Employing foreign workers
Before you employ foreign workers, it is your responsibility as employer to check that they are entitled to work in Norway. You can do this by contacting the Directorate of Immigration’s Employer Service. A tax deduction card is not proof that someone is entitled to work or live in Norway.
Requirement for a residence permit
Foreign workers wishing to work in Norway must generally have a residence permit.
Directorate of Immigration’s Employer Service (UDI)
The rules vary depending on which country the worker comes from:
EU/EEA citizens
EU/EEA citizens who are planning to live in Norway for more than six months, you are required to report a move here no later than eight days after arrival.
Report a move to Norway from abroad
UDI on living in- or visiting Norway
Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and Finnish citizens can work without registering with the police. Other EU/EEA citizens are entitled to be employees in Norway but must register with the police no more than three months after their arrival in Norway.
You can find information on how to employ someone from the EU/EEA and how to check whether the worker is an EU/EEA citizen from the Directorate of Immigration.
Employers: Employing someone who is an EU/EEA national
Non-EU/EEA citizens
EU/EEA citizens who are planning to live in Norway for more than six months, you are required to report a move here no later than eight days after arrival.
Report a move to Norway from abroad
UDI - resident permit in Norway
Persons from non-EU/EEA countries must apply for a residence permit in order to work in Norway. The Directorate of Immigration can tell you what you need to do in order to employ a person from a non-EU/EEA country. In connection with applications for residence permits for skilled workers, for example, you can apply on behalf of the employee as their employer.
UDI - Employing someone who is not an EU/EEA national
Service Centre for Foreign Workers
There are specific Service Centres for Foreign Workers in Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Kirkenes. Information from these service centres is available in Norwegian, English, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian. The service centres are jointly run by the Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet), the Police (politiet), the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) and the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to ensure that foreigners coming to Norway to work receive sound advice. Employers of persons both within and outside the EU/EEA can also use the service centres.
The Service Centre for Foreign Workers
Help to recruit foreign labour
Through the EURES service, NAV can help employers to recruit labour from Europe.
Tax deduction cards and d-numbers
A d-number is a number that can be assigned to a foreigner who does not have a Norwegian National ID number, but who needs an identification document to use when they communicate with the Norwegian authorities.
Workers intending to work and stay in Norway for less than 6 months must have a d-number in order to be registered with the National Registry. A d-number is also necessary in order to obtain a tax deduction card.
Tax deduction cards for persons without a Norwegian national ID number
Workers who do not have a Norwegian national ID number or d-number must generally report to one of 48 selected tax offices in order to apply for a tax deduction card.
Tax offices that carry out ID checks
Employer's National Insurance contributions and National Insurance contributions
You will normally have to pay Norwegian National Insurance contributions and employer's National Insurance contributions for foreign workers, unless it has been documented that the worker is not covered by Norwegian National Insurance legislation.
