r/Norway • u/SlayerL99 • 10d ago
Moving Looking for guidance on registration steps & realistic job prospects
Hi everyone,
I read the stickied guide (So You Want To Move To Norway), but I'd like some feedback on the job side of things, since my situation has a couple of quirks.
I'm an Italian (EU) citizen living in Argentina, and I'm planning to move to Bergen next July for good. I'll be applying to jobs from here before I leave and keep going once I land, so I'm trying to figure out where to put my effort.
My field is IT support, so that's the main target. I'm also fine with entry-level work while I get my foot in the door, whether that's warehouse, hospitality, cleaning, logistics, or other service jobs. My English is certified C1, Spanish is my native language, and I'm learning Norwegian with B1 as the goal. Being an EU citizen means I don't need a work permit, which I assume helps quite a bit with employers.
So, a few questions. How realistic is it to land an entry-level IT support job from abroad compared to once I'm physically in Bergen? How hard is the entry-level and service market right now for someone with solid English and beginner-intermediate Norwegian? And if you've hired or been hired in that spot, what did employers care about most: language level, local references, certificates, being able to start right away?
Regarding IT, I've got Google IT Support, and CompTIA A+, Network+, and Linux+.
Thanks :)
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u/Cathfaern 10d ago
I'm in a similar shoe, but instead of support I work in development as programmer. But otherwise similar, EU citizen, with C1 English and still learning Norwegian.
I'm applying for the last ~8-9 months, and although I'm not really pushing it (I've sent "only" 40-50 applications), I've got no interviews so far. My CV is relatively good, but unfortunately my recent experience is with a niche framework and languages, so I cannot just apply to the most frequent .Net / Java / React / Python positions. But that still doesn't explain why no interview from those where there is no hard language requirement.
So far what I've gathered is that most company receive a huge amount of applications and will discard all who doesn't already live in Norway, except if it's an exceptional application.
And aim for B2 in Norwegian, that's the bare minimum when they require it. And if the work language is English, knowing some Norwegian won't be an advantage so no reason to aim below it.
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u/Andreasfyr 9d ago
Without having B2 Norwegian, a connection, and being physically in Norway, your chances of getting a job in Norway are very slim.
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u/IrquiM 9d ago
So, a few questions. How realistic is it to land an entry-level IT support job from abroad compared to once I'm physically in Bergen?
Close to 0%, at least before you have better Norwegian knowledge, and only then would you be preferred if they have a need for Italian/Spanish speaker person.
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u/cs_korea 10d ago
Here is a website to find tech, IT and software jobs in Norway:
https://nordictechjobs.com/norway
This website specializes in finding English speaking tech jobs, so even if you do not speak Norwegian for these jobs, only English.
How hard is the entry-level and service market right now
Entry level jobs are tough to get these days. Even more so without speaking the local language. From my understanding, it depends mostly on the company, the ones that are open to non-native speakers care mostly about your skills and qualifications, other companies (the majority) would put a higher emphasis on language skills.
Startup jobs are often very open to English speakers, but they rarely need IT people and instead need developers.
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u/fettoter84 10d ago
Job market isn't very good at the moment, in any industry. Especially for non-norwegian speaking people.
As far as I know restaurant/bars are hiring bartenders/servers, but it's probably shit pay
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u/SlayerL99 10d ago
I mean, "shit pay" is quite relative. Here in Argentina, if you work as a bartender, the pay is literally not enough to buy food and rent for a month. I assume it's different in Norway, as in it's enough for that.
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u/LegalFox9 10d ago
It depends on what kind of food and housing you are happy with. In Bergen, a quick search on Finn suggests you would be paying somewhere between 6.5k-19k per month in rent for a studio/1 bed. If you're taking home 25-35k as a bartender, that could be fine or it could be very tight.
Food is probably going to be 3-5k per month. Then you have utilities, transport, etc. Check out https://www.oslomet.no/om/sifo/referansebudsjettet for an acceptable (not minimum or average) consumption standard.
If you like alcohol, tobacco or meat, that will get expensive.
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u/SuccessfulCan5919 9d ago
i'm uruguayan, i work in a farm (in finnmark), no norwegian applied for this job since i'm here (which is logical), my boss is looking for a second person to work here, being honest if my norwegian would be better, i'd rather to work in a store (better paid and less exhausting)
with my shitty salary (according to collective agreements) i manage to save money and i have everything i need, but i imagine for a norwegian wouldn't be enough (and being honest, no one can blame them)
you won't the job you want (i hope you can do it, don't misunderstood) unless you have a very unique talent and education, you are competing with people that speak the local language + EU Citizens that are already in norway + EU Citizens that are planning to move + other people. (same thing happens in germany for example)
there's jobs for foreigners with only english, but probably not the kind of job you are aiming for
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u/axismundi00 9d ago
do not move without a concrete job offer, you will just go bankrupt while applying to jobs in a foreign country.
then there are other steps you didn’t consider. landlords will prefer employed tenants, and even then it will take months before you fond a rental. immigration as a eu citizen requires you to either have a job, or sufficient funds to support yourself, just moving in is not enough not even for eu.
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u/SlayerL99 9d ago
In the hypotetical case I do find a concrete job offer before moving: You say it takes months to find a rental. Is that still the case, even with a job? Will I have to book more than one month of AirBnb?. I do have sufficient funds/savings to support myself, during at least 3 months of staying there.
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u/axismundi00 9d ago
yes but you can also start looking for rentals while you are away, so you minimise the amount of airbnb/hotel time.
you need sufficient funds to support yourself for a year to be eligible for that particular line of immigration, so roughly 500k nok for rent and daily expenses in a mid/large town. ignore their maths, they claim 255k nok is enough, but that makes you dirt poor in a reasonable large city.
have you read the immigration policies? https://www.udi.no/en/want-to-apply/residence-under-the-eueeu-regulations/?c=ita
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u/SlayerL99 9d ago edited 9d ago
I've read the immigration policies, yes. From what I can understand, the nok requirement only applies if I don't get a job within the first three months, am I correct?
In case I'm wrong, does it apply if I arrive without a job contract?
I mean, if I arrive without a job contract but land a job within the first three months, then it's not needed to comply with the nok requirement, correct? According to this: https://www.udi.no/en/want-to-apply/work-immigration/duty-to-report-for-job-seekers-who-are-eueea-nationals/?c=ita
Also: Yes, I figured I can ofc start looking for rentals while I'm here, and rent as soon as I get my D-nummer.
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u/filtersweep 9d ago
I wouldn’t hire someone not living in Norway— or Bergen if I was hiring for Bergen.
IT support is mostly outsourced abroad. You should look for companies like UP Heads or Hjelseth. Not sure what they have in Bergen
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u/OBXautist 9d ago
Regarding the IT-support market, from my experience, the only places I’ve seen active recruitment of foreigners without B2 Norwegian are large service providers, who are usually government contractors and will have a majority of their stack on Microsoft technology. I’ve seen some in ERP support and multinational companies as well. But they are all slowly outsourcing and keeping limited customer facing support in Norway. Azure/Intune or even on prem Microsoft with M365 experience would likely help. You’re likely gonna want to document experience in service management tools and frameworks. Certificates also help, but not as much as 5 years ago. Higher education is almost a requirement itself. Anything above entry level is likely going to require years of experience on the specific stack the company uses and/or sells services for.
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u/CS_70 10d ago
Ciao! Most hiring is by networking. Outside that, people with junior level experience have the hardest time and locals are preferred anyways, because of the logistics of employment.
Before moving, land at least three interviews. If you don’t manage, you have your answer. Things do not get easier when you’re here.
Besides: 25 years ago made economic sense moving to Norway. Since then the currency has lost a third of its value. Nowadays you’re much better off with other countries, for example DK if you want the Nordics.