Everyone who is resident in a Norwegian municipality is entitled to be registered as a patient with a primary doctor (GP). If you are staying more than 6 months and received your national identity number you are entitled to a personal physician. You should register for a physician as soon as you have your national ID number. Do not wait until you get sick. This could take some time, so make sure you have health insurance from your home country until you get your number. You can choose a GP at a clinic near your home, but sometimes there are no free places so you are assigned to a GP that requires some travel.
The general practitioner (in Norwegian: "fastlege") works as the main doctor overseeing a person’s health. Please notice that there is not a regular system in Norway for being invited for regular checkups.
Primary doctor (GP):
- See your primary doctor about general health problems or to be referred to a specialist.
- If needed, the GP will refer you to a specialist or a hospital for further treatment.
- All patients pay a consultation fee when visiting their GP.
If you are staying less than 6 months, you will not get a personal physician. However, you are still entitled to medical care.
- If you are an EEA/EU Citizen, remember to bring your European Health Insurance card.
- Of you are a citizen from outside the EU, you need to make sure you have private insurance from your home country.
- Accident and emergency departments: accept patients in need of immediate help, i.e. treatment of illnesses and injuries that cannot wait until the next day.
- Emergencies – call 113: for life-threatening and acute health problems.
- Studentsamskipnaden (SSN) offers a variety of health services for students at USN.
If you get sick and need to see a doctor, look at this page about primary doctor for more information. If you are a EEA citizen you can also find information here.
All municipalities in Norway offer an out-of-hours medical service for immediate medical assistance 24 hours a day. Call the 6-digit number 116 117 for free to contact your local out-of-hours medical centre. In an emergency, call 113.
Click here to see what the out-of-hours medical service can do for you.
Another option is to use a private doctors like Dr.Dropin.