Checklist for international master students

This information applies for students attending a full Master’s degree programme at HVL, not Exchange students.

Important information regarding COVID-19 and your admission to HVL for fall 2020

For citizens outside the EU/EEA: The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has now informed us that if you are going to study in Norway from autumn 2020, you can enter from 1 July. Before you can enter, you must have received a decision letter stating that you have been granted a residence permit as a student in Norway.

For EU/EEA citizens: If you are to study in Norway from the autumn 2020 you can go to Norway now. When you come to Norway, you must follow the rules for quarantine when you enter and isolation if you become sick. You can read about quarantine and isolation at helsenorge.no (external website).

The first semester of the international masters will still be offered digitally as it might take several months to apply and receive the visa and then travel to Norway. You will follow the tuition digitally, but you now have the opportunity to apply for a visa/study permit and come to Norway during the first semester or before the second semester starts in January.

Updates about Visa and study permit application

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is now accepting and processing applications for student visa and study permits for students outside the EU/EEA. In some countries, however, embassies and VFS application centers are closed due to the corona virus, so for some applicants it will not be possible to have their application delivered right now.

This may change at short notice as a result of changes to local guidelines, and we therefore recommend that students follow the websites of the individual embassy/VFS center where information is published continuously. You can find more information about Embassies, consulates and Visa Applications Centers here.

The UDI will post updates as soon as there is news and you should therefore stay updated by checking this page regularly.

HVL do not have any possibilities in impacting your visa application and questions about the application must be directed to UDI.

Updated schedule

Information to our applicants for the Master in Climate Change Management (MACCM):

Updated schedule: We are currently planning the autumn semester as a hybrid semester, where some of the students will to follow the teaching online, and the rest will be on campus. The challenge is to facilitate for learning, cooperation and integration in a best possible way, for all students. MACCM is taught in blocks, implying that only one course is taught at a time, for a period of 6-7 weeks.

The first course in the program is Climate Change and Climate Policy. This will be offered mainly as an asynchronous online course (not in real time), but with occasional on-campus meetings between students and the course responsible, for the students who are in Sogndal. The exams in this course will take place in late September/early October.

The second course, Fundamental Research Methods, starts just after the first. This course already has a lot of online learning material prepared. This is normally supplemented with practical seminars. These seminars will take place also this year, but we are currently discussing how to adapt the seminars for online learning for students who cannot take part in on-campus activities.

The third course, Climate Change Ecology, starts late November. We are hoping that most students will be present by then, but necessary adaptations will be made in due time if this is not possible. A letter with more information about study start will be distributed by the end of June.

Information to our applicants for the Master in Maritime Operations:

Updated schedule: The first session week for the first year MMO students is planned from August 24th to August 28th (Week 35) 2020. The next two sessions will be in week 41 and 46. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic all the sessions autumn 2020 will be entirely digital. There will be no teaching at campus in Haugesund this autumn. This means that you can start the program without having a Norwegian Visa, and you will be able to finish the complete first semester regardless of possible COVID-19 restrictions.

A plan for the first session will be published at this website in week 33. For those of you who does not have a nautical background, there will be given an online bridging course. More information about this will be published here in August.

Information to our applicants for the master in Healthy Ageing and Rehabilitation:

Updated schedule: The program will start on August 10th, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the programme will be offered completely online the first year. This means that the two-week on-campus session in Bergen, Norway in August is cancelled. If granted admission this means that you do not have to apply for a visitors Visa and you will be able to accept the offer and follow the program without difficulties.

Updates about student accommodation and housing

If you are to apply for a visa/study permit you need proof of accommodation for your application to The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). Students that are to move to Norway and apply for a study permit should therefore apply for accommodation as this will help you in the process of getting a visa/study permit.

HVL offers housing arrangements in cooperation with Sammen, the student union (welfare organization). The application deadline for student housing is May 15th. If you apply but cannot move in as planned you have until the 23rd of July to notice Sammen, and they will be able to release you from the agreement and return the deposit as soon as possible.

Applications submitted after the deadline May 15th will not normally be processed or you can risk that you will not receive housing in time for study start.

Information about accommodation for students enrolled for the master in Maritime Operations and Fire Safety, Campus Haugesund:

The application deadline for student housing is May 15th.

Go to the page www.sammen.no/en/haugesund/housing
Click “Apply for student Housing”
To apply you first have to log in or create a new account. You create a new account by clicking the “Login Mypage” button on the top right of the page. Then you follow the instructions. Remember to the select the option “Date of birth” if you do not have a Norwegian social security number.

Contact Sammen Haugesund if you have any questions on how to apply for accommodation.

Information about accommodation for students enrolled for the master in Climate Change Management, Campus Sogndal:

The application deadline for student housing is May 15th.

Go to the page www.sammen.no/en/sogndal/housing
Click “Apply for student Housing”
To apply you first have to log in or create a new account. You create a new account by clicking the “Login Mypage” button on the top right of the page. Then you follow the instructions. Remember to the select the option “Date of birth” if you do not have a Norwegian social security number.

Contact Sammen Sogndal if you have questions on how to apply for accommodation.

More information about money and banking information will follow in due time.

1. Register as a Student

All students attending HVL must register digitally in Studentweb, which is usually open for registration from august. You will receive a PIN code that enables you log in. Please check that the contact information registered in Studentweb is correct.

Also, Studentweb is where you sign up for classes and exams and find payment information.

When you have registrered and paid the semester fee, you may download your digital student ID.

Note that you need to registrer as an HVL student each semester: Semester registration

Who: All students
Where: Studentweb
When: Deadline 1st of September / 1st of February
What you need: Your personal HVL registration numbers

2. Semester Fee

In order to register as a Student you need to pay your student union membership fee of NOK 780. You go to 'More' and 'Payments' on StudentWeb. An invoice is automatically generated when you register in Studentweb. Your registration only becomes valid once this invoice is payed.

If you pay from a foreign account, you must use the following information:

Bank: Den norske Bank ASA
Bank account no: 7694 05 17644
IBAN: NO62 7694 05 17644
Swift/BIC: DNBANOKK

Once you have registered you will be granted access to Canvas; a digital communication platform used for essential communication between HVL and you. On Canvas, you will receive specific information about each course you will be attending. It is also the main information platform between you and the lecturers.

Who: All students, except exchange students
Where: Any Norwegian bank or online bank
When: Deadline 1 September / 1st of February
What you need: The KID number from the invoice generated in Studentweb when you register

3. Study permit and Visa

As an international student moving to Norway you may have to apply for a visa or a study permit, or both.

Please beware that if you are nationals from outside EU/EEA/EFTA and staying more than 90 days you will be asked to document that you have funds enough to cover subsistence at NOK 121 220 per year, and NOK 60 610 per semester for the academic year 2019-2020. When applying for half a year you should only need to show financial subsistence for the period you are staying in Norway. Generally, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration requires the money to be deposited in a Norwegian bank account.

For students in Master in Maritime Operations:
In order to study in Germany (in the second semester) you will need a German Student Visa. We recommend you to start the process of applying for this visa as soon as possible, as the application process may take several months. Applications must be lodged via the German embassy in your home country. Please be aware that the demands may vary from country to country. The embassy in your country will have the full information of what is required. They will also be able to inform you of the amount of money you will need to keep in a blocked account in Germany and which banks to use.

4. Health insurance

You need to have a valid travel and medical insurance for your entire stay at HVL. These insurances must be obtained before you arrive in Norway. It is your own responsibility to make insurance arrangements for any accident, illness, injury, loss or damage to persons or property resulting from, or in any way connected with, your study period in Norway.

5. Register with the police

International students arriving from a country outside the EU/EEA have to register at the local police station upon arrival to get a residence card. Exemption: Citizens from Nordic countries and students staying less than 3 months.

The police will send a residence card by post to your Norwegian address.

6. Norwegian ID Number

If you are going to stay in Norway for more than six months, you should register with the National Registry so that you can be awarded an 11-digit identity number (your date of birth plus a 5 digit personal number).

The ID number is required for opening a bank account, obtaining a student card among other things.

Students from EU/EEA/EFTA countries

EU/EEA/EFTA students staying in Norway for more than six months must apply for a Norwegian ID number after obtaining the registration certificate from the local police authorities.

For more information please check the Tax Adminitration website Report a move to Norway from abroad.

Students from non-EU/EEA countries

If you are a student from a country outside of the EU/EEA area, you will register for the National Registry at the same time as you meet with the police to order a residence permit card.

The police will notify the Tax Administration (Skatt Øst) on your behalf.
The Tax Administration will send you a letter with your national ID number.

Note: You must notify the police if you have changed your address, so that the correct residence address is registered in the National Registry.

Please check the UDI website How to get a national identity number.

7. Money and banking

In order to open a bank account in Norway you will need a Norwegian identity number. You can choose between local or regional banks, or banks with branches all over Norway. Some banks are also pure online banks, with no physical branches. Norwegian banks have advanced solutions for online banking so you can administrate your accounts, pay bills and transfer money online.

See how to get access to banking services in Norway.

8. Accommodation

HVL offers housing arrangements in cooperation with Sammen, the student union (welfare organization). In order to apply for housing you must create an account and formally apply on the Sammen website.

It is important that you apply for accommodation before the deadline. Applications submitted after the deadline will not normally be processed.

9. Refund of funds

You must contact the student welfare organization Sammen for a refund of the funds you have transferred for visa/study permit purposes. It may take some time before you get access to your money after arrival. Therefore we recommend that you bring along enough money for at least the first weeks.

Cash Card

Only for students in Haugesund: Sammen may issue a cash card to cover your living expenses before you can open a Norwegian bank account. The total amount that can be given in advance is NOK 19.000, divided into two cash card of NOK 9,500. The cash card can be ordered by sending an e-mail to Sammen with your name and the required amount, or you can visit the Information desk in person. The cash card will be ready to be picked up the following day.

Students in Sogndal may contact Sammen at post.sfj@sammen.no

Sammen will transfer the remaining funds to you as soon as you notify them of your Norwegian bank account number.

Published 09.08.19

Modified 02.07.20