Foreign employees working onshore in Norway – ID Controls

Employers sending their employees to work onshore in Norway, must ensure that the employees attends an ID control meeting at one of the selected tax offices in Norway, in order to verify their identity and to obtain a tax deduction card.

Should they fail to comply, your employee will not receive a tax deduction card, and as the employer, you will be required to deduct 50 % of the employee’s taxable salary as payroll withholding tax.

Who should attend an ID Control?

All individuals performing work onshore in Norway have to meet in person for an ID control at one of the selected tax offices.

There are a few exemptions. ID control is not required for:

• Foreign persons who only work on the Norwegian continental shelf
• People with a D-number who have already met for an ID check during the past two years.
• Seafarers on a NIS/NOR vessel who are resident abroad for tax purposes
• Those who are in a situation where it will be very burdensome to meet at the tax office in person.

Should it be difficult for the individual to meet for an ID control, they may apply for an exemption. The application must be in writing and include the reason why it will be very burdensome to meet at the tax office. The application must be sent to Central Office Foreign Tax Affairs.

Tax offices that offer ID control

There are 42 selected tax offices in Norway that provide ID controls, as not all tax offices offer these ID controls checks. An overview of the Norwegian Tax Administration ID offices can be located here.

Book an appointment

Booking an ID control meeting at the tax office or the service centre for foreign workers is now mandatory.  You can book your appointment here:   Appointments are expected take at least 15 minutes.

What to bring to the ID control appointment

Workers must bring the following documents to the tax office:

• Valid ID document: Passport or national ID card approved as a travel documents in the Schengen Area.  The ID card must have a photograph and state the nationality and gender.  If the ID card does not state the gender, the individual must also have a birth certificate or other documentation, which states the gender. For Nordic citizens, a valid driving license together with an extract from the national registry of the individuals’ home country will also be accepted.  The extract must be no more than three months old and it must be signed and stamped.
• Form RF–1209: Application for “Tax deduction card for foreign citizens”.  This form can be found and printed out here.
• Employment contract or offer of employment. If you work for a staffing agency, you must also have confirmation of assignment.
• Other: Persons from countries outside the EU/EEA area must also document that they have a residence permit entitling them to work in Norway.

Based on the ID control, you will receive a tax deduction card and your Norwegian D number/temporary personal identification number. 

Employers can apply for a tax card on behalf of a foreign employee

As the employer, you can apply for tax cards on behalf of the employee. The person who applies must have the required access in Altinn and complete the form RF-1355.  In addition to RF-1355, the employer must enclose the employee’s verified passport and the employment contract or a written confirmation of the work assignments in Norway.

Please note that the employee is not exempted from meeting in person at the tax office for identification.

For more information, please contact Gillian Forrest or your usual AAB contact.

To find out more about Gillian and the Payroll and Employment Taxes team click here.