Employees from the EU/EEA or Switzerland who work in Norway but do not live here
If you work in Norway but live in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you will usually be covered for your healthcare in both Norway and your country of residence. To document your rights in your country of residence, you must ensure that you obtain certificate S1 from Helfo.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
Healthcare services in Norway
If you work in Norway, you can be covered for expenses for essential healthcare services even if you do not live here.
If you are an employee and carry out your work in Norway, you will generally be a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. You will then be covered for expenses for essential healthcare services the national health service provides. You will generally have to pay user fees for the treatment you receive.
If you have any questions about membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, visit the Nav (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) website.
The web portal «Work in Norway – The Official Guide», a collaboration between Nav, the Norwegian Tax Administration, the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority and the Norwegian Police, also contains valuable information for people who plan to work in Norway.
Example
Piotr from Poland works as a carpenter at a carpentry firm in Norway. He is therefore a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. Piotr breaks his leg while skiing and goes to the emergency ward in Kongsberg for treatment. He must only pay a user fee.
Healthcare services in your country of residence
Are you an employee from the EU/EEA or Switzerland who works in Norway and lives in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland? If so, you may be entitled to be covered for expenses for essential healthcare services in your country of residence.
You will usually be considered a resident where your immediate family (spouse, cohabiting partner and/or children) live. You can be regarded as a resident in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland even if you are registered as a resident in Norway.
Certificate S1
To document your rights, you must obtain certificate S1 from Helfo. You must submit this certificate to the National Insurance authorities in your country of residence. The certificate will only be valid when Helfo has received confirmation of registration from the social security authorities there.
Certificate S1 documents your entitlement to essential health services provided by the public health service in your country of residence. The legislation there will determine the proportion of your expenses that will be covered and which user fees you must pay.
Alternatively, you can contact the National Insurance authorities in your country of residence and ask them to apply for entitlement document S072 for you. S072 corresponds to certificate S1.
Who is entitled to certificate S1?
You may be entitled to certificate S1 if you meet all the following conditions:
- You are a citizen of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland or have the status of stateless or refugee.
- You live in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
- You work in Norway.
You may be entitled to certificate S1if you work in Norway and resides in the United Kingdom. This is independent of citizenship. Read more on the web page “Right to healthcare in the United Kingdom”.
Dependent family members
If you have family members in your country of residence, they must contact the social security authorities there to obtain information about their rights. If the social security authorities there consider that you are supporting your family members, they will request entitlement document S072 from Helfo. S072 corresponds to certificate S1.
Certificate S1 is not used within the Nordic countries
It is not necessary to apply for certificate S1 within the Nordic region. This document is not used between the Nordic countries. If you work in Norway and are reside in another Nordic country, you will be entitled to healthcare coverage there without having a certificate S1.
Contact the National Insurance authorities in your country of residence to get more information about your rights.
Example
Piotr is home in Poland and needs a follow-up check on his leg. He gets his follow-up check there. Because he has a valid certificate S1, he must only pay a user fee.
Do you receive benefits from Nav?
You have rights if you receive certain benefits from Nav.
If you receive one of the following benefits from Nav, you might be entitled to be covered for expenses for healthcare services both in Norway and your country of residence:
- unemployment benefit
- sickness benefit
- work assessment allowance
- maternity benefit
- parental benefit
- care benefit
- training allowance
- care allowance
Example
Piotr is on sick leave for eight weeks after breaking his leg. If he receives sickness benefits from Nav, he retains the same rights to coverage as when he was working.
Report changes
Those who have been granted certificate S1 must notify Helfo of any changes that may affect their rights.
Changes you must notify are, for example, if you
- no longer work in Norway
- retire
- are moving to Norway with your family
- move from one country to another
Example
Piotr’s entitlement situation remains unchanged, and he does not need to report to Helfo.
Remember documentation!
For Helfo to be able to assess your right to certificate S1, we must have the necessary documentation.
If you are an employee, you must ensure that you enclose the following:
- a copy of your employment contract
- if the employment contract is more than one year old, confirmation from your employer that you are still employed
Please note the following:
- If you are self-employed, you must attach confirmation that you have paid all outstanding advance tax or confirmation from your accountant that your enterprise is a going concern.
- If you receive any benefits from Nav, you must attach a copy of the letter of approval for the benefit from Nav.
Example
Piotr is employed by a carpentry firm in Norway and has already been granted certificate S1. When he applies for renewal of the certificate, he needs a copy of his employment contract and a confirmation from his employer that he is still employed by the carpentry firm.
Submit your application
You, or someone you give power of attorney, must apply to Helfo to obtain certificate S1.
You can apply for certificate S1 using a digital form in Altinn. To log in to Altinn you need an electronic ID. Click here for information about how to get an electronic ID.
You can also give power of attorney to someone with an electronic ID – for example your employer. Someone with power of attorney and electronic ID can log in and submit applications on your behalf.
Using a digital form, you get customized questions, contributing to faster case processing.
Altinn displays in Norwegian by default. Here is a guide on how to change the page to English.
Log in to Helfo’s digital form (altinn.no)
You will find useful information about submitting the digital form here (in Norwegian).
Paper form
If you are unable to use our digital form, you can fill in and submit the following form to Helfo, P.O. Box 2415, 3104 Tønsberg instead:
Example
Piotr applies digitally to Helfo for certificate S1 because his old one has expired. He attaches a copy of his employment contract and a confirmation from his employer that he is still employed by the joinery company.
Guidance Helsenorge
If you have any questions, please call Guidance Helsenorge: +47 23 32 70 00
Power of attorney in connection with enquiries to Helfo
If you contact Helfo on behalf of anyone else, you must have power of attorney for them.
Parents/guardians must also have power of attorney from children aged 18 or over. In the case of health information, you must have power of attorney from any children aged 16 or over. This is because the age of majority under health law is 16.
Complete the power of attorney form and send it to Helfo as an attachment to a digital form, or send it by post to Helfo, PO Box 2415, 3104 Tønsberg. Remember to enclose a copy of valid identification for the person granting power of attorney.