Benefits

Support for school fees for single parents

Covers expenses related to tuition fees, semester fees and examination fees for single parents when you are studying and are alone with children.

Who can get?

Who can get support for school fees?

Generally, you may be entitled to support for school fees 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

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.

Find out what you may be entitled to when you are alone with childrenNavigator

About your education

To qualify for support, the education you are taking must be necessary and appropriate 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.

What can you get?

What can you get support for?

This benefit covers your actual expenses for tuition fees, semester fees and examination fees.

You can apply to have expenses for learning materials, travel, relocation and extra housing expenses in connection with your education covered by supplemental benefit.

Supplemental benefit for single parentsBenefits

How much can you get?

You can have your expenses covered up to a defined upper limit set by the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (“Lånekassen”).

Rates

The following rates apply to the 2023/2024 school year:

Education level	Maximum amount per year
Upper secondary education	NOK 32,211
Higher education	NOK 77,192

If you are receiving a grant to cover your tuition fee, semester fee and examination fee, and the grant is not means-tested, the support for tuition and fees will be reduced.

This does not apply to grants and loans from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen).

How long can you recieve support for school fees?

Support for school fees is granted for one academic year at a time. You can receive support for school fees for as long as education or training is required.

You can only receive this benefit for as long as you qualify for transitional benefit. This applies regardless of whether you actually receive transitional benefit during this period or not.

Are you receiving or do you intend to apply for transitional benefit?

You can receive transitional benefit for up to three years. Periods during which you receive benefit will be deducted from this period if you receive support for school fees. 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

Apply, forward or complain

When can you apply?

You can apply as soon as you have received an invoice or payment notification from the school, and no later than 6 months after you received this.

Apply and forward attachments

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.

Apply for tuition fees Forward documentation

Expenses for tuition fees, semester fees and/or examination fees

Invoice in your name

The education you are taking or about to take

The documentation showing:

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

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 the break-up (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

You may contact Nav if you want more information and guidance, and/or help filling in the form.

After you have applied

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	4 weeks

Right to complain

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.

Submit a complaint Forward documentation

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.

Submit an appeal Forward documentation

You can also use a lawyer or give a power of attorney to a person who complains on your behalf.

Mer om

Right to complainHow to

Processing time for complaints and appeals

Case concerns	Expected case processing time
Complaint to the Nav unit	10 weeks
Complaint to the Nav Appeals Management Unit	3 months
Appeals to the Nav Appeals Management Unit	3 months

While you receive support for school fees

When will the money be paid?

Allowance to cover tuition fees will be paid as a lump sum on the 20th of the month from which you have been granted the financial support.

If we make the decision later than the month from which you have been granted the financial support, the support will be paid out within a week.

In your overview of payments, you can see the payment in the evening on the day the money is paid out.

Holiday pay

There is no holiday pay on this benefit.

Tax

No tax is deducted from the money.

You must notify us of any changes

You must notify us of changes if:

you change, drop out of, or reduce the scope of your education
you become ill and this prevents you from taking education
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 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.

Report changes

Holidays and period 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

Travelling or moving abroad

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.

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.