Coordination of social security schemes

Bilateral Agreements

Norway has ratified bilateral social security agreements with the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Croatia, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the USA and Turkey, in addition to a separate Understanding with Quebec.

Nordic Convention on Social Security

There is an agreement (convention) on social security between the Nordic countries. The main purpose of the agreement is to make the social security regulations applicable to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Svalbard, which are not covered by the EEA-Agreement.

EFTA Convention

The EFTA Convention is an agreement between Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland that forms the basis for the establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). A revised EFTA Convention, the Vaduz Convention, entered into force on 1 June 2002. It contains, among other issues, provisions regulating social security coordination between Norway and Switzerland.

EEA Agreement

The EEA Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1994. Today, it applies to the 27 EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the Slovak Republic) and three of the EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway).

The main part of the EEA Agreement is supplemented by two important EU regulations, the Social Security Regulation (883/2004) and the Implementing Regulation (987/2009). These contain rules on social security coordination within the EEA and regulate how social security benefits, such as old-age pension, disability benefits and sickness benefits, should be processed when a person has connections to several countries.

Separation Agreement between the EEA/EFTA Countries and the United Kingdom

There is an agreement that regulates, among other issues, coordination of social security for people who used their right to free movement before the United Kingdom left the EEA Agreement at the turn of the year 2020/2021. This agreement applies between Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and the United Kingdom, and ensures that the social security rights of these people are maintained after Brexit.

Convention on Social Security Coordination between the EEA/EFTA Countries and the United Kingdom

In June 2023, the EEA/EFTA countries and the United Kingdom entered into an agreement on social security, which replaces the bilateral agreement between Norway and the United Kingdom, with the exception for the Isles of Jersey and Man. The agreement entered into force on 1 January 2024 and regulates coordination of social security for people who, from this date, move between the EEA/EFTA countries and the United Kingdom.