Introduction Programme

It is the municipality in which are residing that is responsible for offering the Introduction Programme. 

Municipalities that settle refugees are responsible for implementing the Introduction Programme. In some municipalities, it is the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) office that has this responsibility. Other municipalities have a separate department in the municipality, outside the NAV office. 

The municipality must provide you with information about your rights to the Introduction Programme. You can also contact the municipality on your own if you have any questions.

Everyone between 18 and 55 years of age who have been granted temporary collective protection and who are residing in a municipality based on an agreement with IMDi may participate in the Introduction Programme if they wish to do so.

The municipality may also choose to offer the Introduction Programme to persons between 55 and 67 years of age who wish to participate, but persons in this age group do not have the same right to the programme as those between 18 and 55 years of age.

Participation in the Introduction Programme is voluntary. If, after having declined to participate in the Introduction Programme, you apply for government benefits from the municipality, the municipality will recommend that you participate in the Introduction Programme.

Find out more about being settled with an public agreement. 

You will receive financial support while you are participating in the Introduction Programme. This support is referred to as introduction benefits.

If you are participating full time, the introduction benefits will amount to approximately 220 000 Norwegian kroner per year.

You are required to pay tax on the introduction benefits. Tax is automatically deducted from your payments.

If you receive other financial support, you might receive smaller payments. 

If you participate in the Introduction Programme on a fulltime basis, you may work part-time on weekends and in the evenings without having your introduction benefit deducted. 

If you are under 25 years of age, you will receive somewhat smaller payments.
It is the municipality that disburses the introduction benefits. If the information that you provide is incorrect, the municipality may demand that you repay the introduction benefits.

You are entitled to five weeks holiday per year. You are also entitled to leaves of absence in connection with sickness, pregnancy and childbirth, or if you are unable to attend for other compelling reasons. You are required to apply for leaves of absence to your programme advisor.

If the absence has not been approved by your programme advisor, your introduction benefits will be deducted, and you will have less time in the programme.

If you have a lot of absence, the municipality may suspend your programme. Then you will loose the right to participate the Introduction Programme.

Yes, you may decline participation in the Introduction Programme temporarily, if you have been offered a job and start working.

If you wish to participate in the Introduction Programme at a later date in your residential municipality, you may do so, if the interruption is due to the fact that you were working.

If you have been offered a job while participating in the Introduction Programme, you may also discontinue the programme in order to accept the job offer. You may return to complete the Introduction Programme at a later date.

If you move to another municipality, you will not have the right to participate in the Introduction Programme in the new municipality if you have not agreed the move with the new municipality. If you move back to the original municipality in which you were settled, you may retain the right to the Introduction Programme there, if the interruption is due to the fact that you were working.

You may commence or return to the Introduction Programme for up to two years from the date you were settled in the municipality.

The Introduction Programme consists of some mandatory content, whereas some content is personalised.

All participants must learn a language. This may be Norwegian or for example English.

All participants must have educational og work oriented content in their introduction programme. This will help you enter the labour market or continue education.

If you have children or are expecting a child, you will also receive parental guidance. Through this guidance, you will learn what it is like to be parent in Norway and what types of services are available for you and your children.

The Introduction Programme should consist of content adapted to you and your goals. This may be unpaid work training in order to obtain an ordinary job, or education. The municipality will provide you with information about types of education you can take as part of the Introduction Programme.

You and you programme advisor will work together to create a plan for what your Introduction Programme should contain, and to determine how long it should last.

Before commencing the Introduction Programme, you may receive career guidance. This is guidance regarding your options for education and work in the future. Participation in career guidance is voluntary.

The career guidance builds on information about your work experience and education from your home country. This should be assessed before you receive career guidance.

After you have been settled in the municipality, you may receive a skills assessment.

The skills assessment will determine whether your  skills and experience are requested in the local labour market in the municipality where you are residing.

The skills assessment will contribute to creating an introduction programme that is adapted to your requests and needs.

If you have skills and experience that are requested by employers in your residential municipality, but are in need of some training or follow-up because you are new in Norway, the municipality, the NAV office or your employer collaborate on a 'fast track'. The fast track is flexible in the sense that it is adapted to you and your needs.

In the fast-track programme, the municipality, the local NAV office, and your employer will all collaborate to help you to get an ordinary job quickly with an employer who needs the skills and experience you have brought with you from your home country.

As part of the fast-track programme, you can receive language training at the workplace. You can receive training in requirements and expectations in Norwegian working life, Norwegian safety culture and the Norwegian model for working life. If you need help with getting your education accredited, you can also receive such assistance as part of the fast-track programme.

If you need to apply for recognition of your education, you can be assisted in doing so as part of a fast track-programme. 

You and your programme advisor will decide what goals to achieve over the course of the Introduction Programme. This may be entering higher education, employment, or finishing secondary education. These goals are referred to as 'end goals'.

Your end goal for the Introduction Programme will be based on your age, professional experience and education from your home country and your wishes and interests for employment in the future.

All participants in the Introduction Programme should be working towards achieving a end goal over the course of the programme.

The duration of your programme, as well as your end goal, will depend on your age and the level of education you already have. Consequently, the programme may last from six months to four years.

The municipality will provide you with more information about your options.

You may receive Norwegian language tuition even if you choose not to participate in the Introduction Programme.

You must have an agreed settlement with your residential municipality and with IMDi in order to be granted Norwegian language tuition.

Find out more about being settled with public assistance.

You may receive Norwegian language tuition for up to one year from the date of commencement. If you take valid leaves of absence from the language tuition, your tuition will be extended by a period corresponding with your leave of absence.

You and the municipality will create a plan for your Norwegian language tuition and determine what level you should achieve through the tuition.

If you wish to take a Norwegian exam, the municipality will offer it for free. The Norwegian exam may document your Norwegian language skills.

Read abot the Norwegian test on The Directorate of Higher Education and Skills' website.