Working in Svalbard and Jan Mayen: Jobs, Tax and Social Protection for a French National

The Svalbard Treaty gives nationals of the states parties an equal right to carry on maritime, industrial, mining and commercial activities in the archipelago, subject to local laws (Lovdata). France is among the original signatories. In practice, the Governor of Svalbard indicates that Norwegian immigration law does not apply to the archipelago and that foreign nationals need no residence or work permit issued by the Norwegian authorities. The archipelago is, however, outside the Schengen area, and a valid travel document is compulsory (see the page living in Svalbard).

The Governor specifies that it does not organise work and does not know which jobs are available. NAV (the Norwegian labour and welfare administration) publishes its vacancies only in Norwegian, with a few pages of general information in English, and employers in Longyearbyen can be contacted directly. Longyearbyen local council also publishes its own vacancies. The Governor advises future residents to secure a job and accommodation before arriving, because the regulations on refusal of entry allow residence to be refused to a person without sufficient means or the possibility of earning a living through lawful work.

The 1925 Svalbard Act provides that Norwegian laws on worker protection and on labour disputes apply to the archipelago with the adaptations the King sets according to local conditions; private law and procedure apply automatically (Lovdata). The terms of a contract (pay, duration, notice) are read in the contract itself: the official sources read publish no minimum wage specific to the archipelago and it is not possible to cite one.

The contract plays a wider role than elsewhere. According to the Governor, most housing belongs to employers, who offer it to employees as part of their employment. According to NAV, a newcomer’s membership of national insurance is obtained as an employee of a Norwegian employer operating in Svalbard, for the duration of the contract and up to one month after its end, as long as the person lives in the archipelago. Losing the job can therefore lead, in a cascade, to the loss of housing, of membership and, ultimately, of the right to stay if means of subsistence are lacking. It is best to take this into account when negotiating the contract (duration, notice, housing, repatriation).

Svalbard applies its own tax, distinct from that of the mainland, the proceeds of which remain allocated to the archipelago in accordance with the treaty. The principle, according to Skatteetaten, is that anyone residing in Svalbard is in principle taxable in Svalbard on all of their wealth and income. A person who stays at least twelve months is treated as a resident from the start of their stay; business trips and holidays do not interrupt the stay. They cease to be a resident from the income year in which they have spent more than 183 days outside the archipelago over a twelve-month period. Rates and thresholds are set each year: the Skatteetaten rates page is authoritative and no rate is reproduced here.

Salaries for work performed in Svalbard are taxed under a system of withholding at source by the employer, which is generally the final settlement. It is a gross tax, with no deductions (Skatteetaten). It covers salaries, fees, benefits, severance pay and residents’ pensions; it applies from thirty consecutive days on site, any break in the stay restarting the count, and shorter stays are taxed on the mainland or in the country of residence. No tax card is issued in Svalbard. Income that does not fall under this system (capital, rents, wealth) is taxed on the basis of the return, to be filed each year by a deadline set by Skatteetaten.

A person who arrives directly from abroad, without having been taxable in Norway or Svalbard as a resident during the previous ten years, has only limited tax liability during their first five years: they are taxable in Svalbard on salaries and earned income gained on site, but not on their other income. Income already taxed elsewhere or arising from work outside the archipelago is not taxable in Svalbard for a resident (Skatteetaten).

France applies the criteria of article 4 B of the General Tax Code: a person is tax resident in France as soon as one of the criteria is met (home or main place of stay, main professional activity, centre of economic interests), subject to international conventions (BOFiP, the French tax administration’s official guidance). A French national who leaves to work in Svalbard while leaving their family or main interests in France can therefore remain resident in France even if they become a tax resident of Svalbard.

The BOFiP lists a France-Norway tax convention signed on 19 December 1980 and amended by three protocols (1984, 1995, 1999). The official sources read do not make it possible to state that it applies to Svalbard, which has its own tax: before leaving, the situation should be confirmed with the non-residents tax office and Skatteetaten, in order to avoid double taxation.

Social security contributions (trygdeavgift) are withheld by the employer together with the tax and declared monthly, according to Skatteetaten. CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) describes, for Norway, sickness daily allowances paid first by the employer and then by NAV, and maternity, unemployment, disability and retirement benefits; the detailed application of these benefits in Svalbard should be confirmed with NAV Svalbard, which sees people by appointment. NAV specifies that membership continues during sick leave and leave linked to a birth. It also specifies that social assistance (sosialhjelp) does not exist in Svalbard.

For an employee under French law sent to Svalbard by their employer, CLEISS describes secondment to a country with no social security agreement: French scheme maintained for three years, renewable once. As European social security rules do not apply to the archipelago according to NAV, this framework should be confirmed with Urssaf (the French social contributions collection body) before departure. See seconded or expatriate and the local contract glossary. Details of care and reimbursement are on the page healthcare reimbursement.

According to Skatteetaten, business activity in Svalbard is taxed under the same rules as on the mainland. A sole trader who stays more than thirty consecutive days is taxed in Svalbard for that period; a company is resident if it has an office there and is managed from there; a mainland company becomes taxable in Svalbard if an assignment there lasts more than thirty consecutive days. Business returns are filed electronically by a date set by Skatteetaten, and an activity carried on both on the mainland and in Svalbard must be documented. CLEISS points out that in Norway the self-employed are not covered against unemployment.

On social protection, note that national insurance can be obtained, for a newcomer, only as an employee of a Norwegian employer on site (NAV). A self-employed person or a remote worker employed by a company established outside the archipelago therefore does not meet this condition according to the texts read: they must arrange private health insurance or membership of the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’Étranger, the French overseas social security fund), and demonstrate means of subsistence. A salary received for work performed in Svalbard follows the taxation rules above from thirty consecutive days on site. See digital nomad insurance.

The currency is the Norwegian krone (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). The treaty mentions maritime, industrial, mining and commercial activities, and the pages of the Governor and of Longyearbyen local council show guided tourism, research and teaching, local services (school, nurseries, hospital, civil protection) and administration. All these activities are subject to strict environmental and safety regulations: prior authorisations, rescue insurance, approved guides for tourism operators.

The economic indicators are shown in the “Economic benchmarks” block of the page when they are available. Job prospects depend on local employers, and the absence of a social safety net, of housing outside the employer and the hospital’s limited capacity are reasons to accept a post only with health cover and an evacuation plan. The page expat health insurance helps you compare contracts; Expavy can help you set them against your situation.