Unemployment benefits are a partial replacement for lost earnings. In order to receive unemployment benefits you must register with the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) as a jobseeker and actually apply for work in addition to meeting the further requirements.
Who may receive unemployment benefits?
The main requirements for receiving unemployment benefits are that
You may also be entitled to unemployment benefits if you
The general rule is that you can apply for unemployment benefit at the earliest from one week before the first day of unemployment.
How do you apply?
First, you must register as a jobseeker at nav.no, or at your local office of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). At our office, you can also get help to use our computers to register as a jobseeker online. We provide information about how to use a computer to submit your employment status form online, apply for vacancies and enter your CV.
The application form is under the "Skjema" ("Forms") heading in the menu on the right. When you select a form, you are automatically taken to a guide to completing the form. Here you must indicate which enclosures and what sort of documentation you must submit with your application. A cover page will also be generated. To help us process your application quickly and efficiently, please submit the information given on this cover page. Please enclose the cover page at the front of your letter.
Unemployment benefits can be paid no earlier than from the day you make your claim (the day you register as a jobseeker is generally counted as the date of the claim). This assumes that you apply for unemployment benefit within a reasonable time after you have registered as a jobseeker. Four weeks is generally considered a reasonable time. If more than four weeks have passed, unemployment benefit can only be backdated to the date on which NAV received your application, unless the delay is due to circumstances beyond your control, and for which you cannot be held responsible.
Most applications are processed within three weeks.
Appeals against the decision
You may appeal against the decision if you think it is made in error. Your appeal must be submitted in writing to your local office of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). You must continue to submit your employment status form, even if you are appealing our decision.
The deadline for appeals is six weeks from the date the decision arrived in your letter box. If you have good reasons for appealing too late, we can disregard the deadline for the appeal.
If the appeal is accepted, you will be paid unemployment benefits only for those periods you have been registered as an actual jobseeker and meet the ordinary terms and conditions for entitlement to unemployment benefits. You must also meet the general requirements for receiving unemployment benefits.
Employment status form
When you submit the employment status form, this tells us that you wish to continue to be registered as a jobseeker. If you have worked, it also tells us how many hours you have been working during the 14 days the form covers. You must also tick off the boxes for illness, holidays, courses and other information. The employment status form must be filled in accurately and be submitted by the deadline.
You can do this on your own:
How much will you receive?
You will not be paid unemployment benefits for the first three days of the period for which you have been granted unemployment benefits. These three days are called "waiting days" and serve as your deductible.
Only days on which all the terms and conditions for unemployment benefits are met are counted as waiting days.
If you have not had as many as three such days in the course of the first three weeks (for example because of work, holiday or illness) you must submit a new claim for unemployment benefits.
The amount you will be paid depends on the basis for your unemployment benefits. The unemployment benefit basis comprises earned income and any National Insurance benefits you were paid during the last calendar year or on average for the last three years before you applied for unemployment benefit.
The benefits may include:
Lump sum grants for births and any income above 6 times the National Insurance Scheme are not included in the basis for the unemployment benefits.
The daily unemployment benefit is 0.24 percent of the basis for the unemployment benefit. On average, this is 62.4% of your previous income before tax.
If you are a parent of a child below the age of 18, you receive an additional NOK 17 for each child. If both parents receive unemployment benefits or a work assessment allowance, the additional supplement is only paid to one parent.
Holiday supplement
You will receive a holiday supplement if you have received unemployment benefits for more than eight weeks in the course of the calendar year. The holiday supplement is 9.5 percent of the gross unemployment benefits you have received during the year, and are normally paid in January/February of the subsequent year. This applies even if the unemployment benefit period ends earlier.
You may receive partial (reduced) unemployment benefits if you
How long may you receive unemployment benefits?
The duration of your unemployment benefits depend on the income you have earned the previous year or on average during the three calendar years prior to your application.
When are unemployment benefits paid?
The unemployment benefits are taxed, and are paid on the basis of the employment status form you submit every 14 days. If the unemployment status form is correctly completed and sent at the right time, payment will be made six to twelve days after the unemployment status form was sent.
Loss of entitlement to unemployment benefits
Payments are stopped if you no longer fulfil the requirements for unemployment benefits.
Report changes in conditions that might affect your benefit payment to your local NAV office as soon as possible
