Yngvil Mortensen

foreignworkers@lomedia.no

How do I get a permit to work in Norway?

As a refugee from the war in Ukraine, you can apply for collective protection in Norway. This means that you will be granted a temporary residence permit in Norway that will last for one year. You may be eligible for a residence permit for up to three years.

When your application for a residence permit in Norway has been granted, you will automatically receive a work permit.

Read more about residence permits here.

How will I be paid?

You will need a bank account in order to receive your pay from your employer.

Paying wages in cash in Norway is against the law.

You will need a Norwegian identity number – known as a «D number» – in order to open an account in a Norwegian bank.

When the National Police Immigration Service registers your application you should be issued with an asylum seeker card containing a «D number».

If you do not receive an asylum seeker card containing a «D number» when you register with the National Police Immigration Service, you will receive it in the post. You need to make sure that the police have your correct address. If you have not received an asylum seeker card within one week of registration you should contact the National Police Immigration Service.

How do I get a tax card?

Everyone in paid employment in Norway must pay tax. To do so you need a tax card.

Once you have received a residence permit from the The Directorate of Immigration (UDI), and are assigned a birth number, you will have the right to work in Norway.

You can apply for a tax card in one of the following ways:

• Ask your employer to apply for a tax card on your behalf.

• Apply for a tax card online.

• Send an application for a tax card for a foreign citizen with a copy of your contract of employment by post to the Norwegian Tax Administration at the following address:

Skatteetaten, Postboks 9200 Grønland, 0134 Oslo.

You have a right to a contract of employment

Everyone working in Norway must have a written contract of employment, irrespective of the duration of their employment. The contract of employment must include the following details:

• The number of hours you will be working. 

• How much you will be paid.

• A description of the work you will be doing. 

• The name of your employer.

You have the right to receive training

While you are learning your new job you have a right to be paid.

You will need to learn:

• How to do your job.

• The rules on health, safety and environment.

• The rules and laws that apply at your place of work.

If you are required to use protective equipment in your job, your employer must both obtain and pay for the equipment you use.

You must receive a payslip

Every month your employer must provide you with a written payslip.

The information on your payslip will include the amount you have earned and how much you have paid in taxes.

Your employer does not have the right to make deductions from your pay except with your agreement.

You have the right to extra pay when you work «overtime»

If you work more than nine hours a day and 40 hours a week, Norwegian law requires your employer to pay you an «overtime supplement».

When you work overtime, you have a right to be paid at least 40 percent more than your regular hourly wage.

Working off the books

Some employers ask their employees to work «off the books», in other words, without paying tax. This is against the law.

If the tax authorities find out that you have not paid tax on your wages you will be required to pay «penalty tax» at a rate that is much higher than the tax that you should have paid.

If you work off the books, you will have no right to sick pay, for example. Furthermore, you will not earn pension points.

In Norway, it is common to be a member of a trade union

The trade union movement in Norway is strong, and the state exercises no power over it.

50 percent of all employees in Norway are members of a trade union.

As a union member, you will receive help from your trade union if you run into difficulties at your workplace.

Your trade union also works to improve your conditions of pay and employment.

Norwegian trade unions enter into agreements on pay and conditions of employment with the employers’ organisations. These agreements are known as collective agreements.

What is the minimum wage in Norway?

Norway has no statutory minimum wage applicable to all employees.

In Norway, the minimum wage is fixed in the collective agreements.

If you work for a company that is party to a collective agreement, you must as a minimum receive the lowest wage provided for in that collective agreement.

In Norway, we also have statutory minimum rates of pay in nine industries. This is because some areas of the collective agreements apply to everyone working in these industries (including employees who are not members of a union).

These industries are:

• Construction

• Shipping and shipbuilding

• Agriculture and horticulture

• Cleaning

• Fisheries

• Electrical and electronics trades, except offshore

• Road haulage

• Tour bus drivers

• The hospitality industry

Pay on public holidays

All employees have the right to be paid on the 1st of May, International Workers’ Day, and the 17th of May, Norwegian Constitution Day, even if they are not working on that day. If you receive a fixed monthly salary and/or work in a company with a collective agreement, you may also be entitled to pay on other public holidays.

Sickness benefits: Pay when you are sick

In Norway, employees are entitled to pay when they are sick.

After you have worked for the same employer for a minimum of four weeks, you are entitled to sick pay from the first day on which you are sick.

Your employer is required to pay your wages for the first 16 days of your sickness. If you are sick for longer than 16 days, you are entitled to sick pay from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) for up to 12 months.

For the first two months that you work for a new employer you will need a doctor’s certificate in order to receive sick pay.

After two months, you can self-certify for the first three days that you are sick. Self-certification can be used a maximum of four times during any 12-month period.

Pay if the company you work for is declared bankrupt

You are entitled to be paid even if your employer is declared bankrupt. A State scheme, called the Wage Guarantee Fund, ensures that employees are paid even if their company is declared bankrupt.

If your employer is not paying you, contact the Labour Inspection Authority in the area that you live in. You need to do so without delay, otherwise there is a risk that your claim for pay will be outdated.

Sources: The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, the Norwegian Tax Administration, the National Police Immigration Service and the Directorate of Immigration (UDI).

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Article in Ukrainian: Плануєте працювати в Норвегії? Ось що вам слід знати

Article in Norwegian: Skal du jobbe i Norge? Dette bør du vite