Retiring in Norway as a French National: Residence, Healthcare, Taxation of the Pension and Cost of Living

An EU or EEA citizen who plans to stay more than three months in Norway registers. They must have a basis of residence: employment, self-employment, provision of services, studies or own resources to support themselves (Oslo police). A retiree falls under this last category. Your Europe cites retirement among the grounds for residence, with sufficient resources and health insurance for people without an occupation, and specifies that after five years of legal residence the right of permanent residence is acquired.

• Amount of resources: the pages consulted give no amount; the level required should be confirmed with the police and the immigration directorate before departure.
• Population register: for a stay of more than six months, notification of the move to Skatteetaten assigns a fødselsnummer or a D-number, as the page on living in Norway explains.

CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) describes the case of the retiree who receives only a French pension and settles in another EEA State without carrying out an activity: they request the S1 form from their pension fund before departure if possible. This document allows the local scheme to cover them on behalf of French social security, and is presented to the country’s health insurance. Each dependant has their own S1.

• In Norway: helsenorge.no specifies that an EEA retiree holding an S1 is entitled to care under Norwegian rules and may have to pay a co-payment for each service. Everyone entered in the population register is entitled to a family doctor (fastlege), with exceptions for certain D-number holders.
• Annual cap: after 3,278 NOK of approved co-payments in 2026, an exemption card exempts you from co-payments for the rest of the calendar year; a hospital stay in a public facility is free. The detail is in the guide to the Norwegian healthcare system.
• Contributions: if tax residence remains in France, the CSG, CRDS and possibly the CASA (French social levies) apply; outside France, health insurance contributions replace these levies, at 3.2% on the basic pension and 4.2% on the supplementary pension according to CLEISS, to be confirmed with the pension fund.
• Stays in France: Assurance Maladie (the French national health insurance) reminds that the French fund remains responsible for care during temporary stays in France; the retiree registers with the Cnarefe (the French national centre for retirees living abroad) for these stays. The EHIC (European Health Insurance Card, CEAM in French) is requested at least 15 days before a temporary trip to another EEA country.

The guide to the S1 form: how to use it and the page on retirement insurance abroad complete these benchmarks.

The tax treaty between France and Norway was signed in Paris on 19 December 1980 and entered into force on 10 September 1981; it was amended by protocols signed in 1984, 1995 and 1999, which entered into force on 1 October 1985, 1 September 1996 and 1 December 2002 (impots.gouv.fr). Its text provides the following rules for pensions.

• Pensions from a former job (article 18, paragraph 1): taxable only in the State of which the recipient is a resident.
• Social security pensions (article 18, paragraph 2): pensions and other sums paid under the social security legislation of a State are taxable only in that State.
• Public pensions (article 19, paragraph 2): pensions paid by a State, a local authority or a public-law entity, for services rendered, are taxable only in that State.

In practice, a basic pension from the French general scheme remains taxable in France, and a supplementary or private pension falls to the State of residence or the paying State depending on its nature; the classification of each scheme should be checked on impots.gouv.fr. In Norway, residents are subject in 2026 to general income tax of 22.0% (18.5% in the counties of Troms and Finnmark) and to the national insurance contribution, which is 5.1% for pension income (Skatteetaten); its application to a foreign pension should be confirmed with Skatteetaten.

NAV indicates that the old-age pension can be received from the month following the 67th birthday, and from age 62 if the accrued rights are sufficient, with lower monthly amounts. At least 5 years of national insurance open a right to a pension, and 40 years are needed for a full basic pension. Periods lived or worked in another EEA State can be added to Norwegian periods. In 2026, the minimum pension at the high rate, for people born in 1963 or after, is 253,787 NOK a year, and the pension can be taken at 20, 40, 50, 60, 80 or 100% of the full rate, in combination with work.

A French retiree whose career was exclusively French receives their pension from the French funds, according to the guide to receiving your pension abroad.

SSB measures in 2025 an average monthly rent of 11,790 NOK for a two-room flat across the whole country and 15,260 NOK in Oslo and Bærum, about 29% more. On 1 January 2026, the municipality of Oslo has 728,714 inhabitants, Bergen 294,860, Trondheim 218,460 and Stavanger 151,669 (SSB, Statistics Norway), and built-up areas exceed municipal boundaries: 1,119,478 inhabitants for that of Oslo. The choice of city depends on proximity to health services and the housing budget.

• Oslo: the largest population centre and the French school, with, in Oslo and Bærum, rents about 29% above the national average for a two-room flat (SSB).
• Bergen and Trondheim: the second and third municipalities of the country by population, on the west coast and in the centre.
• Stavanger and Sandnes: a built-up area of 244,378 inhabitants on 1 January 2026.

To complement the S1 and the health budget, Expavy helps you compare supplementary cover with the page on retirement insurance abroad, and the guide to a retiree’s health insurance abroad details the options.

• Before departure: inform your pension fund, request form S1 for yourself and for each dependant, and request the EHIC for the transition period.
• On arrival: register with the police beyond three months, with your proof of resources.
• For more than six months: notify your move to Skatteetaten and go to the tax office for the identity check, in order to obtain a fødselsnummer or a D-number.
• Once entered in the register: choose a family doctor (fastlege) and present the S1 to the competent authorities.
• Register on the register of French nationals living abroad with the French embassy in Oslo.

If you return to France, form S1106 sent to the health insurance fund restores cover (Assurance Maladie). The page on returning to France details these steps.