Planning your research stay abroad

There must be a written agreement between you and UiB if

If your research stay abroad will last longer than one month, a formal agreement must be established between you and the University of Bergen (UiB).

You are responsible for completing the agreement and submitting it to your unit’s administrative manager or HR representative.

Click here to download the agreement template.

To plan a research stay abroad, you must establish contact with a suitable host institution. This may be a university, research institute, library, or another organisation that is relevant to your academic field. Many researchers find host institutions through their professional networks, collaborators, conferences, or academic publishing communities. You may also wish to explore whether the University of Bergen (UiB) has collaboration agreements with institutions relevant to your area of research.

Once the host institution has confirmed that it can host you, you should request a Letter of Invitation. This is a formal confirmation of the research stay and should include the purpose of the stay, the name of the host institution, and the duration of the stay.

A Letter of Invitation may be required as supporting documentation when applying for funding, research fellowships, or postdoctoral positions. It may also be used as supporting documentation for visa applications and applications for tax relief from the Norwegian Tax Administration, provided that the relevant conditions are met.

See UiB's agreements with partner universities and institutions abroad.

Visa Application

t is your responsibility to determine the entry and visa requirements that apply in the country you plan to visit. As visa application processing times can be lengthy, it is advisable to start the process well in advance.

Many countries offer specific visa categories for researchers and visiting scholars. In some cases, PhD candidates may be advised or required to apply for a student visa. We recommend that you contact the host institution’s international office, often referred to as the Global Office, International Office, or similar, for guidance on which visa category is most appropriate for your stay.

See also information about visa-free travel for Norwegian citizens.

Passport

Ensure that your passport has sufficient validity. Some countries require that your passport remains valid for a period after your stay concludes in order to grant a visa.

Do you have a work or residence permit in Norway?

If you are not a Norwegian citizen and hold a residence permit for work or study in Norway, you should investigate how a longer stay abroad may affect your permit.

Before travelling, you should ensure that your residence permit remains valid for the entire period of your stay abroad and consider whether it needs to be renewed. It is also important to familiarise yourself with the rules regarding how long you may stay outside Norway without affecting the basis for your residence permit.

What is membership in the National Insurance Scheme (NIS)?

Membership in NIS (folketrygden) is the key to accessing benefits from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) such as for instance the right to sick pay, child support, parental pay and health coverage abroad. 

Do I have to apply for a confirmation of membership?

Are you EU/EEA citizen? 

As a Norwegian citizen or an EU/EEA citizen employed by the Norwegian state, you will normally remain a compulsory member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme when posted abroad as an employee. However, you may still need documentation confirming your membership for other purposes. This may be required if your stay exceeds 12 months, if you are travelling to a country outside the EU/EEA, if you will be receiving benefits from NAV during your stay, or if the host institution requests confirmation of your insurance status.

Are you non-EU/EEA citizens?

You need to apply for confirmation of membership for all work for UiB outside of Norway.

Which form should I use?

If you will be staying in an EU/EEA country, you should apply for an A1 certificate. The application can be completed on nav.no and submitted either electronically or by post.

You may use UiB’s organisation number, 874 789 542 (Kunnskapsdepartementet). Your head of administration or local HR representative must complete the employer’s confirmation of posting.

If you are not an EU/EEA citizen and will be staying in an EU/EEA country, you should instead use the application form for stays outside the EU/EEA, as described below.

If you will be staying outside the EU/EEA, you should use form 02-08.05. Your administrative manager or local HR representative must complete the employer’s confirmation of posting. Although the form states that this is not required, you should ask them to send the completed confirmation to you so that you can include it with your application.

When do I have to apply?

NAV has long processing time for applications, up to 4 months. We recommend starting the process in good time.

Healthcare entitlements for stays in the EU/EEA

For stays of less than 90 days

For EU/EEA citizens: Apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The card entitles you to medically necessary healthcare on the same terms and conditions as residents of the country you are visiting.

For non-EU/EEA citizens: As a general rule, you are not entitled to a European Health Insurance Card. However, you may still be entitled to certain healthcare services in the EU/EEA. Contact HELFO for further information. HELFO also recommends obtaining private health insurance to ensure adequate healthcare coverage during your stay. Please contact euraxess@uib.no for further guidance.

For stays of more than 90 days

For EU/EEA citizens: Apply to HELFO for an S1 certificate (formerly E106).

Once you receive the certificate, it must be registered with the social security authorities in the host country in order to be valid. This will entitle you to healthcare services in the host country on terms similar to those provided under the European Health Insurance Card.

For non-EU/EEA citizens: HELFO recommends obtaining private health insurance to ensure adequate healthcare coverage during your stay. Please contact euraxess@uib.no for further information.

Healthcare entitlements for stays outside the EU/EEA

Read more about healthcare entitlements when you are posted abroad by a Norwegian employer on the HELFO website.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance covers different expenses from those covered by HELFO under your healthcare rights abroad.

The terms and conditions of standard travel insurance policies do not normally cover stays away from home lasting more than 90 days or travel undertaken for work purposes. It is therefore recommended that you take out separate insurance for your research stay abroad. Membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme is generally a prerequisite for obtaining travel insurance from a Norwegian provider.

For more information about suitable travel insurance options, please contact the International Centre.

Required Local Health Insurance

If your visa application or host institution requires you to obtain local health insurance, you may contact the International Centre at euraxess@uib.no for further information

Liability Insurance Certificate

As an employer, the University of Bergen (UiB) may be held liable for the actions of its employees under the general rules of liability law. The Norwegian state is self-insured and is therefore unable to issue any form of liability insurance certificate.

If you have been asked to provide such documentation, please contact the International Centre at euraxess@uib.n

Vaccinations

Check the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (fhi.no) for recommended vaccines for the region you are traveling to and consult your host institution about any vaccine requirements beyond FHI recommendations. You can access an overview of your vaccines taken in Norway at Helsenorge.no (Norwegian and English information).

Contact Occupational health service at UiB to find out which vaccines they can offer.

Under Norwegian law, you are required to report a change of address if you will be living in another country for six months or longer. This is done through the Norwegian Tax Administration. If you are moving to another Nordic country, you should report your move to the authorities in the country you are moving to.

What happens when you report a change of address?

The Norwegian Tax Administration will decide whether you should be registered as having moved abroad for tax purposes. If you intend to return to Norway, you will not normally be registered as having emigrated.

However, if you are registered as having emigrated, you may contact the Norwegian Tax Administration to appeal the decision. Be sure to read the decision carefully, as the deadline for submitting an appeal is normally three weeks.

An approved notification of emigration may have several consequences, including the loss of your entitlement to a regular general practitioner (GP) in Norway. When you notify the authorities that you have moved back to Norway, you will be assigned a new GP. However, you are not entitled to be reassigned to your previous GP.

Stays in other countries may affect your tax liability. In the United States, you may also qualify for an exemption from income tax. See Going to the US for more information about the tax treaty between Norway and the USA.

You must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration yourself to determine how your tax liability to Norway will be affected during your stay abroad. This depends on the length of your stay and the country in which you will reside.

Have you received a grant to cover expenses during your research stay? See the Service Centre’s pages for information about regulations concerning advance payments, settlements, and the tax implications of using the grant. Service centre for salary, travels and absence

• Work agreement or proof of income
• Marriage certificate 
• Vaccination card
• Birth certificate for children 

Are you travelling with children in kindergarten or school age, please remember to bring

• Statement regarding level from school/kindergarten
• Vaccination card

Make sure to check if your house insurance allows for subletting your house/apartment. Remember that any stipend you receive which is "labelled" for covering housing will become taxable if you sublet your apartment/housing in Norway during your mobility period.

UiB has an internal marked for subletting of apartments for employees. Please contact housing@uib.no if you do not have access to advertise on the internal marked. 

More about taxation when subletting your own apartment.

Recommendations from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides official country information pages with assessments of safety and security conditions in specific countries and regions. It also offers a travel registration service where you can register your stay abroad. We recommend that you always register your travel plans, including when travelling within Europe.

Please note that your travel insurance may not be valid if you stay in an area for which the Ministry advises against travel. If you are planning to travel to such an area, you must contact your local HR section or administrative manager before making travel arrangements.

• Country information pages (UD.no)
• Travel registration (reiseregistrering.no)

Recommendations for booking and paying for travel

When travelling, it is important to consider your personal safety and security. We therefore recommend using the University of Bergen's travel agency and the UiB credit card.

By booking through the travel agency, you will have access to personal assistance 24 hours a day should you need help with travel arrangements or accommodation at short notice. When using the UiB credit card, you are also covered by travel insurance for trips of up to 90 days. In addition, the card provider's 24-hour assistance service can provide support in emergency situations.

For more information about travel safety and preparedness, please visit sikresiden.no.