, Helfo may ask you to have them translated. You will have to pay for the translation yourself. If you submit a translation, you must also submit the original.
Example
Because Caroline and Bjørn know they can claim reimbursement of part of the cost of the drugs and the treatment itself, they keep all their receipts and other relevant documentation, which they attach to the application they will send to Helfo.
Travel expenses may be covered
Travel expenses abroad are covered according to the same rules that apply in Norway.
As in Norway, the general rule is that your travel expenses will be reimbursed at a standard rate per kilometre, regardless of the mode of transport that you use. You must travel to the geographically closest location at which the health service can be provided.
In order to be reimbursed, the journey must be longer than ten kilometres each way and cost more than the local minimum fare by public transport. You must pay one user fee per trip.
Read more about user fees and rates for patient travels.
If you are applying for the reimbursement of travel expenses, you should do so on the same form that you use when applying for the reimbursement of your healthcare expenses. The form can be found in step 5.
Example
Caroline and Bjorn live on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. and travel to a clinic near where they live. The trip costs no more than the local minimum rate by public transport, so they are not able to claim reimbursement for their travel expenses.
Submit your application
You can apply for reimbursement of expenses for assisted reproductive treatment provided outside the EU/EEA using a digital form.
For the treatment, forms and documentation must be submitted to Helfo within six months from the date of treatment. If you paid retrospectively rather than upfront, we will determine the deadline from the payment date.
You can apply for the reimbursement of your expenses for fertility drugs when you and your partner, if you have one, reach and exceed the user fee of NOK 20,176 (2024). You do this by submitting all receipts within six months from the date on which you exceed the user fee limit. For additional expenses after this, a reimbursement application must be submitted within six months of each drug purchase.
For details about the applicable documentation requirements, see "Don't forget the documentation!"
The processing period is up to 12 weeks if Helfo has received the documentation necessary to process the application.
Paper form
If you are unable to use our digital form, you can instead fill in and submit the following form with the necessary documentation to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg:
Example
Caroline and Bjørn have completed two IVF cycles over the course of ten months and are now expecting twins. They have made sure to submit documentation to Helfo within the application deadline of six months from the time each treatment was received and paid for. They made sure they sent receipts for the drugs within the application deadline of six months from the date on which the user fee limit was reached. They have also submitted all receipts for the drugs they purchased before the user fee amount was reached.
Contact Guidance Helsenorge
Contact Guidance Helsenorge if you are not sure whether you are entitled to a European Health Insurance Card or coverage for healthcare services abroad:
- Telephone: +47 23 32 70 00
- Fax: +47 33 34 73 73