Supplemental benefit

You can receive supplemental benefit if you are taking an education that NAV has assessed as necessary in order for you to be able to get a job and support yourself. This also applies if you are registered with NAV as a real job seeker.

To be eligible for supplemental benefits, you must also meet at least one of the conditions below:

• You have impaired work capability due to illness and are participating in an employment scheme.
• You are a single parent and are taking an approved education or are registered with NAV as a real job seeker, and you meet the criteria for transitional allowance.
• You are a previous family caretaker and are taking an approved education.
• You are a surviving spouse and are taking an approved education or are registered with NAV as a real job seeker as an occupational activity.
• You are participating in an employment market scheme. 
• You are a job seeker and are without work in the place you live through no fault of your own. 

Supervision of children

You can receive this if you have impaired work capability, or you are a single parent, a surviving spouse, or a previous family caretaker.

You must provide documentation of your child minding expenses with an invoice made out to you. 

If you have private child minding arrangements, such as a babysitter or child minder, you must document your expenses by submitting the agreement you have with the child minder when you apply. Here is a template for an agreement on private child minding arrangements (pdf). This template also indicates what information we need to process your application.

If your child is looked after by a nanny, au pair or similar in your home, you must submit an “a-melding” report showing payment to the Norwegian Tax Administration. This also applies if the child minder looks after the child in their home. Read more about this on the Norwegian Tax Administration’s website. We also need documentation from the municipal Tax Collection Office (“Kemnerkontoret”) that you have paid the child minder. 

If both parents are participating in occupational activities, only one of the parents will receive the childcare allowance.

Rates for supervision of children

This benefit covers 64 per cent of your child minding expenses, such as kindergarten, child care at school outside school hours (SFO), or a babysitter or child minder.  In other words, you have to pay at least 36 per cent of the expenses yourself.

You can have the costs of child minding covered up to a defined maximum rate set by the Storting.

From 1 January 2021, the following rates apply:

If you receive cash-for-care benefit, the amount of benefit you receive per month will be deducted from your documented monthly expenses for child care. The cash-for-care benefit will be deducted from your child care expenses for both the child(ren) you receive cash-for-care benefit for and other children who live with you.

This applies even if the cash-for-care benefit is paid to someone else who lives with you and the child.

Thus, if your cash-for-care benefit is higher than your child minding expenses, you will not be entitled to child care benefit. 

You do not earn holiday pay on child care benefit, and the benefit is not taxed.

You may be entitled to reduced parental fees for the kindergarten place if your income is below the municipality’s threshold. Some municipalities have similar arrangements for parental fees for child care at school outside school hours (SFO). Contact your municipal authorities for more information about this.  

You must notify us if you are granted reduced parental fees by the municipal authorities, because it may affect your child care benefit. If you receive too much benefit, we can demand that you pay back the excess.

Support for learning materials

You can receive this if you have impaired work capability. You can also receive this if you are studying and are a single parent, surviving spouse or previous family caretaker.

Support for learning materials is intended to cover expenses for textbooks, exercise books, photocopying, internet, computer software, and other educational materials. The amount you receive is also intended to cover work materials in connection with practical training or taking a trade certificate, such as flowers, metal, tools, personal protective equipment, workwear, etc.

You can have your expenses related to learning materials covered if you are taking approved education or training. This applies only if you are not entitled to free learning materials under other regulations.

The allowance you can receive for learning materials depends on your level of education and whether you are studying full time or part time.

If you are a pupil in upper secondary education with a statutory right to upper secondary education and training for young people, you will probably get free learning materials and an equipment grant from the county authority. You will therefore not be entitled to have your learning materials expenses covered through supplemental benefit from NAV.

If you are a pupil in upper secondary education with a statutory right to upper secondary education and training for adults, an apprentice, or training candidate, you do not have the same entitlement to learning materials from the county authority and can have your learning materials expenses covered through supplemental benefit from NAV.

If your expenses for books and learning materials are particularly high compared with other students due to a disability, you can have your actual expenses for learning materials covered.

Rates for learning materials

From 1 January 2020, the following rates apply for spring and autumn semester 2020:

Daily travel

You can receive this if you have impaired work capability, receive unemployment benefits, or you receive benefits while participating in employment schemes. You can also get this if you are studying and are a single parent, surviving spouse or previous family caretaker.

You can have your travel expenses covered when you travel to, for example, a school, course or apprenticeship on a daily or regular basis.

To qualify to have your daily travel expenses covered, the distance you need to travel between your home and the location of the scheme or education must be 6 kilometres or more each way. Travel distance is calculated using the shortest walking distance. We may make exceptions based on your health. You will need to provide documentation if you believe you qualify for exemption from the 6 kilometre travel distance rule.

Rates for daily travel

NAV will cover the cheapest form of travel. NAV can approve use of your own vehicle if there is no public transport available or it is not practically possible for you to use public transport. In this case, your necessary expenses linked to tolls, parking, etc. can also be covered. In exceptional cases, taxi expenses may be covered.

If you are granted an allowance for daily travel using your own vehicle, you must document the expenses by submitting a digital driving log at nav.no.

From 1 January 2021, the following rate applies:

Travel to gatherings

You can receive this if you have impaired work capability, or you are receiving either unemployment benefit or benefits while participating in employment schemes. You can also receive this if you are studying and are a single parent, a surviving spouse or you are a previous family caretaker.

You can have your expenses for travel to gatherings that are part of your education covered. We need documentation from your place of learning confirming that there has been a gathering.

Travel in connection with attending a mandatory gathering must be at least 30 kilometres each way between your home and the location of your activity for you to qualify to have your travel expenses covered.

Rates for travel to gatherings

NAV will cover the cheapest form of travel. NAV can approve use of your own vehicle if there is no public transport available or it is not practically possible for you to use public transport. In this case, your necessary expenses linked to tolls, parking, etc. can also be covered. In exceptional cases, taxi expenses may be covered.

If you are granted an allowance for daily travel using your own vehicle, you must document the expenses by submitting a digital driving log at nav.no.

From 1 January 2021, the following rate applies:

Travel due to start-up, conclusion or returning home

You can receive this if you have impaired work capability, or you are receiving either unemployment benefit or benefits while participating in employment schemes. You can also receive this if you are studying and are a single parent, a surviving spouse or you are a previous family caretaker.

You can have your travel expenses covered if you have to move because you are going to take education. These are travel expenses in connection with the beginning and end of the education and trips home during the programme.

You can have up to four round trips home covered. You can have expenses for more trips home covered if you have children who have not yet completed four years of school. 

We can grant support for more trips home if there are special reasons you need to travel home, such as family reasons or for treatment. This must be documented by a doctor.

Rates for travel due to start-up, conclusion or returning home

NAV will cover the cheapest form of travel. NAV can approve use of your own vehicle if there is no public transport available or it is not practically possible for you to use public transport. In this case, your necessary expenses linked to tolls, parking, etc. can also be covered. In exceptional cases, taxi expenses may be covered.

If you are granted an allowance for daily travel using your own vehicle, you must document the expenses by submitting a digital driving log at nav.no.

From 1 January 2021, the following rate applies:

Travel expenses to get work elsewhere

You can receive this if you are a job seeker.

If you are without work through no fault of your own and cannot find work in the place you live, you may be entitled to an allowance in connection with

• follow-up to find work
• a job interview in a place other than the place you live
• starting to work in a new workplace

You can receive support for moving expenses if you have to move to another place in Norway to start a new job.

This also applies if you have to move to another country in the Nordic region or the EU / EEA.

You must apply to have your expenses covered before the trip or the move is made. Payment will be made when NAV receives receipts documenting your expenses.

The travel distance must be 50 kilometres or more each way for you to be able to have your travel expenses covered. In NAV’s assessment of whether you are unemployed through no fault of your own, we will not attach importance to anything that occurred further back in time than 8 weeks. 

Rates for travel expenses for job seeker 

NAV will cover the cheapest form of travel. NAV can approve use of your own vehicle if there is no public transport available or it is not practically possible for you to use public transport. In this case, your necessary expenses linked to tolls, parking, etc. can also be covered. In exceptional cases, taxi expenses may be covered.

If you are granted an allowance for daily travel using your own vehicle, you must document the expenses by submitting a digital driving log at nav.no.

From 1 January 2021, the following rate applies:

Housing and overnight accommodation

You can receive this if you have impaired work capability. You can also receive this if you are studying and are a single parent, surviving spouse or previous family caretaker.

You can have necessary extra expenses for housing and accommodation covered if you have to stay away from home while you are in education.

These are expenses for housing or overnight accommodation that are in addition to your housing expenses in your home location, or expenses you have because your living expenses at the location of the learning are higher than your previous living expenses in your home location.

If you have higher extra housing expenses than other people in the same situation as you due to a disability, you can have your actual expenses covered.

You must provide documentation of your expenses for housing and accommodation by means of, for example, a rental contract, an overview of the interest on your loan for housing, electricity, or hotel, motel or cabin expenses.

If you are entitled to housing allowance pursuant to the Housing Support Act, you are not entitled to support for the same living expenses through NAV.

Rates for housing and overnight accommodation

From 1 January 2021, the following rate applies:

Relocation

You can receive this if you have a limited ability to work, or you are a single parent, a surviving spouse or you are a previous family caretaker.

You can get support for your relocation expenses if you have to move to start a new job. 

This also applies if you have to move to another country in the Nordic region or the EU / EEA.

If you are taking or are going to take education, you can have necessary expenses covered if you have to move to complete education or training. This also applies if you need to move to start a new job once you have completed your education. 

You must apply to have the expenses covered before you move. You can choose to use a removal company or do it yourself.

Rates for relocation

If you are using a removal company, you must obtain two written estimates. You can have the lowest offer covered.

If you obtain offers from removal companies and then decide to do it yourself, you can have necessary relocation expenses covered up to the amount in the lowest offer.

From 1 January 2021, the following rate applies:

Normally you will get benefit from the day you applied. In some cases, we can grant back-payment of supplemental benefit for up to three months. You need to apply before we can assess whether you are entitled to this.

There is no fixed date for payment of supplemental benefit. Supplemental benefit is paid out in three different ways:

• If you have applied for and been granted support to cover regular expenses, you will receive the benefit each month. The payment date will be the date on which the decision was approved.
• If you have applied for and been granted support for daily travel using your own vehicle, you will receive the payment approximately two or three working days after you submit your driving log.
• Support for learning materials, travel and relocation are intended to cover one-off expenses. If you have applied for and been granted this benefit, you will be paid the money as soon as we have received all the necessary documentation from you, after you have moved or completed your journey. The money will be in your bank account approximately two or three working days after NAV makes the payment.

In your overview of payments “Din utbetalingsoversikt”, you can see the next payment several days before the date on which it is paid. 

If you cancel a labour market schemes, if there are changes in your family situation or you are planning to stay abroad, this may affect the amount you receive from NAV. In such cases, you must notify NAV immediately.

You must be in work-oriented activity or approved education to be entitled to supplemental benefits. If you do not completed your activity, you will lose your benefit.

You must apply online. 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. 

Apply for supplemental benefits

You will receive a written decision once your application has been processed. Find out about how long it takes for applications to be processed in your county. 

You can contact NAV for more information and guidance, and/or help filling out the form.