Most foreign students outside the
Nordic countries must obtain a formal residence permit from the local Norwegian
Embassy in their home country before their arrival in Norway. Students from
EU-countries are exempted from this rule and may apply for a residence permit
after arrival in Norway. The following documentation must be presented along
with the application for a residence permit:
-
letter of acceptance as an exchange student at NHH
- confirmation that housing arrangements in Norway have been
made
Students coming from universities outside Europe must present formal documentation of sufficient funds to complete the period of study at NHH (provided by the student/home institution).
Students from EU-countries should obtain an E-111 form from their social security office before leaving home. This will ensure them of minimal health insurance during their stay in Norway. During your stay in Norway, a general travel, accident and luggage insurance is recommended.
Medical care in Norway is basically free. Once you have made the registration as a student in Norway, you are eligible to receive medical care against a small refundable fee. This fee you may get refunded at the student secretary's office. Dental treatment is quite expensive in Norway. These costs are not refundable.
There is a chemist's shop close to NHH, at the corner of REMA 1000. Strong medicines cannot be bought without a prescription from a doctor. Every semester, at least one exchange student breaks a leg, so the address of the casualty clinic (Legevakten) is nice to know: Legevakten, Lars Hilles gate 30, 5008 Bergen, phone 55 32 11 20. The casualty clinic is open 24 hours a day, but the x-ray service is closed from 10:15 p.m.-8:30 a.m.
If you need to see a doctor, you may also try and contact Hellen Legekontor, Breiviksbakken 1 B, 5035 Bergen, phone 55 57 78 80.
Remember to get an "Egenandelskort" (a green card where you document your medical expenses) when you are at the doctor's! When you pay for medical service, you may get some of the money back by taking this card to the student secretary.
The student secretary is located in the sports hall ("Lemkuhl-hallen"). There you can get help with the refunds of medical treatment fees and different types of information/application forms. For opening hours, see announcement in Lemkuhl-hallen.
If you are going to spend less than three months in Norway, no extra permission is needed. For those who are going to stay in Norway 3-12 months, an International Driving Licence is required. We recommend that you get this licence before you leave your country. Contact your local motoring association or the authorities that issued your licence for further information.
To get to NHH or Hatleberg Student Residence from downtown Bergen you can take any yellow or red bus in the direction of Åsane, Lønborg or Øyjorden. The numbers of the buses are 9, 20, 21, 22, 23, 50, 70, 71, 80, 90. If you are uncertain about which bus to take, just ask the bus driver whether the bus will stop outside NHH.
The ticket fee on the buses is approx. NOK 25,- It is also possible to buy a one-month-studentcard that costs approximately NOK 400,-. The fee on the airport bus is NOK 65,- to the city centre, NOK 75,- to NHH. The bus leaves from the SAS Hotel every 20 minutes.
If you book a ticket early, and are lucky, you might get a one-way ticket from Bergen to Oslo starting at nok 199,-. In addition you may have to reserve a seat, which costs 25 kroner.
Taxis in Norway are expensive. However, for three persons a taxi might be cheaper than the night bus back home on Friday and Saturday nights. From the town centre to Hatleberg the cost will be NOK 100-150,-. Taking a taxi from the airport to Hatleberg costs approximately NOK 250-300,-. Unless you bring a lot of luggage, we recommend that you take the airport bus to the SAS Hotel if you are arriving by plane.
Two plane companies, SAS Braathens and Norwegian operate most domestic and several international routes. The ticket costs approx. NOK 400,- on flights between destinations in Southern Norway or Northern Norway respectively. If you want to go from a destination in the southern part to a destination in the northern part the price is higher. You can find more information on routes, time schedules and prices, as well as book tickets, on the companies' webpages.
The climate in Bergen is relatively mild, but wet! Be prepared for some rain - rainclothes and an umbrella are essential in Bergen!
1 Norwegian krone (NOK) = 100 øre
1 Euro = 8 NOK (approx.)
1$ = 8,5 NOK (approx.)
The price level in Norway is relatively high. Close to school and Hatleberg there is a low-cost grocery store, REMA 1000.
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Note that these figures do not include travel expenses to/from Norway. The cost estimate represents a healthy, but not lavish lifestyle.
At IKEA, you can buy everything you need for your room or flat at a reasonable price. IKEA is situated a few kilometres out of town and a big shopping centre (Åsane senter) is located in the same area. To get there, you can take any yellow or red bus that goes to "Åsane Terminal" from the bus stop outside Hatleberg Student Residence. The numbers of some of the buses are 50, 70, 80, 90 and any bus with a 200 number, please ask the bus-driver if you are unsure.
Most grocery stores in Bergen sell beer. Stronger alcoholic beverages such as strong beer, wine and spirits are sold in state-run off-licences (Vinmonopolet). There are five of these in Bergen. The shops are closed at Easter, Whitsun, New Years Eve, Christmas Eve, Sundays and all other public holidays.
Telephone services from private phones in Norway are relatively cheap
compared to many other countries.
Outgoing
calls: Prefix 00 + country code.
Incoming
calls: The country code for Norway is 47.
220 volt, 50Hz AC is the standard voltage in Norway. If you bring any equipment that requires other voltages, remember to bring an adapter.
The local newspapers, the BT and the BA, are published seven days a week. International papers are sold in some Narvesen kiosks in town, with one-day delay. The library at NHH has many international periodicals and papers. If you do not find what you want, you can try the library at the university or the public library located in Strømgaten 6 (between the bus station and the train station). The latter probably has the widest selection.
It is safe to drink the water out of the faucet in Norway.
1
January
New Year's Day is a very quiet day. Transportation is scarce, and
the shops are closed.
Easter
The Easter Holiday is normally very quiet in urban areas
as many Norwegians are up in the mountains skiing. Shops are closed Monday,
Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday.
1
May
The Workers' Day (Labour Day)
17 May
The National day of Norway. Everybody
celebrates this day. In every town centre there are colourful parades and
a lot of people wearing national costumes. The parade in Bergen is
pretty special - all sorts of organisations and clubs show up in their "uniforms". Do
not get astonished if you run into frogmen on the main street of Bergen on
May 17! You should not miss this opportunity to do a social antrophological
research on the Norwegians!
Ascension Day
All shops are closed.
Whitsun
All shops are closed.
Christmas
The
majority of the Norwegians celebrate this holiday with their families, and the
presents are unpacked at Christmas Eve. Local transportation is almost
non-existent on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The shops close very
early on 24 December and are closed the whole day the 25th and
26th.
Most people from abroad are rather surprised and sometimes shocked by the opening hours. Most shops in the city-centre have the following opening hours:
| Mon-Fri: | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. |
| Thur: | 9 a.m.-7 p.m. |
| Sat: | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. |
| Sun: | CLOSED |
Shopping centres and supermarkets have extended opening hours:
| Mon-Fri: | 9 a.m.-8 p.m. |
| Sat: | 9 a.m.-6 p.m. |
| Sun: | CLOSED (some very few are open) |
However, if you wake up on a Sunday morning with no food in the fridge there is still hope. At several petrol stations, for example Statoil, as well as at the 7Eleven shops you will find a fair selection of basic grocery products like milk, (warm) bread and pizza.
It is not normal to bargain in Norwegian shops. However, if you go to an informal second hand market ("flea market"), you are usually free to bargain on prices.
Most parties in Norway are casual and informal, and usually you will not have to dress up. In the school bar, "Klubben", there are parties almost every weekend, except during the exam periods. Most Norwegian students go to "vorspiels", which are get-togethers where friends meet for a beer or two or ten before they go out. Alcoholic drinks are very expensive in discos and pubs, therefore the Norwegians like to get a little "warmed up" first at the vorspiel. "Nachspiels" are for those who want to go on partying when the bars close.
The most common home parties are house-warmings and birthdays. To such parties you may bring a small gift if you like.
Every semester, there are also a few formal parties. The autumn ball is the traditional one at NHH. The International Committee usually organises a formal dinner for the exchange and MIB students as well.
| Fire brigade | 110 |
| Police | 112 |
| Ambulance | 113 |
| Directory Assistance, national numbers | 180 |
| Directory Assistance, international numbers | 181 |
| International reversed charge calls | 115 |
| Norway Links Collection: | http://www.norway4you.com/ |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | http://odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/nytt/nyheter/ |
| Aftenposten (Newspaper) | http://www.aftenposten.no/english/ |
Short general overview of the Norwegian public medical health services
The medical part of the Norwegian Public Health Services is divided into three different stages of service. The first stage is the General Practitioners at local health centres and private offices, which is a person's first contact with a doctor, a General Practitioner (GP). Since June 2001 we have had a Regular General Practitioner Scheme, where all inhabitants in Norway are entitled to have their personal Regular GP. See below for exceptions, under "students staying less than six months". The normal procedure is to contact a Regular GP for an appointment. The waiting time for this will probably vary from a few days to four weeks. The GP's job is to carry out an examination, give advice and treatment. He is the one who decides whether he himself will continue with the medical treatment of the patient or if he/she should be referred to a specialist, (second stage) or to a hospital (third stage). This means that a person cannot go directly to a specialist, e.g. gynecologist or to a hospital when he/she has health problems.
When a person becomes ill or is injured outside the GP's ordinary consulting hours, or is unable to wait for an appointment he/she can go to the Emergency clinic (Legevakt) which is open 24 hours a day. The patient will there be asked to present his/her problem, and subsequently wait for his/her time with the doctor in residence.
In the event of life-threatening illness or injury which requires immediate help, use the free emergency number 113. The medical expertise will then decide how to handle the situation, e.g. to get an ambulance for transport to a hospital.
How to get into the Regular General Practitioners Scheme.
Students who are coming to Norway with an intention to stay for longer time than 6 months can register at the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) in order to get a Norwegian ID-number. This registration enables the person as an inhabitant in Norway to be included in the Regular GP Scheme. When a person gets the Norwegian ID-number he/she will at the same time get a letter from the National Insurance Scheme, including and application form, a list of some available GPs and information about the system (in Norwegian). The form is to be filled in and sent to "Fastlegekontoret i Hordaland", Bergen sentrum trygdekontor, Pb 7080, 5020 Bergen. For further information you can call tel. 81 05 95 00. As a result the person will later receive a confirming letter with the name and address of his/hers Regular GP. From now on this GP is to be contacted every time when in need of medical service. If the person is not satisfied with the treatment he/she is entitled to change GP's up to twice a year. This is done by contacting "Fastlegekontoret i Hordaland". The consultation fee to the Regular GP is a standardized sum.
Since autumn 2001 these regulations also include Nordic citizens: Those who stay for more than 6 months can register at their place of study and thus get a Regular GP.
Students staying less than 6 months and without connection to the Regular GP Scheme.
Students intending to stay less than 6 months in Norway, are not allowed to register their residence in Norway. They do not get a Norwegian ID-number and can therefore not be connected to the Regular GP Scheme. In this situation the person is to contact any GP for an appointment. The Regular GPs are to give priority to the patients on their lists and those outside the Regular GP Scheme have to pay twice the standardized consultation fee. The student can get refund of the standardized consultation fee from the Student Welfare Organisation (Studentsamskipnaden i Bergen SiB). See detailed regulations at SiB's web site. In this situation the students are recommended by the Regular GP Scheme in Hordaland (Fastlegekontoret i Hordaland) to visit the Emergency clinic (Legevakten) when in need of medical service. The consultation fee at the Emergency clinic is the same whether a person is connected to the Regular GP Scheme or not. The consultation fee at the Emergency clinic in daytime on weekdays will acually be lower for a person outside the Regular GP Scheme, than the consultation fee at any GP.
If a student for some reasons requires a certain D-number (not to mix up with an ID-number) from the National Population Register, he/she can contact "Fastlegekontoret i Hordaland" and apply for Regular GP.
Confidentiality.
All healthcare personnel have a strict code of confidentiality towards their patients. This means that any information about a person's health, the treatment he/she receives and other personal information dicsussed with them is confidential and will not be shared with others. Healthcare personnel may, however, share their information with other healthcare workers who are involved in the patient's treatment.
Records are kept of a patient's contact with the public health service. These records contain information about diagnoses, course of illness, treatment and other relevant information. The patient can ask to see his/her own record. The doctor will also explain the contents if this is necessary.
There are different levels of consultation fees, due to which stage the doctor is in the Norwegian Public Health system. The fee is also subject to the time of the day. However, if the person is admitted to a hospital the treatment is free. You will find the various sums and possibilities for refund on SiB's web-site for information concerning financial support. In addition to the consultation fee there may also be costs for prescriptions, bloodtests and other examinations that are carried out. Students from EEA-countries are to bring their medical insurance certificate (in most cases E-111) to the consultation. The payment to the doctor is in any case heavily subsidized by the Norwegian State. When the costs are paid the patient should ask to get the consultation fee registered on a personal Health Insurance receipt card (egenandelskort). At the first visit of the year this can be obtained at the doctors office. The National Insurance Scheme will cover the expenses exceeding NOK 1.350,- upon presentation of the receipt card to the local Health Insurance office. SiB gives refund for the nominal fee beyond a selfcost of NOK 250,- and up to NOK 1.350,-. Unused appointments must be cancelled no later than 24 hours in advance, if this is not done, the patient will be charged.
Systems for financial support of the doctor's fee and the health
fund
http://www.sib.no
Your Guide,
information for foreign students at UiB
http://www.uib.no/fa/stud/kfus/yourguide.html
Regular General
Practitioners Scheme
http://odin.dep.no./shhd/index-b-f-a.html
Information from the
Ministry of Health and Social affairs
http://www.dep.no/hd/engelsk/ministry/index/-b-n-a.html
Information about the Norwegian National Insurance Service's, see specially: The Norwegian Social Insurance Scheme
Membership of the
National Insurance Scheme
http://www.trygdeetaten.no/index_e.html
Public documentation
and information services from the government and ministries in Norway
http://odin.dep.no/
Public sector
information and services on the Internet
http://norge.no
Last updated: 2007-10-17. Contact: Studieadministrasjonen
