Kontantstøtte

Cash support – childcare benefit

Support for parents with a child aged 1 to 2 years*, who does not attend nursery or attends nursery without state funding, or attends a publicly funded nursery on a part-time basis.

In the latter case, the benefit is reduced accordingly based on the percentage of hours.

*from the month in which the child turns 13 months, until the month in which the child turns 19 months old.

1. Eligibility criteria

1.1 Requirements

To be entitled to the benefit, you must have:

income in Norway from employment, self-employment or receiving other benefits (e.g. sickness benefit) and therefore be a member of the Norwegian social security system
membership of the Norwegian social security system or another EEA country for the past 5 years. If the child lives with both parents, both parents must have been members of the social security system for the past 5 years. (it is also possible to combine periods, e.g. 1 year in Norway, 4 years in Poland)*
joint registration with a child aged 1 to 2 years (both a Norwegian and a Polish address are accepted)
a child who does not have a place in a publicly funded nursery or has one only in a limited form

*the combination is flexible; what matters is documenting a minimum of 5 years

When we work, contributions are paid from month 1, so after this period of work in Norway we are already members of the Norwegian social security system.

It is worth noting that working in Norway does not always mean that this rule is met. If, for example, we are posted to work in Norway and our employer settles accounts, for example, in Poland, then we are automatically members of the Polish system and are only entitled to Polish benefits.

For this benefit, we must document at least 5 years of contribution periods in Norway or in another EEA country (European Economic Area).

List of EEA countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Hungary, Italy.

What qualifies as social security periods varies from country to country. It may be, for example, residence, periods of work, or both. Please note that only citizens of EEA countries or third-country nationals who are related to an EEA citizen can add social security time from other EEA countries to Norwegian social security time.

1.4 Who can receive the benefit?

The child’s mother or father:

if the parents live together, one of them submits the application
if the parents live separately, the application is submitted by the parent who permanently lives with the child
if a written agreement has been made to share the child’s place of residence, the benefit may be split between the parents

2.Amount of the benefit

2.1 Current amount

The amount of the benefit depends on the situation – the full rate is 7500 kr per child.

Depending on the number of hours the child attends a publicly funded nursery, the amount paid is reduced.

The benefit is tax-free.

2.2 Reduction of the benefit depending on the number of hours in nursery

Length of stay in nursery (hours/week)

Percentage of the rate

Benefit amount per child per month

none

100%

7500 kr

to 8 hours

80%

6000 kr

9-16 hours

60%

4500 kr

17-24 hours

40%

3000 kr

25-32 hours

20%

1500 kr

33+ hours

0 kr

table#wpdtSimpleTable-1{ table-layout: fixed !important; } table#wpdtSimpleTable-1 td, table.wpdtSimpleTable1 th { white-space: normal !important; }

2.3 Reporting changes

If there are any changes in the number of hours in nursery, they must be reported to NAV immediately.

3. How long can the benefit be received?

The benefit can be granted for a maximum of 6 months.

If the child starts a state-funded nursery for at least 33 hours per week, the benefit is paid until and including the month in which the child was allocated (for this number of hours).

The benefit can be paid retroactively for up to 3 months.

The application can be submitted no earlier than the month in which the child turns one year old.

4.Required documentation

4.1 Basic documentation

the child’s birth certificate (if born outside Norway and therefore not listed in the Norwegian population register) on an EU form or a standard form (in this case, we must attach a translation into English or Norwegian)
the applicant’s identity document
the applicant’s registration in Norway (registreringsbevis) or residence permit (oppholdstillatelse)
employment contracts for the period covered by the application (or other documentation confirming employment in Norway)
payslips – Lønnsslipp for the entire period for which we are applying for the benefit, and the annual income statement from the employer – Lønns og trekkoppgave
confirmation from another EEA country, e.g. Poland, that we have been covered by the social security system for at least 5 years (if this condition has been met in Norway, confirmation is not required)

If applicable

confirmation stating how many hours per week the child may stay in nursery
marriage certificate (if any) on an EU form or a standard form (in this case, we must attach a translation into English or Norwegian)
identification numbers and address from the home country for the applicant, the child and the other parent

4.2 Self-employed persons

printout from the Brønnøysund register for the business
balance sheet from the accountant for the entire period for which we are applying for the benefit

5.Kontantstøtte and travel abroad

If we intend to stay abroad for longer than 3 months, the benefit usually ends one month after leaving Norway.

If the stay takes place within the EEA, there may be entitlement to benefits for stays longer than 3 months. This is possible if one of the parents is a posted worker from Norway for up to 24 months or one of the parents receives a pension from Norway.

We also retain the benefit when we stay abroad with our family for up to 3 months. However, the requirement is that no work may be carried out during this period.

NAV must be informed which country we intend to travel to and how long the stay will last. If the stay lasts longer than planned, the office must also be notified.

6.Issuing the decision

How quickly NAV processes the application depends on the country and municipality that the office must contact in order to establish the necessary information.

For this reason, the process is often prolonged. To speed up and facilitate the office’s work, it is important to provide the full address (municipality, county) of the family members to whom the benefit application relates when submitting the application.

The waiting time is usually several months.

7. What does the service include?

The service includes:

sending the application to NAV together with the required documentation (in the case of postal submission, we are not responsible for the delivery),
attaching additional documentation (up to 2 times); further sending of documents/messages relating to the case is chargeable.

NOTE: The decision on whether the benefit is granted is made by NAV in Norway. The service only covers mediation between you and the office.

Kontantstøtte – childcare benefit

Have a question?Get in touch!

Have a question?
Get in touch!