Doing business in Norway—An online guide

Norwegian compliance encompasses adhering to the rules, regulations, and standards established by Norwegian authorities and governing bodies. This involves adherence to a spectrum of legal aspects, spanning taxation, labor regulations, environmental standards, and general business operations.

Navigating these requirements can be complex, yet it's essential for companies seeking to do business in Norway.

Foreign companies are required to register in Norway as soon as their activities meet one or more of the following thresholds. Registration triggers reporting obligations to Norwegian authorities — including tax, VAT, and payroll reporting — and failure to register on time carries financial penalties.

Planning ahead is critical when winning a project in Norway, especially when a foreign company will bring non-EU/EEA workers to Norway.

Any non-EU/EEA worker will need a work permit from UDI (the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) to perform work in Norway. The application process is comprehensive, and the processing time can be severe, at the time of writing, 3-4 months.

The so-called technical expert rule is a practical and important exception from the work permit application system. In short, a non-EU/EEA worker with a certain technical expertise can, without a work permit, enter Norway to work on a certain project where the need for the technical expertise does not exceed a duration of 3 months.

Also read: Work permits in Norway for skilled workers

When a foreign employee enters Norway, a physical visit to a Norwegian tax office is required. An appointment must be ordered in advance here.

The purpose of the ID check is for the workers to identify themselves to the Norwegian tax authorities and obtain a Norwegian tax deduction card.

The employees should bring identification papers (for instance, a passport), a confirmation letter describing the Norwegian assignment or the employment contract, and a filled-out tax deduction card application form containing certain personal data. The foreign company can also file this tax deduction card application form electronically in advance.

Also read: ID check for foreign employees in Norway

Yes — any worker performing work on a Norwegian construction or building site is required to carry a valid HSE card (HMS-kort). The card serves as both a mandatory identification document and a physical access pass to the site.

Workers without a valid HSE card can be denied site access — which means delays and potential contract penalties for the foreign company.

The HSE card requirement applies to all workers on site, regardless of nationality, role, or the duration of the assignment. For foreign companies, this means the application process must be initiated well before the project start date — cards typically take up to two weeks to issue after the application is submitted.
To obtain an HSE card, the worker must be registered in Norway with a valid Norwegian organization number linked to their employer. This makes company registration and employee reporting a prerequisite for the HSE card process.

Also read: What is an HSE card?

As mentioned, one of the purposes of the ID check is to obtain a Norwegian tax deduction card. According to the Norwegian Tax Payment Act, foreign companies must deduct and pay advance taxes to their employees working in Norway. Without the tax deduction card, the “default” is that the employer must deduct 50 percent advance tax.

For companies without a permanent establishment in Norway, which we will touch on further below, it is possible to apply for an exemption from advance tax deductions.

Also read: 5 tax deductions to claim in your Norwegian tax return

The A-report scheme — known in Norway as A-melding — is the mandatory monthly salary reporting system for all employers with workers in Norway. Every month, the foreign employer must report detailed salary and employment information for each employee directly to the Norwegian Tax Authority, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV), and Statistics Norway.

Salary information includes all kinds of remuneration related to the work in Norway. This is a rather complicated set of rules. For instance, how the workers are living, whether their premises have cooking facilities, etc., are relevant questions.

Also read: What is an A-report - A guide for employers

The standard corporate tax rate in Norway is 22 percent. A foreign company is liable to Norwegian corporate tax on profits generated from business activities carried out in Norway — regardless of where the company is incorporated. In most cases, those same profits will also be taxable in the company's home country, which is where double taxation becomes a practical concern.

Norway has tax treaties with approximately 90 countries specifically to address this. Under most treaties, Norway can only tax business profits attributable to a permanent establishment in Norway — making the permanent establishment question the most critical tax issue for any foreign company operating here.

Establishing a permanent establishment has significant tax consequences — it means Norwegian corporate tax applies to all profits attributable to the Norwegian operations. Early assessment of permanent establishment risk is strongly recommended before any project begins.

The PAYE (Pay As You Earn) scheme is a simplified flat-rate tax arrangement for foreign employees working in Norway. Introduced in 2019, it replaces the standard Norwegian tax return process for eligible workers — reducing the administrative burden for both the employee and the foreign employer.

Under the PAYE scheme, employment income is taxed at a flat rate. The key figures are:

25% flat tax rate — the standard PAYE rate, which includes the employee's social security contribution.

17.2% reduced rate — applies when a valid A1 form is filed with Norwegian authorities, exempting the employee from Norwegian social security contributions.

In general, all foreign companies doing business in Norway must keep books of accounts based on the Norwegian general accepted accounting principles (“NGAAP”). The Register of Company Accounts will demand annual accounts for all foreign companies that are registered in the Register of Business.

Enterprises (“Foretaksregisteret”). Foreign companies that are only registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities (“Enhetsregisteret”) will, as a starting point, not be asked for annual accounts.

Suppose the relevant tax treaty gives Norway the taxation right to the business profits of the foreign company, primarily when the company has a permanent establishment in Norway. In that case, the company must have a Norwegian auditor if the Norwegian turnover exceeds NOK 7 000 000, if the balance sheet shows assets of more than NOK 27 000 000, or average number of employees exceeds 10 full-time equivalents.

Also read: Why correct accounting is essential for your business success in Norway

The Norwegian Working Environment Act gives employees stronger rights than laws in many comparable countries — and it applies to all workers performing work in Norway, regardless of where the foreign company is incorporated. Employment rights are taken seriously in Norway, and the Labour Inspection Authority carries out regular controls, particularly on construction sites. Larger Norwegian contractors will also routinely audit their foreign subcontractors to ensure compliance.

In our experience, working hours, salary levels, and termination rules are the areas where foreign employers most frequently face scrutiny. Norwegian employees have strong protection against unjust dismissal — stronger than most foreign employers expect.

For a full overview, check out our online guide here: A Norwegian Labor Law guide for employers 

HSE compliance is taken seriously in Norway — and the consequences of getting it wrong reach further up the management chain than most foreign companies expect. Under Section 3-1 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act, "the employer" is responsible for all HSE measures. In practice, this means the General Manager of the foreign company can be held personally liable for accidents, failures, and incidents involving workers in Norway.

Norwegian clients are well aware of this. In most significant contracts, the foreign company will be asked to present an HSE plan and in many cases a Safe Job Analysis before work begins. These are not optional — they are standard contract requirements.

In practice, the General Manager should ensure that HSE measures, HSE plans, and HSE routines are in place and documented before any workers travel to Norway to perform work.

Also read: When is a safety representative required in a company?

Yes. Foreign companies performing work related to electrical installations or repair of electrical equipment in Norway are required to register in the Elvirksomhetsregisteret — the Norwegian register of enterprises that design, install, and maintain electrical installations and equipment.

The registration process itself is straightforward. The main challenge is the requirement to appoint a professionally responsible person — known in Norway as "Faglig ansvarlig." This individual must hold documented Norwegian electrical qualifications and take formal responsibility for the company's electrical work in Norway. Finding and appointing a qualified person who meets Norwegian requirements is often the most time-consuming part of the process.

Planning ahead is critical. Delays in registration can hold up project timelines — and work cannot legally begin until registration is in place.

Also read: Registration and approval guide for foreign electrical workers

Not always - but increasingly,yes. Over the last couple of years, we have experienced that Norwegian companies, especially big public companies, have started demanding that foreign companies obtain certain quality certifications before winning contracts in Norway. The so-called Central Approval (Sentral Godkjenning) or StartBANK certification are examples. It is fair to say that these quality certifications can have a commercial effect and increase visibility in the Norwegian market, adding a certain stamp of quality to the business.

Also read: StartBANK registration and its benefits

The Norwegian Transparency Act entered into force on 1 July 2022. The Act promotes enterprises’ respect for fundamental human rights and decent working conditions. It will primarily be relevant for larger enterprises.

In short, the Transparency Act requires larger enterprises to:

• Carry out a due diligence assessment, meaning that they must look at both their own business, their supply chain, and their business partners to find out where the biggest risks are.
• Publish an account of the due diligence assessment – in practice, a due diligence report – on the company’s webpage.
• Provide information upon request from the Norwegian Consumer Authority. This administrative body is responsible for monitoring compliance with the provisions of the Transparency Act. Please note that the potential sanctions can be quite severe.