Cash when you stay at home with children
People living in Norway with small children can have a right to cash support. And the amount might surprise some people. This is support so you can stay at home with your one year-old instead of going back to work. And: Section 42 of the Tax Act, third paragraph, letter f, states that the cash supporti shall be tax-free.
To get cash support, your child need to be one year old and not attend a full-time kindergarten.
If the child has a part-time place, you might get 20, 40, 60 or 80 per cent cash support. As a general rule, both you and the child must live in Norway. If your child lives in Norway for at least 12 consecutive months, the child is considered resident. For EEA citizens, separate rules apply. From 1 July 2017, you must also have at least 5 years of membership in the national insurance. Both parents must have been members of the National Insurance Scheme for 5 years.
Cash support can apply also for members of other countries in the EU
When NAV assesses the conditions for membership, social security periods in another EEA country must also be taken into account.
How NAV interpret this
NAV has interpreted this rule: “To qualify for cash-for-care benefits (note from editor: it’s the same as in this article is called cash support. The reason for calling it cash-for-care is the intention in the law, that you will get money to care for the child) there is an added condition: you need to have been member of the national Insurance scheme in Norway or by a social security scheme in another EEA member state for at least 5 years. To meet the requirements of 5 years membership in a social security scheme, you can add periods of membership both from Norway and from other EEA countries.”
Other condition
The other condition are according to NAV: “When the whole family lives in Norway and will be staying here for at least 12 months, you may be entitled to child benefit and cash-for-care benefit. ” and “If you are a national of an EEA country or a third country citizen considered to be in a family relationship with an EEA citizen* and are working in Norway, you may be entitled to child benefit and cash-for-care benefit even if you will be residing in Norway for less than 12 months.”
Read more about specific rules when only one EEA citizen works in Norway and other special rules here: https://www.nav.no/en/home/benefits-and-services/relatert-informasjon/child-benefit-and-cash-benefit-foreign-employees-in-norway
Documentation
You must obtain documentation yourself from the relevant EEA countries that have registered your social security periods. What qualifies as the social security periods varies from country to country. This could be, for example, place of residence, periods of work or both. Note that only citizens from EEA countries, or third-country nationals who are related with an EEA citizen, can combine social security period from other EEA countries with Norwegian social security period. If the social security period is from another Nordic country, citizenship is not important.
This means that if you for instance are from Poland or Sweden (both EEA countries) you can apply for cash support if the child has lived in Norway at least 12 months. A three months stay abroad during this period does not change the fact that the child lives in Norway, so you can for instance go for a summer holiday.
7500 NOK per month
If you don’t have or use a nursery place (choose to take care of the child yourself), you can get 100 per cent cash support, which is equivalent to NOK 7,500 a month.
If your child got a part-time place in kindergarten, you can receive 20, 40, 60 or 80 per cent cash support. It is the time you have been allocated a place in the nursery that is important. It determines how much you receive in cash support, not how much of the allocated time you use. Example: You have a full-time place in the nursery, but you only use the place in the nursery one day a week. In that case, you will not get any cash support, since the child basically has the opportunity to be in the nursery for the whole week.
The rates for cash support (set annually by Stortinget, and can therefore change). You will recieve cash support once per month.
Rates for cash support from and including 1 August 2018:
Allocated time spent in kindergarten (hours per week)
- Not given a nursery place (100 per cent cash support) NOK 7,500
- Up to 8 hours (80 % support) NOK 6,000
- 9 to 16 hours (60 % support) NOK 4,500
- 17 to 24 hours (40 % support) NOK 3,000
- 25 to 32 hours (20 % support) NOK 1,500
- 33 hours or more (not entitled to support) NOK 0
Note: If children other than your own live permanently with you, you might also get the cash support. But you cannot receive cash support for children who are in foster care or in an institution.
Apply now. It’s free to apply. Worst case you will get a decline, in most cases this is a right you have as a parent living with small children in Norway: Kontantstøtte – nav.no
Sources: Lov om kontantstøtte til småbarnsforeldre (kontantstøtteloven) – Lovdata
15. Skattemessige sider av kontantstøtten – stortinget.no
Link to nav and cash support: https://www.nav.no/kontantstotte#kort-om
Why we provide this information: NAV – NAV-TIPS (you-name-it.com)
