Study in Norway and the immigration authority, UDI, use one national figure: NOK 15,488 a month, or NOK 170,368 for the academic year, for 2026/27. BI describes it as covering everyday costs such as accommodation, food, electricity, transport and personal expenses. It is also the amount you must be able to show if you need a study permit. It is an official planning figure, not a quote for any particular city.
| What | Amount (NOK) |
|---|---|
| Official living-cost estimate, per month (2026/27) | 15,488 |
| Same estimate for the whole academic year (UDI) | 170,368 |
| If you study for one semester only: autumn | 77,440 |
| If you study for one semester only: spring | 92,928 |
| Semester fee to the student welfare organisation | about 1,000 per semester |
| Study-permit application fee, applicants over 18 (check udi.no) | 5,400 |
Sources: Study in Norway (cost and requirements) and UDI (study permit, fees). The yearly figure works out as eleven times the monthly one, and the autumn and spring figures as five and six times it; that is our arithmetic, not a statement by UDI. Tuition is not included. Amounts are adjusted every year.
What the figure does not tell you
The official pages we used give one number for the whole country. They do not split it into rent, food and transport, and they do not give a different figure for Oslo, Bergen or Tromsø, so we do not print a category breakdown or a rent range. What they do say is that housing through a student welfare organisation is normally secure and more reasonably priced than the open market, that places are competitive, especially in the bigger cities, and that many students share a flat to keep costs down. See student housing.
What comes on top
Study in Norway lists transport, insurance, visa fees and, if they apply, tuition fees as costs you may have in addition to the estimate, and BI adds course literature and study materials. Tuition is the large one for students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland: see tuition fees. Add the semester fee, which every student pays to the student welfare organisation tied to the institution, and the study-permit fee. A worked example, using only published figures: a master’s student from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland who starts at NHH in 2026/2027 faces a tuition fee of NOK 204,000 on NHH’s page, and UDI expects NOK 170,368 for living costs, so about NOK 374,368 has to be shown for the first year (our addition). NHH’s own page asks first-year master’s students to be ready to transfer NOK 370,859, built from a living-cost figure of NOK 166,859, so ask your institution which total it wants and treat UDI’s checklist as the authority on the legal minimum.
Banking and tax
UDI accepts funds in a Norwegian bank account or in a deposit account that the institution has opened for incoming students. If you do not have a Norwegian account yet, you may use the institution’s account; contact the institution for the arrangement. NHH, for example, points new students to a deposit account run by Sammen, the student welfare organisation in Bergen, and returns the money once you have your own Norwegian account. Anyone who works in Norway also needs a Norwegian identification number (a D number or a national identity number), a tax deduction card and a Norwegian bank account, with the identification number and the tax deduction card coming from the Norwegian Tax Administration.
Working while you study
If you are granted a study permit you are automatically allowed to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week, including remote work, and full-time in the holidays. You cannot start before the permit is granted, and you cannot be self-employed. EU/EEA and Swiss students can work in addition to their studies, and so can Nordic citizens. Do not build your budget on a job, though. NHH tells new international students that finding part-time work will be challenging. Most vacancies are listed in the NAV job database, mostly in Norwegian, though searching for the word English turns up some; many institutions also have career centres and job portals. Income from a part-time job you have already been offered in Norway may count towards the funds UDI asks for, if you document it with a work contract; the hope of finding a job does not. Details are in the international students guide.
Support from the State Educational Loan Fund
Lånekassen, the State Educational Loan Fund, says you must usually be a Norwegian citizen to qualify for support. Foreign citizens can receive it if certain conditions are met, for example a permanent residence permit, or protection status, or having lived and worked full-time in Norway for at least 24 months before the studies. These conditions are about ties to Norway, so do not plan around this support unless Lånekassen has confirmed that you qualify.
Cutting costs
The sources give no tips that are more concrete than sharing a flat and applying early for student housing. One example from Oslo: SiO runs a thrift store at the Kringsjå and Sogn student villages where students can drop off and pick up used items free of charge. Ask your institution and its student welfare organisation what similar services they run.
Health insurance
Whether you are covered by the public system depends on your status. See healthcare and insurance.
Sources
- Study in Norway: Cost and requirements studyinnorway.no/cost-and-requirements Used for: NOK 15,488 a month and NOK 170,368 a year for 2026/27; costs on top; semester fee; student housing
- UDI: Study permit udi.no/en/want-to-apply/studies/studietillatelse/ Used for: Funds required, autumn and spring semester amounts, work rights, bank-account options
- UDI: Checklist for students udi.no/en/checklists-container/studies-au-pair/checklist-student/ Used for: How funds can be documented
- UDI: Fees udi.no/en/word-definitions/fees/ Used for: Study-permit application fee of NOK 5,400 for applicants over 18
- Study in Norway: Working while studying studyinnorway.no/working-while-studying Used for: NAV job database, career centres, identification number, tax deduction card, bank account
- BI Norwegian Business School: Tuition fees for master programmes bi.no/en/programmes-and-individual-courses/admissions/tuition-fees/tuition-fee-master-of-science Used for: What the living-cost estimate covers; costs outside it
- NHH: Tuition and financial matters nhh.no/en/study-programmes/application-and-admission/financial-matters/ Used for: Tuition fee for the 2026/2027 cohort, deposit account, advice on part-time work
- Lånekassen: Foreign nationals studying in Norway lanekassen.no/en-US/rules-and-regulations/tildeling/del1-kapittel2/foreign-nationals/foreign-nationals/ Used for: Who can receive support
- SiO: Student housing in Oslo sio.no/en/housing Used for: Thrift store at Kringsjå and Sogn
Last checked: 29 October 2026. Rules and amounts change; confirm them on the official page before you act on them. This is general information, not legal or immigration advice.
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