What you need before your first salary, and what happens if you do not have it.
Everyone who works in Norway needs a tax deduction card (skattekort) and a Norwegian identification number. The card tells your employer how much tax to deduct from your pay.
No card, higher tax. If your employer has no tax deduction card for you, the employer must deduct 50 percent of your income.
You need either a national identity number or a D number. If you do not have one, you must attend an ID check in person at a tax office, with a valid passport or national ID card.
You can apply yourself, or ask your employer to apply for you. The card is normally ready within five working days. Your employer then retrieves it electronically from the Tax Administration, so you do not hand over a paper card.
Most foreign workers are placed in the PAYE scheme, a voluntary, simplified scheme where your employer deducts a fixed percentage of your salary. If you prefer to be taxed under the ordinary rules, you can say so on the application. You can also change this later in the income year.
A D number becomes inactive five years after it was assigned. It is not deleted, but you must reactivate it, with a new ID check, before you can get a new tax deduction card. A card you already hold for the current year still works.
General information, not legal advice or an individual assessment. Rules and procedures change, so always check the official source. JobsNorway does not find jobs. Find out whether you can work in Norway.