The transfer of rights from Norway
The transfer of rights from Norway to another EEA member state
Applying for work in another EEA member state with Norwegian unemployment benefit.
If you are wholly unemployed and are unable to obtain work in Norway within a reasonable period of time, you may apply for work in another EEA member state. Under certain conditions you may receive Norwegian unemployment benefit or rehabilitation benefit during your search for employment while you reside in the country in which you are seeking employment.
The conditions are as follows:
- You must be covered by the provisions of the EEA Agreement (see the last paragraph under the heading, "EEA Agreement").
- You must have earned the right to unemployment benefit in Norway.
- You must be wholly unemployed.
- You must have been registered with NAV as a job-seeker for a minimum of four full weeks during the 12 weeks immediately prior to your leaving the country. (Any break in the period of unemployment on account of work, regardless of the duration of such employment, means that you will have to be registered as a job-seeker for a further full four-week period.)
- You must be entitled to unemployment benefit or rehabilitation benefit during all four weeks while you are waiting for work.
If you meet these conditions, you are entitled to apply to NAV for form PD U2/ SED U008. This form entitles you to keep your Norwegian benefits for up to three months while you reside in another member state for the purpose of seeking employment there. Nevertheless, you are not entitled to receive unemployment benefit beyond the maximum benefit period of 52 or 104 weeks. The same thing applies to rehabilitation benefit received, while you are waiting for work, beyond the maximum benefit period of six months.
Remember: you may not leave the country before you have received form PD U2/(or SED U008 has been sent by the authorities) . If you do so before receiving this form, you lose the right to transfer your Norwegian benefits.
Temporarily laid-off workers, participants in labour market training, persons who try to establish a new business while receiving unemployment benefit and persons who receive advance payment of unemployment benefit on account of bankruptcies are not entitled to look for work in another EEA member state and at the same time receive Norwegian unemployment benefit.
You may leave the country with form PD U2/ SED U008 once per benefit period.
If you do not get work in the country you travel to, you may continue your benefit period when you return to Norway.
Contact your local NAV office for further information on your options for applying for work in another EEA country, how to retain Norwegian unemployment benefit or rehabilitation benefit while looking for work during your stay, and how to act to reinstate benefits when you return to Norway.
Moving to another EEA member state
If you are covered by the EEA Agreement and have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme (Folketrygden) and earned the right to unemployment benefit while unemployed in Norway, you are entitled to take these rights with you when you move to another EEA member state.
Most countries require that you have worked there for a certain length of time before you are entitled to redeem your transferred rights. This employment criterion varies from country to country. It is up to you to check which conditions apply in the country to which you are moving.
To redeem the rights you have earned as a member of the Norwegian insurance scheme, these rights must entitle you to unemployment benefit in the country in which you are applying for benefit.
To verify the unemployment benefit that you have earned in Norway, ask NAV for form PD U1/.
The following information must be enclosed with your application before you can receive form PD U1:
- Confirmation of the periods of employment from every employer you have had in Norway is to be entered on form NAV 04-02.05. This form is available at your local NAV office and on the Internet at www.nav.no . The form is only valid as verification when it is filled in by your employer.
The certificates of pay and tax deducted by your employers in Norway for the past year or for the last three complete calendar years, or your payment slips for the last year.
If you are moving from Norway to another Nordic country but are not a citizen of an EEA member state
If you are covered by the Nordic convention on social security and have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme (Folketrygden) and have earned the right to unemployment benefit while unemployed in Norway, you may take these rights with you when you move to another Nordic country.
To verify the unemployment benefit you have earned in Norway, apply to NAV for form PD U1/SED U002. The conditions in general are the same as under the heading, "Moving to another EU/EEA member state."
How do you become a member of the social security and national insurance scheme in the country you are moving to?
The various EEA member states have different rules governing coverage in their own country. The schemes that entitle you to unemployment benefit while unemployed may be compulsory, or they may be voluntary. Some countries have both, but the voluntary scheme provides greater financial security if you become unemployed.
You must have been a member of a social security and national insurance scheme that entitles you to unemployment benefit if you move back to Norway or some other EEA member state and wish to apply for unemployment benefit there, based on periods of employment and benefit that you have earned in the country you are leaving.
It is up to you to find out which schemes apply in the country you are moving to, and to make sure that you enrol.
Can you keep your membership in the Norwegian social security and national insurance scheme while you reside or work in another EEA member state?
If you live or stay in another country for up to 12 months, you will still be covered by the Norwegian social security and national insurance scheme.
If your stay is intended to last more than 12 months, then as a rule, your membership in the Norwegian social security and national insurance scheme will come to an end, starting from the day you left Norway. You may nevertheless be covered by the Norwegian social security and national insurance scheme if:
- you are dispatched by your Norwegian employer for the purpose of working in another country and are paid from Norway and pay taxes, including the pension deduction, to Norway, or
- you enter into an agreement with the National Office for Social Insurance Abroad to be voluntarily insured during the period of your employment.
There are also special rules for diplomats, employees of NIS-registered ships and other groups of employees who work in a country other than their native land. For further information, check with your local national insurance office.