Insurance during your stay abroad

It is important that you have insurance when travelling. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, and when this happens, a plan is exactly what you need!

Publisert: 16. Sep 2020 Endret: 30. Jun 2022

If you are a student and are going abroad in conjunction with your studies, make sure you have adequate health, travel, and other additional insurance during your stay abroad. This applies to anyone who is going on an exchange, is undergoing practical training, doing fieldwork or is on a study trip or attending a conference.

You have no insurance through the University of Stavanger.

First and most importantly:

Check wheter you are a registered member of the Norwegian national insurance cheme when you leave, as well as the specific benefits you are entitled to. If you are a permanet resident of Norway, you are normally a member of the Norwegian national insurance cheme. You will retain your membership if you are going to study for a period of less than 12 months abroad or have financial support from the Norwegian Educational Loan Fund for your study abroad.

Your membership provides you with a basic insurance policy. In many cases, the national insurance benefit system does not provide full coverage. It does not include travel and accident insurance, household contents insurance or repatriation in the event of illness.

To ensure that you are fully covered, we therefore recommend that you purchase your own private insurance as well. The insurance must cover the purpose of your stay abroad and the entire period you are abroad. Please note that your insurance may have limitations in connection with COVID-19.

In addition, if you are going to undertake practical training during your overseas stay, you should purchase a separate liability policy that covers any liability in the event you inflict harm on other people when performing practice-related tasks.

Useful links

Foreign students in Norway

NAV - Info rmation in English

Membership of the National Insurance Scheme

Students in the EU/EEA and Switzerland

The European Health Insurance Card

Students outside the EU/EEA

Membership of Optum for students in the USA

ANSA - Association of Norwegian Students Abroad

Insurance through ANSA

Before you travel abroad in connection with your studies, you must log in to the Digital service desk and complete the form "Checklist for students on overseas stays".

Students travelling on a trip accompanied by a UiS employee may be denied permission to participate in the stay abroad unless they can show that they have insurance.

Find further information below. Follow the links in the various categories to find all the necessary and up-to-date information concerning what applies to you and your overseas stay.

Travel within the EEA/Switzerland

If you are a member of the Norwegian National Insurance scheme, a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland and will be staying in another EEA country, you are entitled to healthcare service coverage.

As proof of the right to health care in countries other than the Nordic nations, you must carry the European Health Insurance Card with you. Read more at helsenorge.no. Familiarise yourself with what the card covers and does not cover during your overseas stay.

Travel outside the EEA/Switzerland with financial support from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund

If you receive support from the Norwegian Loan Fund to study abroad, you will automatically receive a letter/document from HELFO confirming your healthcare entitlements outside Norway. The document will be sent to your address registered in the National Population Register. It takes approximately 15 business days from the time the financial aid is granted to the time you receive the confirmation.

If you need healthcare services abroad outside the EEA, you must pay out of pocket for admission, treatment, medicines etc. You must keep the receipts for your expenses and apply to HELFO afterwards to have them refunded. Read more at helsenorge.no.

Travel outside the EEA/Switzerland without financial support from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund

If you study abroad without the support of the Norwegian National Loan Fund, your membership in the National Insurance scheme will generally be revoked after one year. Nevertheless, if you apply to NAV, you will be entitled to remain a member beyond the one-year period. If you are travelling abroad for study without financial aid from the Norwegian Loan Fund, please contact Helfo Utland to clarify your rights prior to departure.

Travel to the U.S. with financial support from the Educational Loan Fund

In some cases, U.S. educational institutions will request a more detailed description of health care coverage rights than what HELFO issues. Norway has an agreement with an American insurance agent who assist students with access to health care and coverage of health expenses. Please note that the current agreement with the insurance agent Optum is terminated on 12 September 2022. After this, Norway no longer has a special arrangement for reimbursement of healthcare expenses in the United States. Please find information on how this affects students going on an exchange from autumn 2022 here: Coverage of healthcare expenses in the USA for students who are entitled to extended subsidisation

Occupational injury coverage in the National Insurance Scheme

The purpose of the occupational injury insurance under Norway’s national insurance scheme is to provide special advantages beyond the ordinary benefits of the National Insurance Scheme. Coverage under the National Insurance Act presupposes membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

Under the National Insurance Act, you will be covered against occupational injuries provided that the harm occurs in a "teaching situation". What this means in practice is that the injury you incur must have occurred while you were in a teaching situation, at the teaching site, during teaching time.

Pursuant to section 13-10, third paragraph, of the Norwegian National Insurance Act, occupational injury provisions are also applicable to teaching sites other than where teaching ordinarily takes place. The prerequisite, in such a case, is that the teaching must take place under the direction of the university.

NAV is the authority that determines whether an injury is approved for coverage under the National Insurance Act.

Private insurance

In many cases, the national insurance benefit system does not provide full coverage. It does not include travel and accident insurance, household contents insurance or repatriation in the event of illness.

To ensure that you are fully covered, we therefore recommend that you purchase your own private insurance as well. The insurance must cover the purpose of your stay abroad and the entire period you are abroad. Please familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions of your insurance policy.

Most insurance companies offer a so-called "student abroad insurance" which should be sufficient, in addition to the National Insurance scheme, for most cases.

ANSA (Association of Norwegian Students Abroad) has tailored insurance policies for students abroad. Read more about insurance through ANSA. This information is unfortunately not translated. Please contact ANSA.

Please contact your insurance company well in advance of departure. It is important to map out your insurance needs. You must make your insurance company especially aware of the specific study situation you will be in during your overseas stay.

Please note that your insurance may have limitations in connection with COVID-19.

Students who will undertake practical training abroad

If you will be undertaking practical training during your stay abroad, make sure that you are also insured when you are at work or at the practical training site. You will need liability insurance that covers liability that may arise in the event you inflict any harm on another person or persons when performing practice-related tasks.

Contact your insurance company. An alternative may be insurance through the Norwegian Nurses' Organisation  or ANSA (Association of Norwegian Students Abroad). This information is unfortunately not translated. Please contact the Norrwegian Nurses`Organisation or ANSA if you need translation.

You can also check if you are covered via:

The host institution/practical training site’s insurance
Your trade union's insurance options

Insurance for international students

Membership in the Norwegian National Insurance scheme is a prerequisite for several entitlements under the National Insurance Act. Foreign students who come to Norway will not automatically become a member of this social benefits scheme. As a general rule, if you study in Norway for less than a year, you will not become a member.

The first thing you need to do is find out whether you are already a member of the National Insurance Scheme.

If you are a member, please contact your local NAV office to check whether they can export your membership to the country you are travelling to in connection with your overseas stay.
If you are not a member, you have no entitlements under the National Insurance Act. You may be able to apply for voluntary membership.

NAV telephone helplines.

When it comes to other insurance policies in addition to any coverage you may have under the National Insurance Scheme, the above recommendations and guidelines apply as for Norwegian students on overseas stays.

Please note that as a foreign student, and if you wish to purchase insurance, you may face other obstacles than Norwegian students face. For example, you may need to subscribe to an insurance policy in your home country.

Please also read: Important information for foreign students in Norway.

Remember these items before you travel

Necessary insurance policies

European Health Insurance Card - order it and take it with you!

Necessary vaccines

Check that your passport is valid

It is a good idea to make photocopies of your passport, visa and any other important documentation.

You may want to acquire documentation in English from your doctor if you are using prescription medications.

Unblock geographic blocks on your bank cards