Expand Business in Norway

Global Upside helps businesses expand into Norway by providing talent acquisition, human resources, accounting, payroll, tax, incorporation, and professional employer organization (PEO)/employer of record (EOR) services. Our comprehensive offerings create an end-to-end solution that helps you establish your business and optimize your operations, all while maintaining compliance with Norwegian laws and regulations.

The hiring and incorporation processes in Norway are often complex, time-consuming, and involve numerous legal and compliance challenges. Global Upside simplifies these processes and lifts the compliance burden from your business. Our teams have the experience and expertise required to help you establish a legal entity in Norway. We also offer PEO/EOR solutions to companies interested in hiring employees quickly, without setting up a legal entity in the country.

Capital City

Oslo

Currency

Norwegian Krone (NOK)

Language

Bokmal Norwegian, Nynorsk Norwegian

Government

Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy

Country Overview

Norway is a Northern European country bordered to the east by Sweden, and is part of the Scandinavian peninsula. It is the largest producer of oil and natural gas per capita outside of the Middle East. Furthermore, Norway is also among the world’s happiest countries, with the most significant human development index and one of the world’s highest per capita earnings.

Legal Entity Setup

Options for setting up a legal entity in Norway include:

Private limited liability companies

In private limited liability companies, there can be an unlimited number of investors with no personal liabilities. However, corporate earnings are taxed, and the investors pay taxes on any dividends distributed.

Public limited liability companies

In public limited liability companies, there can be an unlimited number of investors with no personal liabilities. However, corporate earnings are taxed, and the investors pay taxes on any dividends distributed.

Partnerships with unlimited liability

There is no limited number of investors in such an establishment, and they jointly have unlimited liability for all the obligations. The earnings are not taxable at the corporate level. Instead, partners pay taxes at the rates based on their share of the profits.

Human Resources

In Norway, an employment contract can be either in writing or verbal.

The following are the statutory national holidays observed in Norway:

  • January 1 – New Year’s Day 
  • April 1 – Maundy Thursday 
  • April 2 – Good Friday 
  • April 4 – Easter Sunday 
  • April 5 – Easter Monday 
  • May 1 – Labor Day 
  • May 13 – Ascension Day 
  • May 17 – 17 May Constitution Day (1814) 
  • May 23 – Whit Sunday 
  • May 24 – Whit Monday 
  • December 25 – Christmas Day 
  • December 26 – Boxing Day 

Payroll

The payment frequency is bimonthly unless otherwise agreed. 

Accounting

Accounting standards must adhere to the Norwegian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Organizations must prepare annual statutory accounts. 

Taxation

Corporate Tax

The standard corporate tax rate in Norway is 22%.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

The standard VAT rate is 25% for most goods and services. There are also reduced rates of 15% and 12% for specific services.

Data Privacy

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2018 and represented a broad revision of the regulations of Europe. It states that the employees have the right to information on the processing of their data.

Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Law

The Norwegian Penal Code is the legal framework that governs bribery in Norway. The penalties can be multiple criminal sanctions such as imprisonment, loss of rights, and monetary fines.