Benefits
Transitional benefit for single parents
Ensures you income for up to 3 years when you have at least 60 per cent of the daily care for children under 8 years of age.
There is also information on transitional benefit for single parents for physicians and dentists or other healthcare professional.
Contents
In this chapter
Generally, you may be entitled to transitional benefit if
You are considered a single parent if all of the following apply to you:
- you have at least 60 per cent of the daily care of children alone. When you and the other parent have a written agreement on shared permanent residence, the entitlement to benefits to a single mother or father depends on whether you have at least 60 per cent of the day-to-day care of the child alone, regardless of where the child lives at any given time.
- you are a biological parent, adoptive parent or have legally taken over custody of children
- you are unmarried, separated, divorced or have applied to the County Governor or court for a separation or divorce
- you live alone with child(ren) or share a home with another adult with whom you are not in a relationship
- you do not live very close to the other parent, i.e. the same building, the same block of flats, next door, or a building around the same courtyard, etc. We can make exceptions if you have not had the opportunity to choose freely where to live.
What is shared permanent residence?
Shared permanent residence means that the child has a permanent place of residence with both parents. This is not the same as the child having a permanent residence with one parent and possibly spending the night with the other in connection with visitation. An agreement on shared permanent residence is a legal agreement pursuant to section 36 of the Children Act. Such an agreement entails that both parents jointly make major decisions on behalf of the child, such as where the child will attend kindergarten and where in the country the child will live.
You are not considered a single parent if:
- you are living (cohabiting) with your partner, regardless of whether this person is the child’s other parent or not
- you or the other parent is receiving or has previously received benefit for single parents and have another child with the same partner
- you are fostering the child you are a single parent of
- you spend so much time with the child’s other parent that you cannot be considered a single parent
To qualify for transitional benefit, your youngest child must be under the age of 8 years. In some cases, you can receive benefit after your youngest child has turned 8.
In general, you and your children must live in Norway for you to receive single parent benefits. In some cases, you may still be entitled to single parent benefits if you move or stay abroad.
For single parents who are EEA citizens or family members of an EEA citizen:
- Benefit recipients can still receive the benefit when staying in other EEA countries, provided that other conditions are met.
- You may be entitled to benefits if you are an employee in Norway, but you and your child live in another EEA country (e.g., you live in Sweden and work in Norway).
- You have an independent right to the benefit if you live with the child in another EEA country, while the other parent works or receives social security benefits or a pension from Norway.
Generally, you must have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme for the last 5 years to qualify for the benefit. We can make exceptions if you or the other parent have a strong connection to Norway.
Separate rules for membership for EEA citizens
Social security periods from other EEA countries may count as equivalent to periods of membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. In other words, NAV may include social security periods from other EEA countries when we consider if you meet the requirement of 5 years membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. Social security periods in other EEA countries must be documented.
Only EEA citizens or family members of EEA citizens, can add social security periods from other EEA countries to periods of membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. If the social security periods are from another Nordic country, citizenship does not matter.
If you have children between the ages of 1 and 8 years
Then you must also either work or study at least 50 per cent, be registered as a job seeker with NAV, or be in the process of establishing your own business. In some cases, you may qualify for transitional benefit even if you cannot work, study, or seek jobs.
If you have, without a reasonable cause, stopped working in the last 6 months before you apply for the benefit, you are not entitled to transitional benefit. You can receive benefits after these 6 months.
To qualify for transitional benefit, your youngest child must be under the age of 8 years. In some cases, you can receive benefit after your youngest child has turned 8.
You can receive transitional benefit for the calendar month in which you are due to give birth and the preceding month. This is in addition to the three years during which you can receive transitional benefit after the child is born. If you apply before the baby is born, you must submit confirmation of your expected date of delivery.
If your child is under the age of 1 year old, you can receive transitional benefit without having to work, study or seek work. It is nevertheless sensible to start planning childminding and work, education or training as early as possible.
If you apply before your child is 3 months old, you may be granted transitional benefit for the calendar month in which the baby was born and for the preceding month. This is in addition to the three years during which you can receive transitional benefit after your child is born.
To receive transitional benefit after your child has turned 1, you must work, study or seek work.
You can nevertheless receive benefit if you are unable to work, study or seek work due to your own illness, or if you have a sick child or do not have child minding, despite applying. The same also applies if your child needs extra supervision due to physical, mental or major social problems.
If your child needs extra supervision due to physical, mental or major social problems, you may still be entitled to benefit after your youngest child turns 8.
If you are already receiving transitional benefit, in some cases you may be entitled to receive extended benefit after your child has turned 8 years of age.
If you have children aged between 1 and 8 years old, you must be in at least 50 per cent occupational activity to qualify for transitional benefit. The purpose of this benefit is to enable you to support yourself and your child(ren).
You can meet the duty to be in work-related activity in one of the following ways:
- be in at least 50 per cent work
- be registered with NAV as a job seeker
- be in at least 50 per cent education that NAV has assessed as necessary for you to be able to get a job and support yourself
- set up your own business
If you combine work with education, you must either work or study at least 50 per cent.
You can nevertheless receive benefit if you are unable to work, study or seek work due to your own illness, or if you have a sick child, do not have child minding, or have a child who needs extra supervision.
You must work at least half of what corresponds to full time in your occupation.
The work must be paid according to a collective wage agreement or customary rates for the occupation. We may make exceptions to this rule if you have an internship, an unpaid apprenticeship contract, or are self-employed.
To qualify for transitional benefit while taking education, this education must be necessary in order for you to be able to get a job and support yourself.
We assess the education you want to take when you apply for benefit or if you are already receiving benefit and are going to start education. In this context, we will assess:
- your goal for taking this particular education
- whether education is necessary for you to achieve this goal
- whether the education is appropriate. In this context, we will assess, among other things, both the needs on the labour market and the opportunities available to you
If you already have an education that means you are qualified for an occupation or that can be used in multiple occupations, you will not generally be granted support to take more education.
However, we may make exceptions if you have an education or occupational experience that is no longer relevant in today’s labour market. Education from a university college or university does not become outdated.
We may also make exceptions to this rule if your education or occupation is not compatible with looking after children..
The main rule is that only public education is approved. Only in very special cases can we approve private education. We can also inform you about and advise you on choice of occupation and education. We can also help you create an activity plan, and in some cases offer other measures, such as internships or courses.
You must be in at least 50 per cent education in order to qualify for transitional benefit.
When you take an education that NAV has approved, you can also receive support for tuition fees. The benefit covers the expenses you have for tuition fees, semester fees and exam fees up to a limit.
Support for school fees for single parents
Benefits
Expenses for learning materials, travel, relocation and extra living expenses in connection with the education can be applied for reimbursement by supplementary benefits. Additional benefits can also help cover expenses you have for childcare
As a job seeker you must:
- be able to work, and willing to take any work that is paid according to a collective wage agreement or customary rates for the occupation. 50 per cent activity is sufficient
- be willing to participate in labour market schemes
- be able to start working within one week. You must therefore be able to arrange child minding at short notice. If you do not accept job offers, labour market schemes or do not attend meetings, you may lose your right to the benefit for one month
We do not require that you have to move or commute to take work or participate in a labour market scheme you have been offered. You can choose to look for work only in the area close to where you live, such that the time it takes you to travel using a means of transport between your home and your place of work is not more than one hour each way. This does not include the time it takes you to walk between your home and the means of transport, and between the means of transport and your place of work. Nor are you under any obligation to apply for full-time, evening, night, weekend or shift work.
We can inform you about and advise you on choice of occupation and education, and in some cases offer other measures, such as internships or courses.
If you are a job seeker and are applying for or receiving transitional benefit, you must:
1. Register with NAV as a job seeker
2. Register your CV and make sure it remains up to date
3. Search for vacant positions (jobs)
4. Submit an employment status card every 14 days
If you are already receiving transitional benefit and become a job seeker, you must also fill out the form for single parents who are looking for work (in Norwegian).
Send inn opplysninger når du er enslig mor eller far som er arbeidssøker
How to
The employment status card (“meldekort” in Norwegian) provides information about whether you wish to continue to be registered as a job seeker, whether you have worked, and if so, how many hours you have worked in the past 14 days. If your income changes, you must notify us, in addition to submitting an employment status card.
If you do not submit an employment status card or submit it too late, you risk being removed from our register of job seekers. You may then lose your right to benefit, and you will no longer be listed as a candidate when an employer reports assignments or vacant positions to NAV.
If you are removed from our register, you must reregister as a job seeker with NAV and fill out the form for single parents who are looking for work again. It is not enough that you submit a new employment status card.
If you are a single mother or father and registered as a jobseeker with NAV, you may also be entitled to additional benefits.
Supplemental benefit for single parents
Benefits
Requirements to the business:
- Setting up the business will enable you to support yourself
- The business must be new
- You must either own over half of the business alone, or together with one or more other recipients of unemployment benefit
- You must set up and run the business in Norway
- You must register your business in the necessary public registers during the start-up period
If you receive unemployment benefit while you are setting up your own business, this means this is approved by us and you are entitled to benefit.
If you do not receive unemployment benefit while you are setting up your own business, you must obtain a commercial assessment from the municipal or county authorities or another professional body. We need this assessment to decide whether the business can be approved as occupational activity.
We do not require you to work, study or seek work if your child is ill, but you do need to provide documentation proving that the child’s illness is the reason for this.
If you cannot work, study or seek work because your child needs extra supervision due to physical, mental or major social problems, you can receive transitional benefit until the child turns 18.
The doctor must provide documentation of the child’s physical or mental condition. The documentation must describe the extent to which your child’s supervision and care needs prevent you from working or affect your work opportunities.
You are not entitled to this benefit if others can take care of your child.
If you do not have child minding, we can grant exemption from the duty to be in work-related activity. You must provide documentation that you have applied for a place in a kindergarten or child care at school outside school hours (SFO), and that your application has been denied or you have been put on a waiting list.
You must apply for a place in a kindergarten before the child turns 1 year old if you are a single parent before this time. When you apply, you must state that you want your child to start at kindergarten at the latest when they turn 1 year old. Make sure you apply within the municipality’s deadline for applications.
Your income will determine how much you receive.
The full transitional benefit is NOK 279,063 and the amount is adjusted on 1 May every year. New rates will take effect from 1 May 2023, and will be paid from June 2023.
If you do not have any income, you may qualify for full transitional benefits. This is NOK 23,255.25 per month before tax.
If your monthly income times 12 exceeds NOK 682,000 before tax, you do not qualify for transitional benefit.
If your monthly income is NOK 5,168 or more before tax, your transitional benefit will be reduced by 45 øre for each krone you earn above this amount.
We include all your earnings in our calculation. Any benefits you receive from NAV will also be included in the calculation:
- unemployment benefit
- sickness benefit
- attendance allowance, care benefit, training allowance
- work assessment allowance (AAP)
- parental benefit
- carer support / foster care allowance
We calculate your transitional benefit based on your current income or the income
you can expect to have in the near future. As a rule, we use income information your employers have reported to public registers. You can find this information at skatteetaten.no. If we calculate transitional benefit back in time, we will calculate it according to the actual income you had each month.
To calculate your future expected income or your income for periods that we do not have any actual income information for, we calculate an expected income, using information we have about your previous income, your employment, and benefits you receive from NAV, among other things. We then convert your monthly income into annual income.
If you receive disability benefit or survivor's pension, we will deduct this monthly amount from what you receive in transitional benefit. We do this before taxes. We keep the child allowance out.
Calculate monthly transitional benefit
You can receive transitional benefit for up to three years, i.e. 36 months. This does not need to be a continuous period, but can be divided up into multiple periods until the child is 8 years old.
Periods during which you receive benefit will be deducted from your benefit period even if you do not receive full transitional benefit, for example because you have earned income.
Periods during which you receive childcare benefit, support for school fees or supplemental benefit will also be deducted from the three-year benefit period, even if you are not granted transitional benefit. This applies if
- you are entitled to transitional benefit during this period, but have not applied for it
- you are entitled to transitional benefit during this period, but have chosen not to receive it
- you have been granted transitional benefit, but your income is too high for the benefit to be paid
Extended period
In some cases, you may be granted transitional benefit beyond the main benefit period of three years
Your benefit period can be extended if
- you are in education that is necessary and appropriate, you can have your benefit extended for up to two years. If you have the sole care of three or more children or you became a sole caregiver of children before you turned 18, you can receive extended benefit for up to three years. This applies until your child turns 8.
- you cannot work because your child needs extra supervision due to physical, mental or major social problems. This applies until your child turns 18.
- you have a new child with a new parent. You can receive a new benefit period until the child is 14 months old.
If you are already receiving transitional benefit, it can be extended
- until the end of the school year or apprenticeship you have started, up to a maximum of nine months
- for up to two years if you or your child has a disorder that is not chronic and that prevents you from working – maximum until your child turns 10. In this context, “disorder that is not chronic” means a health disorder that has not lasted more than two years or is not expected to last more than two years
- for up to six months if you have accepted an offer of work, education or child minding and are waiting to start
- for up to six months if you are registered as a job seeker. If you have been a job seeker during the last six months of the main period, the number of months may be reduced
Other options
More information for you who
You can apply online or on paper. It is important that you fill in all the relevant fields and submit all the necessary documentation, so that your case can be processed promptly. You will be notified as you fill in the application if you need to provide documentation of any of the information you have provided.
The questions in the application, together with any documentation, provide us with the answers we need to process your application. If we need more information, we will contact you.
Application for transitional benefit for single parents
You use the same application both if you are applying for the first time and if you are applying for an extension or increase of your benefit period.
If you are pregnant
Confirmation of expected date of delivery
If you have a visitation agreement for the child(ren)
Visitation agreement
If you are alone with children due to a break-up with the other parent or you have previously lived together
Confirmation of the break-up. The confirmation must be signed by both of you and show the date of the breakup. This is how a confirmation of divorce (PDF 35 kB) can look like (in Norwegian). This is not the mediation certificate from the family protection office.
If you have applied for separation or divorce, but are not separated or divorced yet
Confirmation from the County Governor on an application for separation or divorce
If one of you has filed for divorce in court
Confirmation that a case has been brought before the court
If you are married without this being registered in the National Register
Documentation of marriage
If you are separated or divorced without this being registered in the National Register
Documentation of separation or divorce
If you have a written agreement on shared permanent residence
Agreement on shared permanent residence
If your former partner is still registered at your address and does not cooperate with the change of address
- Documentation showing that you live alone with children and the time when you moved apart:
- Documentation confirming that you have been in contact with the National Register of Citizens because your former partner has moved out
- Information about where your former partner now lives
If you can document both points above, this is usually sufficient. If you do not have such documentation, you can attach, for example:
- tenancy agreement for both parties
- documentation that confirms that the former shared home has been transferred to one of the parties. This can be probate and/or documentation of who is the borrower for the home you live in.
- confirmation from child protection that you live alone with children
- documentation showing separate housing and household expenses. These can be bank statements showing paid rent, or other fixed housing expenses such as electricity and municipal taxes.
If a nursery, school, health centre or similar knows your family situation well, a statement from them can be part of the overall assessment we make of your living situation. This may include information about who collects and delivers and may be added to other documentation.
If the other parent does not cooperate with a change of address for children living with you
Documentation that the child lives with you, for example:
- the reason for the lack of change of address for the child
- copy of notice of relocation/tip to the National Register of Citizens
- confirmation from, for example, a nursery/school, child protection or health centre
If you are ill and it affects your ability to work, study or look for work
If you do not have a sick leave or do not receive work assessment allowance (AAP) or disability benefit, you must attach documentation that confirms that you are ill. The documentation from your doctor must show:
- the reason why you cannot work, study or look for work
- when you fell ill
- when your doctor expects you to recover
- how much you can work
Are you already receiving transition benefit and are you applying to extend the benefit period beyond 3 years because you have an illness that is not permanent? Then we need the documentation from your doctor even if you have sick leave.
The illness not being permanent in this context means that it has not lasted for more than 2 years or will last for more than 2 years.
We have created a to-do list that you can take with you to your doctor (PDF 59 kB) to make sure that the doctor documents the necessary information.
If your child is ill and it affects your ability to work, study or look for work
Documentation that confirms that the child is ill and describes your ability to work, study or look for work. The documentation from the doctor must show:
- the reason why the child’s illness affects your ability to work, study or look for work
- when the child fell ill
- when the doctor expects the child to recover
- how much you can work
We have created a to-do list that you can take with you to the doctor (PDF 57 kB) to make sure that the doctor documents the necessary information.
If you have children who need special supervision
Documentation of the child’s need for supervision. We need:
- documentation from your doctor confirming that the child has medical, psychological or major social problems and needs supervision.
- documentation that describes how much and how your child needs supervision, and how this affects your ability to work, study or look for work.
If you lack childcare: documentation that you lack childcare
This means refusal of a kindergarten place/SFO place or confirmation that the child is on a waiting list. The documentation must show:
- the date you applied
- the date you applied for a place from
If you have been offered a job
Employment contract showing that you have received an offer of employment.
The documentation must show:
- name of employer
- percentage of full-time equivalent
- the date you start the job
- the date you received the offer
If you are taking or are going to take an education
Documentation of the education you are taking. The documentation must show:
- name of place of study
- name of study
- how much you will study
- the period you will study
The documentation must clearly show who it applies to.
Are you already receiving transitional benefit and applying to extend the benefit period because you have been offered a study place? Then the documentation must also show the date you accepted the offer.
If you establish your own business and do not receive unemployment benefits during establishment
Professional assessment from the municipality or county council. You can also use another professional competence.
If you are a job seeker and for health reasons cannot take up any work
Medical certificate describing the reason why you cannot take up any work
If you are an apprentice
Apprenticeship contract
If you work less than 50 percent because you quit your job or took voluntary leave without a reasonable reason during the last 6 months
Documentation of the employment relationship and the reason why you left. The documentation must show:
- the working relationship
- the reason you quit
- the date you resigned or agreed to take voluntary leave
If you work less than 50 percent because you have reduced your working hours without reasonable reason during the last 6 months
Documentation of the employment conditions and the reason why you reduced your working hours. The documentation must show:
- the employment conditions
- the reason why you reduced your working hours
- the date you agreed to a reduction in working hours
Information from a single parent who is a job seeker
If you receive transitional benefits and become a job seeker, you must send us some extra information.
The same applies if you are a job seeker and apply for transitional benefits with a paper application.
You may contact NAV if you want more information and guidance, and/or help filling in the form.
You will receive a written decision when the application has been processed.
Processing time for applications
The processing time is the time from when we receive your application until we have made a decision. Remember that we need all the necessary documentation to process your application.
Case concerns | Expected case processing time |
---|---|
Application | 5 weeks |
Have you received a decision from us that you think is wrong? You can complain to the NAV Unit that issued the decision. They will reassess your case. If they do not agree with your complaint, they will forward it to the NAV Appeals Management Unit.
Complain about a decision
The decision will have information about how to proceed if you want to complain, where to send your complaint and the term of complaint. If you have questions about the decision, you can contact us.
Appeal a decision
If you disagree with the decision of your complaint from the the NAV Appeals Management Unit, you can, with some exceptions, appeal the decision. The deadline for appealing is stated in the decision.
You can also use a lawyer or give a power of attorney to a person who complains on your behalf.
More about
Right to complain
How to
Processing time for complaints and appeals
Have you received a decision from us that you think is wrong? You can complain to the NAV Unit that issued the decision. They will reassess your case. If they do not agree with your complaint, they will forward it to the NAV Appeals Management Unit.
Case concerns | Expected case processing time |
---|---|
Complaint to the NAV unit | 10 weeks |
Complaint to the NAV Appeals Management Unit | 12 weeks |
Appeals to the NAV Appeals Management Unit | 12 weeks |
In this chapter
Your benefits for single parents may be suspended for one month if you, without reasonable grounds:
- resign from your job
- turn down a job offer
- fail to return to work after your period of parental leave
- refuse to participate in labour market schemes
- fail to attend meetings with NAV
If you have provided incorrect information or failed to provide information, your benefit may be suspended for up to three months the first time you do this and for up to six months if this happens more than once in a three-year period.
Transitional benefit is paid from the month after you qualify for benefit.
You can receive benefit for up to three months before you apply if you were entitled to benefit in this period.
If you apply before your child is 3 months old, you can receive back payment of benefit for up to five months. That is, you can also receive transitional benefit for the calendar month in which the child was born and for the month before you gave birth.
Benefit will be paid by the 20th of every month. The day on which the benefit is paid may vary from month to month.
Please be aware that these dates are when NAV guarantees you will have the money in your account.
Payment dates in 2024 |
---|
19. January |
20. February |
20. March |
19. April |
16. May |
20. June |
19. July |
20. August |
20. September |
18. October |
20. November |
12. December |
In your payment overview, you can see upcoming payments several days before the actual payment date.
The time of day when the payment will be credited to your account will vary, as it is your bank that transfers the payment into your account. Payments can therefore arrive in your account in the afternoon or evening.
If you are entitled to retroactive transitional benefit, you will receive this back payment shortly after your application has been processed.
Holiday pay
There is no holiday pay on this benefit.
Tax
You have to pay tax on this benefit.
No tax is deducted in June. In December tax is deducted at half your normal rate.
If you pay Svalbard tax or withholding tax, there is an ordinary tax deduction in June and December.
More about tax deductions on payments from NAV (in Norwegian).
Your tax card is transferred automatically from the Norwegian Tax Administration to NAV. If you want to change your tax card, go to skatteetaten.no.
You must notify us of changes if:
- you start working
- your work situation changes
- your earned income changes by 10 per cent or more
- you are granted other benefits from NAV
- your disability benefit or survivor’s pension changes
- you are no longer a job seeker
- you change, drop out of or reduce the scope of your education
- you or your child falls ill, and this prevents you from being in work, in education or a job seeker
- your application for separation or divorce is refused
- you start living with your partner, enter a civil partnership, or get married
- you start a relationship with someone you have previously lived with and have children with
- you are expecting another child
- the child access arrangements change
- the day-to-day care of the child is temporarily or permanently left to others
- you will be spending time abroad
- you move
- you or the other parent move very close to one another, i.e. the same building, the same block of flats, next door, or a building around the same courtyard, etc.
Change in earned income
If your monthly income changes by more than 10 per cent, compared with your income when the decision was made, you must request recalculation to avoid overpayment or underpayment of transitional benefit.
Holidays and periods spent abroad
You must notify us if:
- you are going to spend more than six weeks abroad
- you are going to travel abroad and have already spent six weeks outside Norway during the past 12 months
- you are going to travel abroad, and this stay will result in you having spent more than six weeks abroad during the past 12 months
Relocation
If you are moving or have moved, we must assess whether you are still entitled to this benefit.
You must send us information about:
- whether you still live alone, or are sharing your home with another adult. If you live in a marriage-like relationship, we will need your partner’s name and date of birth
- whether your children are registered in the National Registry as living at your address after you have moved
- any changes to your child access agreement
- whether you will continue to work, study or look for work after you have moved. If any of these have changed, you must provide documentation of your new activity
- whether you meet the conditions for exemption from the duty to be in work-related activity. Illness or other exemption criteria must be documented
If you have moved or are going to move and need a place in a kindergarten, you must apply for a place in a kindergarten in the new municipality in plenty of time. If you have not applied for a place in a kindergarten in your new municipality in time, you will not be granted exemption from the duty to be in work-related activity.
If you are receiving childcare benefit and want to continue to receive this benefit after you have moved, you must provide documentation of the expenses in your new municipality. The expenses must be documented by an invoice.
If you move because you have got a job after having been registered as a job seeker, you may be entitled to financial support for the move. Read more about supplemental benefit.
In general, you and your children must live in Norway for you to receive single parent benefits. In some cases, you may still be entitled to single parent benefits if you move or stay abroad.
You may stay abroad for a period of up to 6 weeks (42 days), during a 12-month period while you receive the benefit. Weekend stays of up to 2 nights do not count.
You may also keep the benefit if you work for a Norwegian employer abroad.
If you meet the other conditions for the benefit, you may have the right to keep the benefit when staying in other EEA countries if:
- You are already receiving a single parent benefit.
- You are an employee in Norway, but you and your child live in another EEA country (e.g., you live in Sweden and work in Norway).
- You and your child live in another EEA country, while the other parent works or receives social security benefits or a pension from Norway.
Updated 06/14/2024
Chat with us
You will first be met by chatbot Frida who will answer you. You can also ask Frida to talk to an advisor (weekdays between 9am and 3pm).
Always open
Write to us
Send messages or new information regarding your case. You may also ask questions should you have any.
Response time is 3 business days. If you need answers faster, please see our chat service.
Call us at 55 55 33 33
Open weekdays at 9–15. We can call you back if the waiting time is over 5 min.
See more phone numbers and calling options