Research stays

Research stays must be pre-approved by the line manager and (Head of department / Head of administration) and, if applicable, the project manager.​ 

• Additional agreement 

There must be an agreement "Supplement to employment contract for research stays, including secondment, fieldwork, and research sabbatical abroad" 

• Funding/research grants 

A letter of allocation or similar must as a main rule be prepared, documenting the funding of the research stay. The letter of allocation must state the place and duration of the stay, as well as identify all sources of funding, including accounting. Furthermore, it must be specified which expenses are covered (see section "Expenses"), and the terms for the financing. 

Expenses that are considered necessary for the stay and that are normally covered tax-free: 

• Travel expenses - a return trip 

• The trip must be booked with Berg-Hansen. If you travel by car by agreement with the manager, only documented expenses for fuel, ferry and any parking will be covered. Total costs cannot exceed the documented cost of flight. 

• Insurances necessary for the stay 

• Visas and necessary permits 
  
  Set-up costs: 

• Costs for moving contents and movable property, including packing and special insurance of contents. 

• The move must be carried out in the cheapest way for the state. If you use a moving company, quotes must be obtained from at least three moving companies. These must be attached to the travel expense report. Of these, as a general rule, the cheapest alternative should be chosen. 

  NB: moving special items such as boats, cars, pianos, etc. is not covered. 

• Extra baggage or shipping of boxes by post 

• Vaccines required when travelling to the country in question 

• Housing expenses (rent, electricity, internet, etc.) 

• If you rent out your home/terminate the lease, coverage of housing expenses at the place of stay may be taxable. In that case, provide information regarding this in the comment field in the travel expense claim (important!). Contact the Service Centre for Payroll, Travel and Absence for further clarification. 

Expenses that may arise during the stay and that can be covered if support is provided for the cost; usually tax-free. 

• Costs related to travel prior to the stay to take over housing or enter into a rental contract, if necessary 

• A return flight for a spouse/cohabitant and children under the age of 18, provided that they are present during the whole or almost all of the research stay. 

• Tuition fees if public school systems do not offer equal school or education as in Norway. 

• Additional expenses for board as a result of a double household can be covered if you support a family with children under the age of 18 and the family stays in your ordinary home adress. The Directorate of Taxes' rates for tax-free subsistence allowance shall be used. 

• Rental car or any difference between the purchase and sale of a car, bicycle or other means of transport if the use of means of transport is necessary for the stay. The cost is considered a private expense, and the coverage is therefore taxable, with the exception of expenses incurred for security reasons. 

• Expenses related to daycare center and after-school care if these are additional costs as a result of the stay. 

• For example, if you have to pay for the same service at home in parallel, so as not to lose a nursery place. Or if the cost is higher at the place of stay than the maximum price for mursery in Norway.  As a general rule, coverage of nursery expenses is taxable, but if you are resident in Norway under internal law, expenses that exceed the maximum price for nursery in Norway can be covered tax-free. Expenses for food in nursery/after-school care are not covered. 

• Rental costs for furniture/household items/equipment or any difference between purchase and sale. Household items and equipment that are most likely to be kept are taxable. 

• House cleaning in connection with moving 

Expenses of a private nature are not covered, this applies to, for example: 

• Daily transport (bus, taxi, train, etc.) including travel between the place of residence and the place of work at the place of stay  

• Gym, children's leisure activities, entertainment 

• Clothing 

• Medicines, hygiene items, etc. 

• Healthcare incl. dentist 

• Lost income from work for spouses 

• Gifts 

• Childcare expenses 

Advances of up to 75% of the grant/allocated funds can be paid by registering an application for an advance in the Self-Service Portal or the DFØ‑app. A letter of allocation or similar as well as a budget for the allocation of the funds must be attached. The form must be posted (cost centre/sub-project) in accordance with the letter of allocation. 

How to register a travel requests and advances

In the case of research stays lasting more than 6 months, an advance form must generally be submitted per semester. In each advance form, the period for the semester in question must be stated with dates. In addition, the total period of the entire research stay must be stated in the text field at the end of the form. If there is a need for additional advances within the same semester, the employee can go into the already submitted advance form and enter a new advance amount. The advances combined (all forms) must not exceed 75% of the total grant. 

The outbound traveller is responsible for arranging the practical matters related to the outbound journey, including booking travel and accommodation, and must pay for the costs themselves. The grant is paid in back payments according to documentation (settlement). If there is a need for access to funds in advance, parts of the grant can be paid in advance.

Settlement for research grants must be submitted as a travel expense claim in the Self-Service Portal or the DFØ‑app. For research stays lasting more than 6 months, a partial settlement must be submitted per semester. For a good overview, the partial settlements should be numbered (partial settlement 1., partial settlement 2., etc.) The last settlement must be submitted within 30 days of the end of the stay. If an advance payment has been made, the travel application form must be converted to a travel expense claim. 

In the settlement, the regulation No tax Dorm/Flat/Priv w/kitch must be used. In the entry of expenses, only two types of expenses must be used: 

• Grant reimb. w/doc. No tax– used for expenses that can be reimbursed without withholding tax (tax-free). 

• Grant reimb. w/o dok. Tax– used for expenses where reimbursement is taxable. 

See section "Expenses" for what applies to the various expenses. If it is unclear how a cost is to be entered,  the Service Centre for Payroll, Travel and Absence must  be contacted for guidance. 

Record an expense entry for each receipt. Alternatively, you can collect several receipts for the same type of expense (e.g. return travel expenses) on one expense item, and attach a completed Excel form where the expenses are itemized/systematized. 

Grants paid to employees are generally taxable. 

However, the grant is not considered taxable if it covers costs that directly arise in connection with the performance of the work, provided that the detailed conditions are met. (see section "Expenses") 

It is important that you do not claim a deduction in your tax return for the same expenses that UIB covers tax-free. 

Taxable scholarships trigger employer's national insurance contributions (14.1%). You must clarify with your manager whether the employer's national insurance contributions should be deducted from the grant, or whether it can be covered by other funds. 

The grant is reported in the month in which the financial settlement is completed. This may have consequences for your tax, especially in the case of research stays in the United States. If parts of the grant are taxable, the settlement must be submitted during the stay so that any reduced tax deduction card is used.  

All expenses must be documented with documentation / receipts that clearly show the basis for payment (what the expense concerns) and payment confirmation (that the expense has actually been paid).  

An itinerary, booking confirmation, rental agreement, invoice, etc. only meets the first requirement, while a bank statement, bank terminal statement, etc. only meet the second requirement. An approved receipt meets both requirements. When this cannot be obtained, the cost can be documented with a combination of two types of documentation / receipts that each meet its own requirements, e.g. a tenancy agreement combined with bank statements for payments. 

All receipts must be eligible. For receipts in other languages (other than English and Norwegian/Swedish/Danish), you must enclose a description of the basis for payment and confirm that the receipt shows payment confirmation. 

Payments that exceed a total of NOK 10,000 to the same recipient during 1 year are required to be made via a bank.  

If other travel is to be carried out (e.g. a conference trip, etc.) during the research stay, it is important to be aware of certain system technical limitations for registration of travel expenses. A pre-payment form/travel expense claim that covers a continuous period (date – date) will "lock" this period, so that it will not be possible to register other travel expenses within the same period. It is therefore necessary to plan any other travel before submitting the advance payment form/travel expense report, and make sure that the period in the form does not overlap with the planned travel. 

Example: If the research stay is to last from 1.1. to 31.12., one advance form/travel expense report is normally submitted per semester. If you already know that you are going to a conference in April, the dates in the first advance form/travel expense claim can be set to 1.1.–31.3., so that the dates in April are open for the planned trip. Then the next pre-payment form/expense claim can be created with dates after planned travel.