Foreign professors, teachers and researchers resident abroad
Foreign professors, teachers and researchers who are resident abroad and who are temporarily employed in Norway are often called guest lecturers or experts. If you’re a guest lecturer or expert, you must pay tax to Norway. That means that you must apply for a tax deduction card and pay tax under one of two tax schemes.
Tax in Norway
When you’re employed at a Norwegian public educational institution, you must
- pay tax to Norway for the income you earn in Norway
- pay tax to Norway for the income you earn abroad, unless Norway has a tax treaty with the relevant country that limits your tax liability to Norway
If you’re not sure whether you’re employed at a Norwegian public educational institution, you must ask your employer.
How to apply for a tax deduction card
How you apply for a tax deduction card depends on how long you’re going to stay in Norway.
You do not need to show up in person at the Tax Administration’s offices for ID check if you’re going to stay in Norway for less than 14 days.
How to apply:
- You can ask your employer to apply for a tax deduction card for you.
- You can send the application yourself by post to the Tax Administration. You can do this by filling out form RF-1209 Application for tax deduction card for foreign citizens and sending it to
Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
0134 Oslo Norway
In both cases, the following must be attached:
- A valid ID document: Passport or national ID card containing a photograph of you and stating your citizenship and gender. If your ID card does not state your gender, you must also attach a birth certificate or other documentation that states your gender.
- An employment contract or written offer of employment. The employment contract must be in Norwegian, English or a Nordic language.
If you believe you should be exempt from the requirement to pay national insurance contributions, you must send documentation to prove this to NAV. You must attach a confirmation of your exemption from paying national insurance contributions to your application for a tax deduction card in order for this information to be included in your tax deduction card.
We recommend that you state your residential address instead of your work address when you apply for a tax deduction card. This way, you’ll get your tax assessment notice sent to your home, instead of to your workplace.
If you do not already have a Norwegian identification number (national identity number or D number) or if your D number is inactive, you must book an appointment with the Tax Administration for ID check and apply for a tax deduction card. Your D number becomes inactive after 5 years.
How to apply:
- You can ask your employer to apply for a tax deduction card for you.
- You can deliver your application yourself at the Tax Administration’s offices. You can do this by filling out form RF-1209 Application for tax deduction card for foreign citizens.
In either case, you must book an appointment with the Tax Administration for ID control and bring:
- A valid ID document: Passport or national ID card containing a photograph of you and stating your citizenship and gender. If your ID card does not state your gender, you must also attach a birth certificate or other documentation that states your gender.
- An employment contract or written offer of employment. The employment contract must be in Norwegian, English or another Nordic language.
If you believe you should be exempt from the requirement to pay national insurance contributions, you must send documentation to prove this to NAV. You must attach a confirmation of your exemption from paying national insurance contributions to your application for a tax deduction card in order for this to be taken into consideration in your tax deduction card.
We recommend that you state your residential address instead of your work address when you apply for a tax deduction card. This way, you’ll get your tax assessment notice sent to your home, instead of to your workplace.
You must provide information in a separate attachment about where the work is carried out (abroad or mainland Norway, or a combination) and periods – state country and dates. If work is carried out in Norway, we must be informed of the number of working days in Norway.
How to pay tax in Norway
There are two tax arrangements for foreign workers.
- The PAYE scheme is a simplified scheme for foreign workers where you pay a fixed percentage of tax that your employer deducts from your salary. If you’re going to work only in Norway, you’ll most likely automatically become part of the PAYE scheme. You’ll receive a receipt for PAYE tax, which shows how much salary and tax your employer has reported to the Norwegian Tax Administration.
- Under the general tax rules, tax is calculated according to a tax rate that varies based on how much you earn during the year. If you earn little, you pay little tax. If you earn a lot, you pay more tax. You receive the tax return the year after the income year. The tax return is, among other things, a summary of your income.
It’s important that the information in the tax return is correct.
You can check your tax return.
You’ll receive your tax assessment notice when we’ve processed your tax return. The tax assessment notice will show whether you’ve paid too much or too little tax.
We recommend that you get an electronic ID. Then you can access your tax return and tax assessment online.