Expat Community > Norway

Jonty
Joined 2008
Posts: 66

Moving to Norway: Time to start a new thread.

13 years ago

Like many other wealthy countries, Norway doesn't have the native labour it need to sustain the growth it seeks so you WILL find opportunities for WORKING in Norway. However, what Norway DOESN'T need is people who will out-stay their usefulness and become a burden on the Norwegian state which is why I really can't recommend Norway to anyone seeking to settle anywhere.

360,000 Norwegian Kroner worth of tax I have had deducted from my wages from work in Norway have gone missing and after a few years of trying, I still don't know if this was stolen by the Norwegian employers, lost by the administering authority (Tollogavgiftsdirektoratatet) who simply refuse to have any contact with me.

This is far from the only problem but people need to be warned this problem is far from rare. A search of google will find it's quite common for foreign workers, who, of course, often don't know the language or understand the tax system here, to be abused.

I have sent PROOF to Skatteetaten (the Norwegian tax authorities) my tax has been stolen by Norwegians. None of these Norwegians have been prosecuted.

Some tax HAS made it through though so I DO have a Norwegian pension. Unfortunately, since 1989, I have only had a residence permit for 1 year. The renewal of THAT was refused on the basis I left Norway too often to need one so I have a Norwegian pension but once I stop working, I will have to go and live somewhere else to collect it.

If your work takes you outside of Norway now and then, you don't NEED a residence permit so you won't get one but if you spend a lot of time in Norway you will not be allowed to own or drive a foreign registered car. You will need a Norwegian registered car. In my case, without documentary proof I LIVED in Norway, I would not be allowed to use that car in the UK.

I could go on and on about the mess the Norwegian's have created for me and look forward to leaving once my Norwegian son is old enough to spread his wings a bit.

I will finish by saying I can't think of any reason to come to Norway. The implications for your old age and the administration of your life as whole will be jeopardised so much it's hard to argue in favour of coming.

It's a beautiful company and the people are lovely so come for a holiday but don't make the same mistakes I made and try and live here.

Come for an obscenely well paid 1 year contract but, if you're a man, stay away from the women.

Just how are you going to placate the Norwegian child support agency and the money they think a Norwegian child requires once you're back on the dole in the UK?

William Russell

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Moving to Norway: Time to start a new thread.

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