Complete guide for nurses relocating to Norway

Guide is updated on 14.11.2025

Complete guide for nurses relocating to Norway

Are you a nurse, assistant nurse, or health care professional looking for work opportunities in Norway? Then this page is for you. We have compiled a guide for nurses that includes what you need to do to get a visa, language courses, and certification from the Norwegian authorities.  

 

The labour market in Norway

People are living longer now than 30 years ago, and we are getting an older and larger generation of people who need care and assisted living facilities.

Norway is currently in a challenge where there will be a lack of qualified nurses and is in need of foreign nurses to come to Norway and work.

According to Statistics Norway, Norway will need between 95,000 and 135,000 additional health care workers in the next two decades, and far too few are being educated in Norway.

Thousands of foreign nurses and other health care professionals will therefore have to come from abroad.

 

What is required to work as a nurse in Norway?

Norwegian nurses must complete a 3-year bachelor's degree before they can apply for certification from The Norwegian Registration Authority for Health Personnel (SAK), so they can practice the profession.

The sole authority to give authorization and licences to health care personnel lies with SAK. There are different authorisations one can obtain for practicing their nursing profession. They are

1. Full and permanent approval

2. Licenses, which have limitations with respect to the duration of practicing the profession, an independent or supervised practice, to name a few.

You should start as soon as possible with the application process because it will unfortunately take a very long time before you receive notification from SAK.

There are many steps you must go through before you can receive your authorization.

You must fill in the application form and send in all necessary documents, and these documents must be certified copies. SAK will not accept regular photocopies of your documents.

SAK has posted a guideline for how to fill out the application form, and please make sure that you fill out the entire form.  

Application instructions

• Read  SAK's application guidelines 
• Make sure all necessary documentation is attached to the application

Documents you must submit with your application

When applying, you are required to include the following documentation:

1. Your diploma

2. Your transcript or diploma supplement

3. A comprehensive curriculum description detailing what each subject contains (not just the subject titles) and the total length of your education.

The curriculum must provide:

a) Information about theoretical training:

• Clear learning outcomes for every subject

• The workload for each subject, shown in ECTS credits or total hours

• Details of all clinical placements or practical periods, including each period’s length, goals, location, and assessment results

b) Information about practical training:

• The amount of practice you completed, listed in weeks, hours, or ECTS, for every practice field or department

• The types of practice performed (e.g., skills lab, observation, patient-focused practice, or simulated patient training)

• The specific departments, areas, or institutions where the practical training took place

c) Curriculum relevance:

• The curriculum must cover the exact years you were enrolled (for example, a student studying from 2010–2015 must submit the curriculum for those years)

• It must also include the educational institution’s full and accurate contact information

4. Required reading lists and syllabi

You must also provide an official overview of the required literature, syllabi, and any digital learning resources, including complete references.
This overview must be issued by your educational institution and must apply to the years you studied.

Processing fees

You must pay the processing fee when submitting your application.
The processing fee is NOK 1,665 and is paid through Altinn when you register your application.

Processing time: 13 months

• If your application is missing required information or documents, the processing period will take longer.

• If your education was completed in more than one country, the processing time will be determined based on the country where you completed your primary (foundational) education.

Also, make sure that you clearly state what documents you are attaching to the application so it will not slow down the processing of the application.

Most nurses from outside the EU/EEA will receive a letter from SAK stating that they have NOT been given authorization to practice nursing in Norway.

It is VERY important to read all the information in the letter to see what you must complete to be able to reapply at a later time.

This is rather common, and they often list exactly what you will have to complete to receive your authorization.

It is most of the time a combination of not enough practicum work during your studies, not knowing the Norwegian language well enough, and missing specific topics in the course material from your bachelor's degree.  

 

Norwegian language qualifications

There are two ways to meet the Norwegian language requirement for this course.

1. Pass the oral and written examination of "Test in Norwegian – advanced level" or "Bergenstesten".

2. Have completed and received a grade of "C" or better in both oral and written examinations in Level 3 in Norwegian at a university level

To pass the advanced test, Lingu Norwegian offers a language course for health workers leading up to the test. You can also learn Norwegian online if you haven't applied for a visa yet.  

Since the test certificates must be submitted along with your letter from SAK when applying for the course "Nasjonale fag for sykepleiere," it is imperative that you start learning Norwegian and plan on having the examinations completed by the time you receive notification from SAK.

This way, you save time by not waiting for the answer from SAK before you start your Norwegian. All nurses from outside the Nordic countries must complete or pass one of the two aforementioned examinations to be able to practice their profession in Norway.

 

Additional training needed

Most nurses from outside the Nordic countries have to take the course "Nasjonale fag for sykepleiere" as a supplement to receive their authorisation.

This course is a two-month intensive course held in Oslo. There are limited numbers of spots for this course, so one must often sign up at least six months before the course starts.

The course registration is done on a first-come, first-served basis, and you must fill out the online application form on the course page to be considered.

The application will not, however, be considered before ALL the documents have been received by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

At the end of the course, there are two examinations one must pass. "Test i medikamentregning" is a test you must meet the score of 100%, like all Norwegian nursing students.

This test is to ensure correct math skills in regards of dosage of medications.  The second test is a 4-hour test graded on a pass/fail grading system.

This test will examine you on the topics covered in the duration of the course. You are highly advised not to plan on working while you are taking this course, because this is a very intensive course, and you will have a better chance at passing the course and getting the most out of the course.

Previous experience has shown that students believe they can pass the course just by showing up for classes. However, those students are the ones who have a higher failing rate.  

Here is an additional guide for receiving authorisation as a health specialist from Folkeuniversitetet. They are an official provider of healthcare authorisation courses. 

Summary: Checklist for nurses relocating to Norway

1. Read these guidelines thoroughly.

2. Fill out the application form for SAK with all supporting documents and make certified copies to be sent.

3. Pay the processing fee to SAK.

4. Apply for our one-year Norwegian training programme and pay the enrolment fee - or start learning Norwegian online.

5. Apply for a visa to Norway (if you are from outside the EU)

6. Continue learning Norwegian and sign up for the advanced Norwegian test "Bergenstesten".

7. Once you have received the notification from SAK and passed the test "Bergenstesten", you can use the letter to sign up for the course "Nasjonale fag for sykepleiere".

8. After passing the two examinations in "Nasjonale fag for sykepleiere", you need to submit all the new documentation to SAK to have your application reviewed.

9. If you have done the paperwork correctly, you should receive your authorisation from SAK to practice nursing in Norway.

Disclaimer: Lingu Norwegian has compiled these guidelines for informational purposes only. We cannot provide legal support if applicants do not receive authorisation from SAK, nor can we be held liable for the use of this information. Furthermore, Lingu does NOT offer any services related to immigration.