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Assisted reproductive treatment outside the EU/EEA
You can apply for reimbursement for your expenses for assisted reproductive treatment/infertility treatment provided outside the EU/EEA if you are entitled to extended benefits. 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 4.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
1
Your rights
You can apply for reimbursement for your expenses for assisted reproductive treatment/infertility treatment provided outside the EU/EEA if you are entitled to extended benefits.
As a member of the Norwegian National Insurance scheme with the right to extended benefits, you can claim reimbursement for your expenses for infertility treatment outside the EU/EEA.
Note: If you purchase drugs for infertility treatment, you will have to pay a user fee of NOK 19,419 (2023). The medicines must be marketed in Norway or contain the same active ingredient as medicines covered by a marketing authorisation in Norway.
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 childlessness set out in the Biotechnology Act (in Norwegian). For example, strict conditions apply in order to be granted permission for PGD (Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis). Your claim may therefore be rejected if PGD was used as part of your treatment.
Regardless of whether you receive treatment in Norway or abroad, you will only be eligible for 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 Bjorn and they have wanted a child for many years. They need treatment from a fertility clinic, and as Caroline is entitled to extended benefits, the couple are eligible to have their expenses reimbursed. Caroline had one unsuccessful cycle of treatment at an outpatient clinic in Norway before the couple moved to the USA, and she can therefore claim reimbursement for her expenses for up to a further two cycles.
2
Travel expenses are covered
Expenses for travel abroad in connection with treatment are covered according to the same rules as those which apply in Norway.
In Norway, the main rule is that your travel expenses will be reimbursed at a standard rate per kilometre (in Norwegian) regardless of the mode of transport 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 will have to pay a user fee per journey.
To claim your travel expenses, you must use the same form as you use when claiming your healthcare expenses. You will find the form in step 4.
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.
3
Don’t forget the documentation!
It is important to ensure that you obtain all the necessary documentation.
You must send the following documentation to Helfo together with your claim:
- childcare certificate of conduct from the police in Norway
- the necessary documentation of your state of health, examinations and any treatment
- documentation of the types of treatments carried out
- original itemised receipts or bills with documentation confirming that you have paid all the expenses
- completed and signed declaration from the treating physician – the declaration must indicate that the treatment complies with Norwegian legislation (see the form below)
- completed and signed form from a specialist if you wish to claim for medicines which are not marketed in Norway (see the form below)
You will also need to attach a signed personal declaration from you, and your partner if you have one, to your claim:
This is the form you must arrange to have signed by the treating physician:
This is the form you must arrange to have signed by a specialist if you wish to claim for medicines which are not marketed in Norway:
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.
Example
Caroline and Bjorn make sure they include all the necessary documentation.
4
Submit your application digitally
You can claim reimbursement for your expenses for infertility treatment provided outside the EU/EEA.
For details about the applicable documentation requirements, see "Don't forget the documentation".
Applications must be submitted within 6 months from the date of each individual treatment.
It may take up to 12 weeks to process your claim if Helfo has received the necessary documentation.
Paper form
If you are unable to use our digital form, you can complete the following form instead:
Send the form along with the necessary documentation to: Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg.
Example
Caroline and Bjorn have completed two cycles of treatment over the course of ten months, and are now expecting twins. They made sure they sent receipts for their treatment to Helfo on an ongoing basis. Claims must be made within six months from the date of each treatment.
Content provided by Helfo
Last updated Wednesday, January 25, 2023