Guide: Summer jobs or seasonal work in Norway

You can also find relevant information on the page, “Looking for work in Norway”.

If you are aged 18-30, and a citizen of a Nordic or EU country, you can also look for seasonal work in a Nordic country on the Nordjobb website. Nordjobb can also help you find accommodation and with practical matters, and they offer cultural and leisure programmes. Read more on the Nordjobb website.

If you are a citizen in a Nordic country, you may travel freely to Norway to live and work. You do not need a visa, work or residence permit.

If you are a citizen in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland, you may travel freely to Norway and stay in the country for up to three months. If you look for work during your stay, you may remain in the country for six months.

You must have a valid proof of identity when you are to work in Norway. 

In order to work in Norway, you must have a tax deduction card. If you are to live and work temporarily in Norway, you will be given a D-number, and you can apply for a tax deduction card through the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten). 

In order to open a Norwegian bank account, you need a temporary personal identification number, a D-number (d-nummer). You need a Norwegian bank account, as your salary will be paid into it. When you go to the bank to open an account, take a valid passport with you as proof of identity.

An electronic identification, Bank-ID, is often used in contacts with public agencies, but if you are not registered in the Norwegian Population Register, you can generally not get a Bank-ID in Norway. 

As a general rule, you are covered by the social insurance scheme in which you work. If you are a member of a country’s social insurance scheme, that country’s regulations apply to you in areas such as:

• unemployment benefit
• pension
• sickness benefit
• child benefit
• healthcare services
• parental benefit

The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) has good information about your rights and obligations in Norwegian working life. Many trade unions have information for people who have summer jobs in Norway. 

If you work in Norway, you pay pension contributions and earn a pension in Norway. The right to a pension cannot be transferred between countries, but if you have worked in several countries you may have earned a pension in all the countries in which you have worked.

If you have not earned the right to a pension in Norway, the pension authority in your home country includes the periods you have worked in Norway when calculating your pension in your home country. This is called the Principle of Aggregation of Periods. When you apply for a pension in the country in which you live, you must state the periods you worked in Norway. Local authorities do not always document periods of work, so keep your salary slips as proof that you have worked. 

Everyone staying in Norway is entitled to emergency healthcare. If you are in Norway temporarily, and you become seriously ill or injured, you are entitled to  medical treatment.

However, even if you are entitled to healthcare services, you must pay a user fee for many of the services. You must also be able to show a national ID card, or you can show the European Health Insurance Card.

If you have any questions or have encountered obstacles in another Nordic country, complete our form.

NB. If you have questions about the processing of a particular case, an application, or other personal circumstances, you should contact the relevant agency directly.