Cash-for-care benefit in Norway
What is Norwegian cash-for-care benefit?
Norwegian cash-for-care benefit is a scheme for you if you have a child aged between one and two who does not attend a state kindergarten. It is the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) that pays cash-for-care benefit in Norway.
Are you entitled to cash-for-care benefit?
You may be entitled to cash-for-care benefit if your child is at least one-year-old. It is the agreed number of hours in kindergarten that determines how much you receive as cash-for-care benefit. If your child does not attend a full-time state kindergarten, you can receive 100 percent cash-for-care benefit. If your child has a part-time place in a kindergarten, you may be entitled to 20, 40, 60 or 80 percent of the cash-for-care benefit.
As a general rule, both you and the child must live in Norway to receive cash-for-care benefit. If you move from another country to Norway, you may be entitled to cash-for-care benefit when the whole family lives in Norway and will be living there for at least 12 months. An additional requirement is that you have been a member of the national insurance scheme for the five previous years. You can combine periods in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme (folketrygden) with periods of social insurance in other EEA countries.
If you are a citizen in an EEA country and work in Norway, but your family lives in another EEA country, you may be entitled to cash-for-care benefit from Norway. If the other parent starts or stops working in the other country, you must notify NAV. You must also notify NAV if payment of cash-for-care benefit in the other country changes or your work conditions change.
Are you entitled to Norwegian cash-for-care benefit if you plan to live in or move to another country?
In general, you can only receive cash-for-care benefit for children who live in Norway but, under certain conditions, cash-for-care benefit is paid for children living in another EEA country.
If you are planning to live in another country and receive cash-for-care benefit from NAV, you should check whether you can take it with you. This depends, for example, on what you will be doing and how long you will be there. Check with NAV what applies in your case.
How do you apply for cash-for-care benefit?
If you as parents live together, only one of you applies. If you live apart, the parent with whom the child primarily lives can apply for cash-for-care benefit. The earliest you may apply is the month of the child’s first birthday. If you have made a written agreement on dual domicile in accordance with Section 36 of the Children Act, you may agree to split the cash-for-care benefit. In such cases, each of you apply for cash-for-care benefit.
Who should you contact if you have questions?
Contact NAV if you have questions about cash-for-care benefit.
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.
