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WHAT CHANGES IN NORWAY

Key points: Everything that changes in Norway in November 2022

From new passport rules, a final decision on tuition fees for international students in Norway and the state budget for 2023, here’s the lowdown on what’s happening in November. 

Pictured is an autumnal setting in Oslo.
Here are the key changes happening in Norway in November. Pictured is an autumnal setting in Oslo. Photo by Lucas Santos on Unsplash

Decision on fees for international students expected

If the government doesn’t pass its budget for 2023 through parliament in October, it will surely pass in November. 

It is currently negotiating with its budgetary party, the Socialist Left Party, to secure majority support for the fiscal plan. 

Should the government and the Socialist Left Party agree on a budget, a final decision on tuition fees for international students will likely be made when the budget is approved. 

When the budget was unveiled, the government said it wanted to implement plans for universities to charge international students’ tuition. 

The Socialist Left Party is opposed to this proposal, so the final budget negotiations will have a big say in whether the policy is implemented. 

Other important matters to be decided in budget talks

Among the other measures which could be set in stone once a budget gets the green light are reducing income tax for those who earn less than 750,000 kroner, more support for young people and parents, reduced unemployment benefits and cheaper ferries. 

For a full rundown of the proposed budget, click here.  

Interest rates to increase

Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, will likely raise interest rates by another 0.5 percentage points in November. 

It announced the upcoming rate hike in September. A hike in November would take the key policy rate to 2.25 percent. 

As a result of a potential increase, loan and mortgage repayments in Norway will rise too. Interest rates in Norway are currently the highest that they have been for a decade. 

Norges Bank sees interest rate hikes as a remedy to rising inflation. 

Winter tyre time

Motorists in the south will be expected to have made the switch to their winter treads by November 1st if they haven’t already. 

The season for winter treads began on October 16th in the north due to the chillier climate and snow settling sooner. 

In some more remote parts of the country with lots of snowfall and not much road maintenance coverage, you can opt to use studded tyres for more traction.

While changing your tyres may seem tedious, it could save you a small fortune as you can be charged up to 750 kroner per tyre if they aren’t up to scratch

READ ALSO: What you need to know about winter driving in Norway

New passport rules

New rules for issuing documents to children under 18, such as passports and national ID cards, are entering into force in November.

Both parents will have to appear at the passport and ID office within office hours, but they will not have to present themselves at the same time, the police explained.

Legal guardians no longer need to bring a consent form; it will suffice for them to present a passport or national ID card.

Furthermore, appointments won’t have to be booked in advance.

If both parents give permanent consent, the child can have their passport or ID card renewed until they are 18 years old.

Winter sports season begins 

For those who love nothing more than a day on the slopes, then the year will only just begin in November when resorts up and down Norway open up to skiers and snowboarders. 

 When the full season gets underway will depend a lot on when the first snow settles. This could happen anytime from the end of November to mid-December. 

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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN NORWAY

KEY POINTS: Everything that changes in Norway in 2024

The official three-week joint holiday, the summer's biggest and best festivals, and the annual memorial of the Utøya massacre. Here's what's happening in one of Norway's busiest and most idyllic months.

KEY POINTS: Everything that changes in Norway in 2024

Norway goes on holiday 

The joint holiday, referred to as fellesferie, will take place between July 8th and Friday, July 26th, in Norway. 

This period in Norway sees many companies close or heavily reduce their operations for the summer to allow staff to take a holiday. In many cases, firms can also make staff take a holiday during this period.

The aim of the joint holiday is to ensure that everyone has time off at a time when kids are on their school holidays, and the weather in Norway is typically the warmest.

For those visiting the biggest cities and smaller towns, you can expect some businesses, shops and restaurants to close their doors or operate under reduced hours during this time.

The school holidays started on Norway on June 21st and will continue right up until August 19th.  

Summer festivals

July is arguably the peak month for summer festivals in Norway. From July 3rd to 6th, the Stavernfestivalen takes place in the small town of Stavern in Larvik Municipality, outside Oslo, with stars such as Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, and Burna Boy all on the bill this year. 

Tønsberg, an hour south of Oslo, hosts the Slottsfjell festival between July 10th and July 11th, with an eclectic mix of acts, including Doja Cat from the US, Zara Larsson from Sweden, and from Norway Arif & Stig and indie rockers Kaizer’s Orchestra. 

In Tromsø, the Bukta open air festival takes place between July 19th and July 20th, and is something of a throwback to the late 1990s with US indie rock band The War on Drugs and the Sweden indie rock band The Cardigans headlining. 

The Molde International Jazz Festival, also known as Moldejazz, is among the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It takes place every year in July – this year, the festival will run from July 15th to 20th – and it has been bringing joy to jazz lovers in Norway since 1961.

READ ALSO: The top music festivals in Norway this summer 

Norway marks 13 years since the Utøya massacre 

Norway will commemorate the 13th anniversary of the brutal twin terror attack carried out on July 22nd by far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik. 

The attack saw a bomb set off in Oslo before Breivik headed to the holiday youth camp for young people associated with the Labour Party and opened fire on the people on the island while dressed as a police officer. 

A permanent memorial has been erected on the island of Utøya, where Breivik carried out the shooting. The country is currently deciding between a set of proposals for a similar permanent memorial at the site of the attack on the government quarter in Oslo. 

Expect standard Norwegian summer weather 

Marek Ratajczak, a forecaster at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, told The Local that July was shaping up to be “quite usual for the Norwegian climate”, with a few days of sunshine, followed by a few days of colder weather, and dry days interspersed with rainy days. 

“What the forecasts show is that there is a higher probability of low pressure systems in the Scandinavian region, which means that the weather will probably be changing a bit, like it has been doing in now in June. So we will have some cold days and some warm days.” 

Yr expects the highest temperatures on the weekend of the second week of July, when temperatures could hit 25C in Oslo, 20C in Bergen, and 17C in Tromsø.

READ ALSO: What is the weather going to be like during Norway’s main holiday month?

Recreational boats banned from discharging sewage in Oslofjörd 

From July 1st, all yachts and motorboats will be banned from discharging their septic tanks into the Oslofjörd, with boats instead required to use the 43 dedicated sewage facilities at marinas around the area. 

“The situation in the Oslo Fjord is critical,” Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen said in a press release announcing the measure at the end of May. “A healthy fjord will be a joy for many, not least people who spend the summer in and on the water.” 

Bergen extends legal pub opening hours 

People in Bergen will from July 1st be able to sup on first pint of the day a little earlier, after the city authorities brought forward the earliest legal pub opening hour from 8am to 6am. The change also extends the legal opening hours for outdoor establishments to 1am. 

While the the more liberal opening hours will also apply on May 1st and May 17th, they will not on other public holidays, when pubs will only be able to open from midday. 

LO work inspections begin 

The country’s largest trade union umbrella, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), will continue its annual summer workplace inspections until July 11th, after starting on June 24th. 

Every summer, the union umbrella’s “summer patrol” inspects the workplaces of young people in summer jobs. It does so to ensure that workers’ rights are being protected. The union typically visits over 6,000 businesses each summer.  

For three years in a row, the summer patrol has found an increasing number of violations of the Working Environment Act. 

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