Staying abroad can stop your NAV benefits, and long stays can cost you your membership in the National Insurance Scheme. The limits vary for each benefit. One rule applies to everyone: notify NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) before you leave.
Part of the NAV guide "NAV for Immigrants: Rights and Benefits".
Staying Abroad and NAV: how long can you be away?
The limit is different for each benefit. It is 4 weeks for work assessment allowance and sick leave benefits, 3 months for child allowance and cash-for-care benefit, and 90 days for supplementary benefit. The table shows the main rules as of 26 July 2026 for stays outside the EEA.
| Benefit | Main rule outside the EEA | Before you leave |
|---|---|---|
| Child allowance | Up to 3 months | Notify NAV |
| Cash-for-care benefit | Up to 3 months | Notify NAV |
| Work assessment allowance | Up to 4 weeks per calendar year | Apply and receive approval |
| Sick leave benefits | Up to 4 weeks per 12 months | Apply and receive approval |
| Unemployment benefits | As a rule no payment | Notify, apply for form PD U2 in the EEA |
| Disability pension | Retained when travelling | Notify if over 12 months, or over 6 months in 2 consecutive years |
| Old-age pension | Can generally be taken with you | Notify when moving |
| Supplementary benefit | Maximum 90 days in the benefit period | Notify before and after |
| Financial social assistance | No right during stay abroad | Clarify with your local NAV office |
Within the EEA, the rules are milder. The EEA agreement's social insurance rules mean that citizens of EU/EEA countries and Switzerland often do not need to apply in advance, for example with work assessment allowance and sick leave benefits. If you are a citizen of a country outside the EEA, you usually must apply even when travelling to an EEA country. For sick leave benefits, the limit is at the Nordic region: you must apply if you travel outside the Nordic countries.
How long can the child stay abroad with child allowance?
Child allowance stops from the month after departure if the stay lasts or is expected to last more than 3 months. The rule is in the Child Allowance Act § 4 third subsection, which Lovdata refers to in its commentary on the Child Allowance Act.
If the trip turns out to be shorter than 3 months, NAV can repay the child allowance. You must notify NAV when you return to Norway.
There is another limit that few know about. If the child is abroad for a total of more than 6 months per year in 2 or more consecutive years, the child is no longer considered resident in Norway. Then child allowance stops even if each individual trip was short.
Cash-for-care benefit follows the same 3-month limit, cf. the Cash-for-care Act § 2 second subsection. You keep the cash-for-care benefit during stays abroad of up to 3 months, but only if you do not work during the stay. If the child moves out of Norway, the cash-for-care benefit stops.
Notification requirement: what you must do before departure
You are required to notify NAV of changes that may affect your benefit. This requirement is in the National Insurance Act § 21-3 and applies regardless of how long you will be away.
For several benefits, simply notifying is not enough. You must submit an application and preferably have an answer before you leave:
- Work assessment allowance: you can receive work assessment allowance for up to 4 weeks per calendar year outside the EU/EEA. The National Insurance Act § 11-3 requires that NAV has approved the stay in advance, and that it does not prevent follow-up and supervision.
- Sick leave benefits: you can keep sick leave benefits for up to 4 weeks in a twelve-month period outside the EU/EEA. NAV advises that you should apply before you leave if you want to be certain of the answer.
- Unemployment benefits: the main rule is that you must be in Norway. If you want to seek work in an EEA country, the form PD U2 can give you unemployment benefits for up to 3 months. You must have been registered as a job seeker for at least 4 weeks, apply about 4 weeks before departure, and register with the employment authorities in the country within 7 days.
- Supplementary benefit: notify both before you leave and when you return. Keep your boarding pass and tickets, and submit them to NAV upon return or at your next check-in appointment.
- Financial social assistance: you have no right to financial assistance while staying abroad. Clarify the trip with your local NAV office first.
Supplementary benefit stops if you are outside Norway for more than 90 days during the benefit period. The benefit is provided for 12 months at a time, and the rate for single people is 21,149 kroner per month from 1 May 2026. SamfunnPrep has separate guides for unemployment benefits abroad and supplementary benefit for elderly immigrants.
What if you do not notify?
NAV can demand the money back. Under the National Insurance Act § 22-15, a payment can be demanded back if you understood or should have understood that the payment was due to an error, or if you carelessly provided incorrect information.
If you acted with intent or gross negligence, NAV will add an interest surcharge of 10 percent on the amount demanded back. This follows from the National Insurance Act § 22-17a.
The claim can be collected by deduction from future social insurance benefits. A claim for several months of child allowance does not disappear just because you are back in Norway.
You can appeal the decision. The appeal deadline is 6 weeks for benefits under the National Insurance Act and 3 weeks for financial social assistance. It costs nothing to appeal, and your local NAV office must guide you and can help you write the appeal.
Membership in the National Insurance Scheme: the 12-month limit
If you are outside the EEA for more than 12 months, you lose your membership in the National Insurance Scheme from the day you leave Norway. If you are away more than 6 months per year in 2 or more calendar years in a row, you are also no longer considered resident.
This is the most expensive pitfall, because membership also carries your health rights. Without membership and a registered address in Norway, you lose among other things your right to a GP and to pay standard copayment.
Even while you are a member, the National Insurance Scheme covers very little outside the EEA. During a temporary stay, only necessary expenses for childbirth and for ongoing oxygen and dialysis treatment are covered, cf. the National Insurance Act § 5-24. A regular doctor visit you must pay for yourself. Within the EEA, however, health rights in the National Insurance Scheme and the European Health Insurance Card apply.
If you lose your membership, you can apply for voluntary membership. You must have been a member for at least 3 of the last 5 full calendar years before you apply, and have close ties to Norwegian society. You can choose the health section, the pension section or both, and you pay a fee.
If you are to live outside the Nordic region for at least 6 months, you must also notify the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) of moving abroad before you leave. This follows from the National Population Register Act § 6-3, which the Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) manages.
How to travel legally and keep your money
The rules do not stop your trip. They only require that you notify in time.
- Calculate how many days you will actually be away, including travel days.
- Check the limit for your benefit in the table above.
- Notify NAV at nav.no, or submit an application if your benefit requires it. Do this before you buy a ticket.
- Keep your boarding pass, tickets and passport stamps.
- Notify NAV again when you return, so the benefit can start again or be repaid.
- If you are going to apply for permanent residence or citizenship, remember that long stays abroad also break your residence period. Calculate your own time with the calculator for residence time and stay time.
Many of these rules are curriculum for the citizenship test — practice for free at SamfunnPrep.
