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Loan in Norway 2021 - what does the market offer?

08.02.2021

The new year favors making resolutions and plans. People who work in Norway and have been registered in this country for several years, can freely carry out their planned projects there, such as buying a car, an apartment, or a house, as well as starting their own business. For this, however, money is needed.

Let's sort out our knowledge about how foreigners in Norway can apply for a loan in this country and what offers are currently available to us.

Consumer loan: forbrukslån

A consumer loan is nothing more than a loan for any purpose that can be drawn without collateral, and its amount must be within the range: from 25 000 to 500 000 Norwegian krone.

The loan repayment period may be up to 5 years maximum. This period can be extended if you decide to refinance all your liabilities, even up to 15 years.

 

 

Consolidation loan: refinansiering

Now, it will be useful to say a little more about how the above-mentioned debt refinancing, i.e. a consolidation loan, works. It is nothing more than collecting your existing liabilities (loans and credit cards) into one and paying it off on terms that are often more favorable than in case of the previous loans. In addition, you gain the longest possible repayment period and transparency in your home budget. You can use refinancing already 6 months after drawing the loan. Find out more about refinancing.

 

 

How can I get a loan in Norway in 2021?

Not much has changed in this regard. The formalities you have to go through to receive additional funding are as simplified as possible. In a usual way, you just need to submit an application that you fill out extremely quickly, without the need of collecting documents, buried in different parts of your apartment. You can complete the application even from your mobile device. See what our partner's application looks like.

 

Here we must point out that you can use for free help from credit advisors to be sure that you send a correctly completed application and to be able to learn about all stages of the loan application process.

 

What conditions do you have to meet to obtain a loan in Norway?

Banks withdraw funds based on the consumer's creditworthiness. The customer’s creditworthiness is registered in the systems determining the creditworthiness for financial institutions. The reports contain information i.a. about the income for the previous years or about the current debt collections. Before applying for a loan, it is worth checking your ability in these systems - if the data is up-to-date, and if it is not available, take care of completing it.

 

 

What is important and necessary to be able to apply for a loan?

To be able to apply for a loan in Norway you have to:

  • have a permanent personal number,
  • be registered in Norway,
  • be 23 years of age or older,
  • have an appropriate annual income of at least NOK 220 000 gross (it is also possible to get a consumer’s loan if you receive work assessment allowance (AAP) or sickness benefit (sykepenger).

 You can read more about the conditions for obtaining a loan in Norway here.

 

And what if you have a D-nummer or a debt in collection?

 Well, then the bank won't give you the loan. What do you have to do to be able to apply for a loan in this case?

 

If you have a D-nummer, you must apply for a fødselsnummer. You can do this at the local department of The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), in the section Folkeregisteret. You need to complete the appropriate application and attach the required documents:

  • a valid identity document - for foreigners it will usually be a passport,
  • a minimum six-month employment contract,
  • a contract to buy or rent a flat.

 

And if you have a debt in collection, or you find out that you have one (sometimes one can happen to be in a position like this), try to pay off your debts as soon as possible.

 

 

Mortgage loan for own apartment in Norway

Many people living and working in Norway at some point start thinking about buying their own property. Ultimately, such an investment is a significant saving in relation to the monthly rental fees. However, not everyone can afford to buy their own apartment from their own savings.

 

Property prices in Scandinavia are higher than in many other countries and it is a normal practice to draw a loan for this purpose. First you should consider a mortgage loan.

 

It is a home loan for the purchase of your property. The condition for granting such a loan is:

  • having an own contribution of 15% (some banks wish you to have even 25%) of the property value (instead of an own contribution, it is enough to secure the loan with another property),
  • the minimum property value of NOK 750 000,
  • being permanently employed for at least 1 year,
  • the minimum amount that one can apply for is NOK 100 000,
  • the maximum repayment period is 30 years,
  • the interest rate on such a loan varies from 1.5 - 6% depending on the bank and the assessment of customer's creditworthiness,
  • after a period of minimum 3 years of repayment, it is possible to refinance the mortgage in another bank.

 

Remember, however, that the process of looking for your own dream house or apartment looks completely different here than in our homeland. Most often, the thought of abandoning the idea of renting an apartment there in favor of buying your own property appears when we find a charming place and a perfect apartment for us at a good price. When, additionally, a quick and efficient calculation suggests that the mortgage loan installment will be close to the rental price, the situation begins to strongly encourage us to make the right decision.

 

In Norway, things are a bit different. If we are fortunate enough to have 15% of the property value (for our own contribution), we first go to the bank, which after successful verifying our creditworthiness (earnings, expenses, number of other loans, the purpose for which we took these loans), presents us an offer. Remember that this process may take a while.

 

From that moment on, we have 3 months to find an accommodation suitable for us. It happens that when we are dealing with formalities in the bank, our dream outlet found earlier is sold to someone else. So when we finally manage to find a perfect place to live, we send an offer for approval to the bank. After a successful decision, the bank transfers the funds for the purchase to us. And voilà! We have a property in Norway!

 

 

Special loan - when other banks say "no"

In a situation where you are a holder of a mortgage loan and a large sum of debts in consumer loans or credit cards, you have the possibility of reducing the sum of installments that are discharged to the banks. A special loan gives you the option to "zip" all your liabilities within the mortgage loan.

 

Here you talk to your advisor and we check the possibility of selecting an individual loan offer for you.

 

What do you gain?

The interest rate on consumer loans and cards drops to the level of the mortgage loan, and the repayment period extends to the mortgage repayment period. The installment that you discharge to the bank decreases in real terms, often very significantly.

 

 

Loans in Norway - summary

As it turns out - the devil is not so black as he is painted. Loans (especially the cash ones) are popular and eagerly drawn by foreigners living in Norway - for their own needs. The process of applying for a loan alone is not more difficult due to the nationality other than Norwegian, you just need to meet the basic conditions and submit a correctly completed (preferably with free help of an advisor) loan application.

 

It is important to pay off your debts on time to avoid recovery proceedings and recording into the debtors' register. This may result in the inability to reapply for a loan or a credit card in Norway in the nearest future.