Norway's welfare system — overview

Norway's welfare state is built around the National Insurance Scheme (folketrygden), run by the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (Nav). It is financed by general taxes and by the national insurance contribution (trygdeavgift), 7.6% of wages in 2026. Many benefits are set as multiples of the basic amount (grunnbeløpet, G). It is adjusted every 1 May, and from 1 May 2026 1 G is NOK 136,549. Municipalities run GPs, kindergartens, schools and social assistance, so some prices and services vary from place to place. Oslo is used as the example where local rules matter.

You normally become a member of folketrygden when you live in Norway and plan to stay at least 12 months, or when you work here. EEA citizens are also covered by the EEA coordination rules, so periods in other EEA countries can count. Norway also has social security agreements with some countries outside the EEA.

First registrations for a newcomer:

• National Population Register (Folkeregisteret): if you will stay six months or more, report your move to the Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) and attend an ID check at a tax office. Some residence permits of at least six months lead to automatic registration. You then get an 11-digit national identity number (fødselsnummer); otherwise you get a D number.
• Tax deduction card (skattekort) from Skatteetaten before you start work.
• GP (fastlege): everyone registered as resident has the right to one; choose on helsenorge.no.
• Electronic ID (BankID or MinID) to log in to Nav, Skatteetaten and Helsenorge.

The nine areas at a glance

• Health (health) — public health service with user fees (egenandel) capped at NOK 3,278 a year (2026); a GP (fastlege) is your first contact.
• Pension (pension) — retirement pension from Nav (flexible from 62, standard age 67), mandatory occupational pension of at least 2% of pay, and agreements with other countries.
• Unemployment (unemployment) — dagpenger at 62.4% of previous income for 52 or 104 weeks; municipal social assistance (økonomisk sosialhjelp) after that.
• Family (family) — child benefit (barnetrygd) of NOK 2,012 a month per child (2026), cash-for-care (kontantstøtte) and low-cost kindergarten (barnehage).
• Tax (tax) — 22% on ordinary income plus a step tax (trinnskatt) and trygdeavgift; tax return due 30 April.
• Housing (housing) — rules in the Tenancy Act (husleieloven), deposit of at most six months' rent, housing allowance (bostøtte) from Husbanken.
• Education (education) — free public school for ten years, free state universities for EEA citizens, loans and grants from Lånekassen.
• Parental (parental) — parental benefit (foreldrepenger) for 49 weeks at 100% or 61 weeks at 80%, or a lump sum (engangsstønad).

Things to watch

• Amounts tied to G change every 1 May. Other rates change on other dates, for example 1 January (social assistance), 1 February (child benefit in 2026) or 1 August (kindergarten). Check the current figure before you apply.
• Some English pages on nav.no are updated later than the Norwegian ones. The Norwegian page is the most recent.
• Several benefits need a minimum time in folketrygden. Examples are cash-for-care (5 years), the guarantee pension (5 years) and the lump-sum birth grant (12 months).
• Long stays abroad can end your membership. Ask Nav before you leave.

Official guidance: Nav, Nav: rates, Skatteetaten: moving to Norway, Helsenorge: health care in Norway