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WHAT CHANGES IN NORWAY

What changes about life in Norway in January 2023 

Tax changes and new rules for electric cars dominate the key things you need to know about in Norway during January 2023. 

Pictured is an electric car being charged
These are all the key changes happening in January 2023. Pictured is an electric car being charged. Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Income tax to go down for low and middle earners 

Those with an income below 750,000 kroner will see the income tax they pay decrease in 2023.  

According to a 2023 budget proposal example, a family with two incomes of 550,000 kroner in Norway is likely to pay about 7,800 kroner less tax in 2023 compared with 2021.

Norway’s Finance Ministry has previously stated that the tax changes will mean that 76 percent of Norwegian workers will pay less or the same amount in tax as they currently pay.

VAT to be introduced on electric cars 

From 2023, the VAT exemption for electric car purchases will be removed from all new sales. Previously electric cars were exempt from VAT or MVA. 

Consumers must pay VAT on all-electric cars that cost more than 500,000 kroner. The percentage of VAT will scale up with the overall price of a car. 

Under the new subsidy scheme, buying an electric car with a sticker price of more than 600,000 kroner would become 25,000 kroner. 

Electric cars over 1 million kroner will become 12.5 percent more expensive due to the VAT charges. 

Additionally, re-registration fees for used electric cars will also be introduced. 

Kindergarten prices to go down

The maximum price for daycare in Norway will be reduced to 3,000 kroner per month in 2023.

Furthermore, daycare will be free for all children in Finnmark and Nord-Troms, and – in the rest of the county – for the third child in families with three children in daycare simultaneously.

E-scooter users will need to insure their devices

E-scooter owners in Norway will be required to insure their devices to use them in the New Year or face heavy fines.

Driving without insurance could land users in hot water and end up with them receiving a hefty fine for breaking the Vehicle Liability Act.

As e-scooters are classified as “small electric motor vehicles” under the new rules, they will need corresponding coverage.

This means that the insurance will need to cover unlimited sums in case of injury and up to 100 million in case of property damage.

In addition, insurance policies will need to be taken out on each device a person owns. 

Those who use scooters from rental firms will be insured on devices they hire from these companies due to a new rule implemented on September 1st.

Transport changes 

If you use ferries in Norway, then 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for you.

The government plans to halve ferry rates in the year ahead for everyone, while people living on Norwegian islands that don’t have road connections will get to travel by ferry for free.

Both petrol and diesel in Norway will also become cheaper as fuel duty will be cut.

New duty-free rules 

From January 1st, residents of Norway will only be allowed to bring in 100 100 cigarettes, 125 grams of other tobacco products (for example, snuff or rolling tobacco) or 100 grams of other nicotine products and 100 cigarette papers as tax-free as luggage on arrival from abroad to Norway. 

This will also become the new limit for what can be sold to travellers in Norway when they arrive at the duty free shopping area.

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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN NORWAY

EXPLAINED: The big changes to travel in Norway this autumn

Cheaper public transport tickets, new flight routes, more details on the tourist tax and the introduction of the new EU EES system are among the changes to travel to Norway this autum.

EXPLAINED: The big changes to travel in Norway this autumn

Cheaper train tickets for students and children

Train tickets for students and children will be made cheaper in Norway from October 1st as part of a government initiative.

The new discounts of 75 percent off the price of a standard ticket for a child and 50 percent off for students are already available for tickets for journeys on or after October 1st.

Students will also receive a discount on both single tickets and period tickets.

The new discount will apply to long-distance and regional trains on all journeys not covered by route, fare, or ticket cooperation. The Bergen-Arna, Oslo-Lillestrøm, Stavanger-Sandnes, and Trondheim-Værnes routes are examples of journeys where the new discounts won’t be available.

Price of monthly travel card in Oslo to be cut

For those who travel in Zone 1, the cost of a monthly travel ticket in Oslo has been cut by 150 kroner.

The cost of a monthly ticket was cut to 747 kroner, down from 897 kroner, on September 1st.

Tickets for students and seniors have also been reduced. Students will pay 448 kroner for a ticket, while the elderly will be charged 374 for a monthly pass.

More information on how the tourist tax will work                          

Norway’s government will submit two proposals that will impact the country’s tourism industry during the autumn.

The first will be a visitor’s contribution or tourist tax. A potential tourist tax has long been promised by the current government as part of the Hurdal Agreement it was formed on in 2021.

Some regions are keen for a tourist tax to be introduced as the upkeep of attractions, maintenance of key hiking trails and dealing with the pollution and litter caused by visitors typically come out of small municipal coffers.

Another proposal will see the guides require certification to use the job title. 

READ MORE: Norway’s government announces plans for tourist tax and guide certification

New flight routes to Norway

EasyJet will launch several new routes to and from Norway this autumn. Flights to Oslo from Manchester will begin on November 15th, and a new route between Liverpool and the Norwegian capital will take off on November 29th. There will be two flights per week between the two English cities and Oslo, one on Mondays and one on Fridays.

There will also be Easyjet flights between Milan Malpensa and Charles De Gaule this autumn.

The Oslo connections come in addition to seven new routes the airline has planned from the Arctic capital of Tromsø. The new Tromsø routes will connect northern Norway to London-Gatwick, Manchester, Paris-CDG, Milan-Malpensa, Bristol, Geneva, and Amsterdam.

There will also be a new British Airways flight between London Heathrow and Tromsø this winter.

EU’s EES system

The biggest travel change to those flying in and out of the country will be the EES system that will come into effect on Sunday, November 10th.

From that date, anyone entering or exiting the EU or Schengen zone (except exempt groups) will have to complete a pre-registration form, providing details such as a name and date of birth and also providing biometric data—specifically fingerprints and a facial scan.

These will be used for two things: tighter security checks on passports and automatic counting of the 90-days of visa-free travel that some non-EU citizens are allowed within the EU/Shengen zone.

Once EES is up and running and the main problems have (ideally) been ironed out, the EU plans to unroll the second change – ETIAS.

READ ALSO: Who in Norway will be exempt from Europe’s new EES passport checks?

Change to EVs in public transport lanes around Oslo

The decision to shunt electric vehicles out of the public transport lanes on the E18 west of Oslo has been partially reversed.

EVs are now able to use public transport lanes between Asker and Lysaker on weekends.

Norway’s government has also said it would open a stretch of the E6 from the north to the south of Oslo for electric cars.

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