Contractor & Expat Services
Assisting foreign contractors, suppliers and expatriates in Norway
Foreign contractors which shall perform work for clients in Norway must undertake a series of procedures relating to registration of its business activity in Norway, including the registration of each engagement and the enrollment and registration of each foreign employee that shall perform the mission.
The foreign employee must have a legal permit, confirmed either by a registration procedure (EU/EEA/EFTA nationals) or by obtaining a residence permit from the immigration authorities.
Depending on the contractor's legal entity, its affiliation through a permanent establishment and the duration of the missions in Norway, there are certain tax implications to be considered both for the contractor and for its foreign employees.
The processes normally includes a dialogue and follow-up towards the following public authorities;
- The Brønnøysund Register Centre for business enterprises
- COFTA (Central Office for Foreign Tax Affairs) and / or the local tax office
- UDI (The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) and /or the local police authority
- Service Centre for Foreign Workers (Oslo, Stavanger, Kirkenes)
- NAV (The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service)
Which procedures to be performed is determined in part by nationality, but there is some common rules that everyone must deal with;
Everyone who is engaged in business activity in Norway or on the Norwegian Continental Shelf must have an organisation number. The same applies to businesses that only have employees who work in Norway. The organisation number identifies legal entities and, among other things, it is necessary in order to fulfil certain statutory obligations in relation to the authorities, for example the payment of tax withholdings, national insurance contributions and value added tax. Banks and other finance institutions will require an organisation number in connection with the opening of a bank account.
All employees of entities registered in Norway or board members for operations in Norway must be assigned a personal Norwegian ID-number. The ID-number will be assigned either when applying for a residence permit or when applying for a tax deduction card. For board members of the foreign branch the ID-number will be assigned during the registration of the foreign business in Norway.
It is important to manage these processes correctly and efficiently. We help to organise so that the processing time, if possible, can be reduced, while the result for the client and / or the employee is optimized based on individual circumstances, intentions and preferences.
We are familiar with all procedures that must be executed and know which various options that are available. We provide assistance both to the foreign contractors and their employees in Norway.
Please contact us for more information.