Norveška

Norway cash-for-care benefit

The Norwegian government grants 6000 NOK monthly to parents who have not managed to secure a spot for their child at any public daycare institution. If you are a parent of a toddler who is between 13 and 23 months old and not enrolled into any public nursery, you may be entitled to a cash-for-care benefit in Norway.

A parents whose child spends up to 19 hours a week at a public nursery can also receive this benefit, but in an amount reduced by 50%. The benefit is meant to cover the costs of a child’s daily care.

Still, some parents worry that lack of available public care will force them to resign from their job in order to look after their child. The benefit may prove inadequate to sustain both a parent and their baby. 6000 NOK constitutes an income much below Norwegian average. Most commonly, it is the mother who takes up child care and becomes dependent on her partner’s income.

However, parents are under no obligation to take care of their toddler by themselves in order to to receive the benefit. They can make use of a variety of other options, such as sending a child to a private daycare centre, employing a babysitter, asking a relative to look after their child or even participating in an au pair programme. A necessary condition is simply that parents cover the costs of their child’s care out of their own pocket.

Apart from the above mentioned requirements, the Norwegian government has set additional limitations for foreign nationals living in Norway. In order to obtain the right to receive the benefit, a person has to generate income in Norway and pay national insurance contributions there (trygdeavgift). Thus, employees working in Norway for Croatian companies are usually not entitled to this financial boost.

Thanks to the European Economic Area agreement, a parent can also receive the cash-for-care benefit for a child residing in Croatia. The essential requirement is that the parent employed in Norway and the child entitled to the benefit are both registered at the same address in Croatia.

You seem to meet all of the above requirements? Verify your claim and submit an application for the cash-for-care benefit. According to the law, a person can receive due benefit retroactively – the Norwegian state will compensate the parent for up to 3 months prior to submitting an application.

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