Among the first things you should do coming to Norway is to register for a Norwegian ID-number, tax deduction card and residence permit. You will not be able to process salary payments, open a bank account, get a regular GP, or register a telephone subscription etc. until you have been assigned your Norwegian ID number. If you are accompanied by family members, you should apply for family immigration at the same time. Be sure to contact your department and inform them on your planned arrival date well in beforehand, especially during holidays.

The Norwegian Directorate for Immigration (UDI) has a comprehensive website that explains the different visa application processes that non-Norwegians have to follow depending on their country of origin, and how to apply for work permit.

The registration scheme for EU/EEA nationals

The registration scheme for non EU/EEA nationals

The UDI's Application Portal Norway might also be useful.

The Service Centre for foreign workers is a joint effort from the Norwegian authorities to facilitate your arrival in Norway as a new employee. They can help you obtaining your ID number and tax deduction card among other things. 

It is strongly advised that you book an appointment with the police before you come to Norway. This is also the case for other family members. You may also use the Police information desk “drop-in” service, but you will get limited help if you choose this option. If you're planning to live in Norway for six months or more, you must report your move to Norway no later than eight days after your arrival.

When you on the SUA web site pre-book your appointment, be sure to book with the police and not the tax administration. By doing this, you will not have to book an extra appointment for questions regarding tax deduction cards, moving, or identification numbers.

Please note that you will be required, among other documents, to have a property rental contract valid for at least 6 months. Those who do not have such a document can expect delays in getting an ID number.

Finding accommodation at an early stage is important, and some have had very good experience with coming to Bergen searching for suitable accommodation prior to starting to work at NHH. In the period July to October, finding a place to live can be challenging since quite a few students are also looking for a place to rent. Please refer to the links below for more information:

• www.finn.no (Norwegian) - The most popular Norwegian website for housing announcements. 
• Euraxess' pages on housing.
• Airbnb.com for private rental.
• www.hybel.no (Norwegian) - Website for housing announcements mainly presenting shared apartments solutions and smaller studio apartments.
• www.sabbaticalhomes.com - A resource for home exchanges and rentals for academics while on sabbatical leaves.

As a foreigner, you should be aware of a number of things when renting private accommodation in Norway.

• Ten tips when renting domestic property
• Information on regulations pertaining tenancy (pdf) agreements (pdf)
• Standard tenancy contract (pdf) - issued by the Norwegian Consumer Council
• Form for handover of accommodation and inventory list (pdf)

Be aware that custom regulations apply when importing household goods moving to Norway.

A moving allowance granted by NHH is intended to cover your travel and visa application for faculty employees and immediate dependents. By household content means everything that normally exists in any household, with a maximum volume of 50 cubic meters.

Moving of special objects like boats, vehicles, pianos etc. is not covered by the relocation compensation.

In addition, the following conditions apply:

• For permanent positions, NHH will cover expenses up to NOK 80.000/USD 9.200/EUR 8.200 including insurance.
• For temporary positions, NHH will cover expenses up to NOK 60.000/USD 6.900/EUR 6.200 including insurance.
• The employee must collect tenders (price estimates) for the relocation expences from at least three registered relocations firms. These are to be delivered along with the original relocation receipt. The cheapest offer must be accepted.
• The application for relocation allowance must be sent no later than two months after the relocation is completed to the Office of HR at NHH. 

  Please use the Travel Expense Claim (intranet) and remember to attach all documents.

• A lock-in period of up to a minimum of one year will apply.

Please note that rules concerning moving goods does not apply for PhD students.

Please find further tips regarding moving at the Euraxess homepages.

Spouses

Being the accompanying spouse is a unique, exciting but also challenging experience. There is an informal spouse group on Facebook called “NHH spouses - the better halves” which you might consider joining.

If your spouse plan to apply for work in Norway, it is highly recommended that you start the process of getting the recognition of foreign higher education early, as this may take some time.

For spouses of faculty members and PhD students who wants to work in Bergen, NHH will upon request pay for up to five coaching hours with Manpower. Examples of topics covered are:

• General information about the relevant labour market and how it works
• Writing a good application and CV
• Interview Training
• Support in the application process for authorization in Norway
• Concrete job placement

Manpower is one of the leading staffing agencies in Norway. NHH has entered into an agreement with the company in order to help assisting accompanying spouses in finding job opportunities in Bergen. Please contact the NHH Service Centre for further assistance. You can also send the CV in advance to prepare for your coaching.

The Norwegian school system

All public elementary to upper secondary education is free. Education for children between the ages of 6 and 15 is compulsory. Pupils attending elementary or lower secondary school who have a first language other than Norwegian are entitled to special language tuition in Norwegian. This right applies until the child is sufficiently proficient in Norwegian to follow normal teaching at the school. 

Preschool/Kindergarten

The Norwegian school system begins with an offering of preschool/daycare (“barnehage”) to children aged 1 to 5.  The play-based programme focus on social skills and fun learning. There is a strong emphasis on outdoor play - rain, sleet, snow, sun or mid-winter dark, children play outside during preschool hours.  

You can apply for kindergarten throughout the year, but the application deadline for the primary admission process for 2024 is set for 1 March. The deadline may however vary. You may apply before you have received your Norwegian ID number. The KIDSA kindergartens named “Sølvberget” and “Nyhavn” are located in the vicinity of NHH, and you might get priority for your child based on an agreement between NHH and KIDSA. You should therefore consider entering KIDSA as you first priority when you apply. For further information regarding procedures, please contact the Kindergarten administration.

“Open kindergarten” is an offer for children without a permanent place in the official kindergarten system. It’s based on parents being present together with their children, so it’s also a good way of socialising. The open day care centres are managed by a pedagogical leader. The different venues are usually run by different churches in Norway, and is listed (in Norwegian) on the Bergen Municipality webpage.

Elementary school

In the year in which they turn 6, children start at a local elementary school ("barneskole"). Elementary school extends through Grade 7. All schools offer an afterschool programme for children from grades 1 to 4 ("SFO" or "skolefritidsordning"). 

Lower secondary school

The lower secondary schools starting at the age of 13 ("ungdomsskole") span from grades 8, 9 and 10.

Upper secondary school

Upper secondary schools ("videregående skole") extend from grades 11-13. Children in Norway are not required to attend upper secondary school (high school), but those who want to attend must apply to specific schools in the Bergen region.

The school health service is available at all primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools and may include a school nurse, school doctor, vaccination, as well as other health professionals.

For information regarding family related financial benefits such as child benefit and cash-for-care benefit, please refer to the NAV website.

National identification number (Social security number)

All permanent residents in Norway need a national identification number (ID-number). All persons requiring an ID-number are required to appear in person at a tax office and present valid proof of identity. If you are moving to Norway, you must appear in person at a tax office and present valid proof of your identity. This also applies to Norwegian nationals who move back to Norway from abroad.

All family members must appear in person at the tax office if you move to Norway with your family. Please check tax offices for ID validation.

Service Centre for Foreign Workers in Bergen

The Service Centre for foreign workers is a joint effort from the Norwegian authorities to facilitate your arrival in Norway as a new employee. They can help you obtaining your ID number and tax deduction card among other things. 

Opening a bank account should be one of your top priorities upon arrival in Norway, especially if your stay exceeds six months. Access to a Norwegian bank account will enable you to receive salary payments and handle your finances in a safe and efficient way.

To open a bank account in Norway you will need a national identity (Norwegian ID) number.

Bring the following documents to the branch of the bank you wish to open an account:

• National ID-number
• Passport
• Employment contract
• Residence Permit Card or Registration Certificate

Internet banking is the most convenient way to transfer money and pay bills and is therefore recommended. After your visit to the bank, you will receive your bank card, pin code and code device (unit) separately in the post.

BankID is an electronic credential for secure identification and signing on the web, and can be ordered in your bank. You can use regular BankID with a code device (unit) and password or bank app BankID on mobile with pin code. In addition to banking, you can use BankID for both electronic signature and identification on a wide range of public services.

Debit- and Credit cards

Banks offer a variety of debit- and credit cards. Debit- and credit cards are increasingly the preferred means of payment in Norway. Any debit card that has your photograph, National ID-number and signature printed on it also serves as an identity card in Norway. There are several savings- and commercial banks in Norway, but unfortunately, not all have web- pages in English.

Vipps is an appliation that gives the user the possibility to make payments to a receiver’s telephone number instead of an account number. If the receiver has a bank account in one of the owner banks of Vipps, the money is confirmed and available for the receiver within seconds.

• Download Vipps for iPhone - App Store
• Download Vipps for Android - Google Play

The public social security system in Norway is called the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme (NAV). To be entitled to benefits, you must be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. This applies to all benefits from NAV, including health service benefits, i.e. treatment by a doctor, psychologist or expenditure on medicines of major importance in long-term use.

As a general rule all persons resident in Norway are members of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. When you move to Norway to be here for at least 12 months, you become a member from your date of entry into Norway. Membership is automatic. As an employee, you pay a national insurance contribution of 7.8 percent of your gross income. The contribution is included in ordinary tax withdrawal.

Private insurances to be considered are for instance car- home and travel insurance. Take note of that if you combine your research stay abroad with holiday, only the part of your travel that is work-related is covered. In this case travel insurance may be especially important.

If you travel on behalf of NHH, the agreement with Eurocard includes a travel insurance for NHH employees. Using your NHH credit card when paying for travels will include a travel insurance with no extra charge. It is however strongly advised that you check the coverage of the insurance, since additional private insurance in some cases will give better coverage. This is especially important for longer stays abroad (i.e. sabbatical leave etc.)

The European Health Insurance Card officially documents that you are entitled to coverage of medically necessary healthcare in another EEA country under the same conditions as that country's own nationals. Please refer to the official webpage for what you might be entitled to- and how to obtain the insurance card.

Car insurance in Norway is compulsory. The labor unions at NHH will in some cases have favourable agreements with insurance companies.

Salary

In order to start receiving a salary from NHH, you will need an ID number, a tax deduction card, and a Norwegian bank account. 

Your tax card is valid for one calendar year, and will be automatically renewed each year in January.

Before the monthly salary payment is deposited into your bank account, a tax depending on your exact financial situation (in Norwegian) will be deducted. In addition, 2 percent is deducted for the pension scheme.

NHH issues only electronic pay slips to employees. These are accessed through Unit4.

NHH employees receive a net monthly salary on the 12th of each month for 11 months of the year. An amount is held back each month, and paid out as holiday pay in the 12th month.

Taxes

Paying taxes in Norway requires that you have a national identity number and a tax deduction card. The tax deduction card is used as a basis for withholding tax from salaries paid to employees working in Norway. Make sure that your employer has received your tax deduction card before you get your first salary, otherwise a 50% tax will automatically be withheld from your salary. Remembe to pre-book an appointment with the police/tax administration before you arrive in Norway through the SUA website.

From 2019, a new and simplified tax scheme will take effect. The scheme is meant for foreign workers in Norway and is called PAYE (Pay As You Earn). Most new foreign workers will fall under this scheme the first year they work in Norway. The Nordisk eTax webpage is primarily designed for employees from other Nordic countries, but may also be useful for other foreign employees.

If you have paid too much tax, you receive a refund in your annual tax assessment. It is important to double check and perhaps change your tax deduction card in January. This is especially important if your anticipated annual income will be significantly higher than it was in the previous year. This will usually be the case if you start working at NHH in August.

Changes in your expected salary will need to be manually registered online with the tax authorities to make sure that your tax is calculated correctly. If not you will pay too little tax the coming year, and receive a large tax bill the following year. To do this you will need to log in to Skatteetaten and your Altinn inbox, using your BankID.

Personal tax return (Selvangivelse)

The final tax return is sent to your Altinn inbox in the spring of the year following the income year. The tax return is to be completed and submitted to the tax authorities by April 30th in the year following the income year.

You will receive a summary of income and withheld tax deductions (Årsoppgave) from your employer together with annual statements on the salary and allowances you have earned in Norway. Please read the information from The Norwegian Tax Administration on how to avoid errors.

Final tax return (Skattemeldingen)

The final tax return is sent to your registered address in either June or October in the year following the income year. It provides information on the basis for taxation in Norway, such as taxable income, tax paid, if you have overpaid or underpaid tax, etc. The tax assessment will normally correspond with the information submitted in your personal tax return, but should always be double checked.

In Norway, the state and local authorities have a responsibility for ensuring that all Norway's inhabitants have access to certain fundamental goods, such as schools and health services.

In effect, this means that you, as an employee at NHH, as a main rule will have access to various social benefits.

If your stay in Norway exceeds six months, you will be automatically assigned a regular general practitioner. However, this may take several months. To speed up the process, you may contact the Fastlege Office at 23 32 70 00 once you have received your Norwegian national identity number. Until you have been assigned a regular GP, you may contact the Out-of-hours medical service or visit the nearest Emergency room - Bergen legevakt (in Norwegian).

The Euraxess webpage will also give a good overview over health care in Norway.

Tuberculosis Test

Norwegian law requires that all foreign nationals from countries where there is a high occurrence of tuberculosis, who will be residing in Norway more than three months, must be tested.

If required, you should be examined before starting your assignment at NHH. The examination is done at Smittevernkontoret in Bergen. You can book an appointment by sending an email to: smittevernet@bergen.kommune.no. You will receive documentation when you have had your check-up, and the examination is free of charge.

Cellphones are used for many services in Norway, and it is recommended that you obtain a Norwegian cellphone number at an early stage since. If you choose to get a top-up-card, it is possible to get this before you receive your Norwegian ID number.

Buying a top-up-card is the easiest option to get a Norwegian cellphone number at an early stage. If your cellphone works in Norway you can buy a new SIM card with any Norwegian telephone number and insert it into your existing phone. Once registered, you can top it up with credit from supermarkets, petrol stations, newsagents and online.

If you are planning on staying in Norway for an extended period of time, it may be better to enter in to a contract. This involves paying a monthly fee to a mobile network provider, which often contains a certain amount of minutes, SMS messages and mobile data. This requires that you have obtained your Norwegian ID number and bank account.

You should notify the Post by filling out a form about your address in Norway as soon as possible. The most convenient would be to hand it in at a post office or in-store post office for verification of identity. If you have a temporary address to begin with, you will be required to notify NHH, The National Registry and the Post about your new address. 

With Digipost you can receive your mail digitally from other people, businesses, and the public sector. Keep your mail as long as you wish and have it available everywhere. 

The academic year at NHH starts in mid-August and ends in mid-June the year after. In addition to teaching and research, NHH will host several conferences and seminars both at an institutional and departmental level.

NHH tend to be very quiet during holidays. The main holiday periods in Norway are:

• Summer holidays: from mid-June to mid-August
• Christmas holidays: from mid-December until the beginning of January
• Easter holidays: from Monday after Palm Sunday to Easter Monday

Please be aware that Norwegian bank holidays may be different from the bank holidays in your home country.

NHH has a strong strategic emphasis on quality in teaching, and has developed a variety of tools to help strengthen the competence in teaching at NHH.

NHH faculty members normally teach at bachelor, master and/or PhD-level. The teaching load will be dependent on your employment conditions. For each course, faculty members have the responsibility for all pre-course preparation, administration during courses, examination and grading.

Whereas there is a certain degree of flexibility related to PhD courses, a full bachelor and master is normally 45 contact hours, made of up lectures, visiting speakers, exercises etc. A contact hour is 45 minutes. Some of the contact hours may be used for independent student assignments and problem solving. Class usually runs 2 x 45 minutes, with a 15 minute break in between.

Canvas is NHH's Learning Management System (LMS). 

In Norway, both teaching and examinations are subject to quite strict regulations, and it is important that you are in close contact with the course responsible at your department when planning your teaching.

NHH uses WISEflow both for home assignments and for school exams.

Your department might provide a Teaching Assistant (TA) for faculty members responsible for large master courses. This role is carried out by the department’s PhD Research Scholars as part of their compulsory workload. The workload in relation to the TA-role is determined by the department, in agreement with the faculty member. Large bachelor courses may also get TA support, provided by master students hired by the department.

At NHH, the departments invite internal and external national and international guest speakers to present in the seminar series. Faculty members, including PhD candidates, will be able to meet with the guest speakers while they visit NHH.

You are encouraged to attend and present your research at a variety of other seminars and workshops. These occasions will enable you to gain valuable feedback from your peers.

Faculty members are also expected to attend the internal seminars for faculty and staff at their departments. As well as receiving an update and being able to discuss activities, events and processes for your department, this is your opportunity to contribute to the development and realization of future goals for the department.

NHH Calendar

The NHH webpage for research support (login) will give you useful information about funding, data, ethics, bonuses etc.

NHH’s funds offer grants to faculty members and PhD research scholars for participation at conferences, normally when presenting a paper. The funds might also cover expenses related to research leaves (sabbaticals) at institutions abroad. Be aware of the deadlines for application.

Researchers with a permanent position and post docs/assistant professors at NHH may also on a yearly basis be eligible for funding through NHH’s “Småforsk” (login).

Most faculty members obtain a certain amount of research budget (annuum) throughout their time of employment at NHH. Annuum is individual, but not private. It can be used to cover research-related expenses such as travels, books, publication subscriptions, representation etc. It can also be used to cover IT-equipment which exceeds the costs covered by the department. Items purchased from the annuum is NHH property.

This annuum consist of publication bonuses, bonuses for having been principal supervisor for PhD candidates and other such activities, as well as grants from research projects. Female faculty members in non-tenured, internally funded positions will receive a special “qualification annuum” of NOK 25,000.

NHH provides generous incentives for submission of research in selected top journals, through its publication bonus scheme (login). Up to NOK 200 000 can be awarded if sole authored for publications in journals that are on both lists (NHH and Financial Times). Employees with permanent employment as well as temporary employees with a main position at NHH, including PhDs and postdocs, are eligible for a publication bonus. 

If a publication has more than one author and all authors are employed by NHH, bonuses are distributed evenly amongst them.

Faculty members must have listed NHH as their affiliation in all externally published research to be eligible for the NHH publication bonus scheme.

In addition, there is a publication bonus for publication in the top finance journals awarded by the Norwegian Finance Initiative (NFI) set up by Norges Bank Investment Management. Please contact the Office for Research Administration for more information about the bonus programs.

Each year, NHH admits new PhD research scholars/candidates. The departments will allocate each PhD candidate a mentor/principal supervisor within their field of interest prior to, or soon after, their start at NHH.

If a mentor is appointed initially, a principal supervisor is appointed by the end of the first year in the PhD programme (replacing the mentor). The principal supervisor is later joined by one or two other members to form the supervisory committee for the student. The principal supervisor will chair this committee.

Faculty members are usually expected to supervise a certain number of master’s theses each year. A master’s thesis is normally written by two students and is equivalent to one full semester of work. Your department allocates supervisors according to topics.

Most departments at NHH have their own working paper series. All working papers written by faculty members should be approved by the Head or Deputy Head of their department before inclusion in the series.  Paper manuscripts that are ready to be issued should be sent electronically to the department’s administrative team.

NHH is engaged in education, research and dissemination in the field of economics and business administration. Agreements with several major Norwegian businesses provide the opportunity for NHH to develop the knowledge and competence that is needed and desired by both business and society as a whole.

As well as presenting their research and submitting articles for publication, NHH faculty are expected to market their academic achievements with a link to profile pages under the department pages on the NHH website. This profile page will include areas of research and teaching, articles and publications. Please make sure that the information on your profile page is up to date at all times. 

When new in Norway, learning the language may be beneficial to both you and your family members. Permanent faculty at NHH are expected to have sufficient Norwegian and English language skills to enable them to communicate satisfactorily with students, staff and external contacts.

Permanent faculty who lack Norwegian or other Scandinavian language skills are expected to achieve a command of Norwegian to intermediate level B1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) within three years of permanent employment, and shall, if necessary, complete an approved course in Norwegian.

NHH offers Norwegian courses that are open to all students, staff, faculty and their partners, spanning from no prior knowledge of the language to level B1-B2. These are NOR10, NOR11 and ELE426. The registration deadline is 1 February in spring, and 1 September in autumn.

Registration form Norwegian courses at NHH

Forms submitted after the deadline will not be processed.

Faculty members in permanent positions are entitled to apply for sabbatical leave with full pay in order to carry out research work. You will be able to use this time to further your own research, develop new research projects, as well as establish research partnerships with other schools/universities or organizations nationally and internationally.

In order to qualify for this leave (login), you are required to have worked in your position at NHH for six semesters for six months’ leave, and 12 semesters for 12 months’ leave.  Female Associate Professors need to work only half of these periods in order to qualify for the two first years of sabbatical leave.

A condition for being granted a research leave is also that the applicant has had a normal teaching load in the period after date of commencement/previous research leave.

It is also required that you have produced a minimum of three publication points for 12 months leave, and 1,5 publication points for six months leave, prior to the application. 

Faculty members are required to submit a satisfactory plan for the research to be carried out during the sabbatical leave. They are also expected to assist the department in finding arrangements for teaching to be taken over during the period of absence.

The deadlines for applications for sabbatical leave are 15th March and 15th October every year. For both deadlines, the application will apply to sabbatical leave to be taken from the second and/or the third semester after the deadline.

You are required to deliver a status report to your department following your sabbatical leave.