NAV benefits are assessed differently for permanent residence. Sickness benefits and unemployment benefits may count as your own income; child benefit and housing allowance do not. Disability benefit may give an exemption. Sort your payments before applying. Checked 2 October 2026.
Which payments can you include?
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has a limited list of public benefits that may count as income. The table shows the most common NAV benefits and how to sort them before making an estimate. “Counts” does not mean that the benefit alone is enough; unless you qualify for an exemption, you must still meet the required amount for the relevant twelve-month period.
| Benefit or payment | For the self-support requirement | What you should check |
|---|---|---|
| Sickness benefit, pregnancy benefit, parental benefit | May count as your own income | Gross amount and the months the money relates to. |
| Unemployment benefit | May count as your own income | Actual payments, not just an approved decision. |
| Work assessment allowance (AAP) | May count as your own income | Payment periods and total amount. |
| National Insurance old-age pension | May count as your own income | Whether you are covered by the requirement at all; the age limit of 67 is assessed separately. |
| Benefit for a single mother or father (transition benefit) | May count as your own income | The exact name of the benefit and the payments. |
| Disability benefit | Possible exemption, not an ordinary income item | Document the NAV decision; UDI assesses whether the exemption applies. |
| Child benefit, housing allowance (Husbanken), lump-sum grant on birth | Does not count | Keep these amounts out of the total. |
| Qualification benefit, work-related activity benefit, survivor’s pension | Does not count | Do not confuse similar names with approved benefits. |
| Financial social assistance | Does not count | Receiving it is no longer a separate automatic obstacle, but it does not increase approved income. |
UDI also lists the introduction benefit and loans or grants from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen) as possible funds. They come from schemes other than ordinary NAV benefits and should be labelled correctly in your overview. The main guide to the self-support requirement explains the income threshold and the other types of income.
Why is social assistance a separate question?
From 18 April 2024, UDI repealed the former rule that you could not have received financial assistance under the Social Services Act. Receiving social assistance therefore does not in itself mean that an application for permanent residence must be refused. However, social assistance is still not on the list of income that counts. You need enough other approved personal income or must meet the requirements for an exemption.
Think of these as two separate questions: “Have I received social assistance?” and “Do I have enough income that UDI accepts?” Answering yes to the first does not answer the second. This is also why older advice from before 18 April 2024 may be misleading.
What if you have both salary and NAV benefits?
You can combine eligible income. Use the actual gross amounts for your twelve-month period, and mark the benefits that do not count.
Example 1 – eligible combination: Sara receives NOK 230 000 in salary, NOK 90 000 in unemployment benefits and NOK 40 000 in sickness benefits during the same relevant period. A preliminary estimate is NOK 360 000 before tax. UDI lists NOK 341 373 as the published amount as of 2 October 2026. UDI decides whether Sara's period and amounts actually meet the requirement. The application also requires the other conditions to be met.
Example 2 – amounts that cannot be added: Omar has NOK 300 000 in salary, NOK 30 000 in child benefit and NOK 20 000 in housing allowance. Even if NOK 350 000 has reached his account, the latter two benefits are not approved as income here. The preliminary figure is NOK 300 000, not NOK 350 000. Before applying, Omar should check whether he has other eligible income or qualifies for a relevant exemption.
Example 3 – disability benefit: Nadia receives disability benefit from NAV. She should not treat it as “salary” in the table. UDI lists disability benefit as a possible exemption from the income requirement. She finds her NAV decision and follows UDI's personal document checklist. These examples help with calculations; they do not guarantee a decision.
When is the amount assessed, and what documents do you need?
UDI looks at a relevant period of twelve months before you submit your application to the police, or from a later point before a decision when you first meet the requirement. If you met the income requirement when you submitted your application to the police, UDI says later changes in income do not remove this particular requirement. For applications covered by the rules from 1 September 2025, the other requirements must still be met when a decision is made. Whether you are covered by the income requirement, including the age range of 18–67, is assessed under UDI's guidelines at the time of the decision.
Create a sheet with four columns: exact name of benefit, date/period, gross amount and “counts / does not count / possible exemption.” Get decisions and payment information from NAV. For housing allowance, use the decision and payment overview from Husbanken. NAV says you can view payments going back four years when you log in at nav.no, including information about deductions. Compare this with payslips and tax information. If your employer paid salary while NAV reimbursed the employer, do not add the reimbursement as an additional payment to you.
UDI can retrieve some Norwegian income and NAV information itself. Still, you should be able to explain discrepancies, provide documents for benefits that have been recorded incorrectly, and follow your personal checklist. Ask NAV if you are unsure about the name of a benefit; ask UDI whether it counts in your application. The NAV guide for newcomers explains where to find help, and the article about parental leave shows how salary and parental benefits can be documented.
Finally, a NAV benefit that counts as income does not by itself mean that your temporary residence permit still meets all its requirements. For example, changes to your work or family basis must be assessed separately. SamfunnPrep helps you organise your residence period with the residence-period tool and with practice for the social studies test; only UDI or the police can assess the income and basis for residence in your case.
