D-Number, BankID and First Steps in Norway: The Order That Works

A D-number is the temporary Norwegian ID number given to foreigners who do not qualify for a national identity number (fødselsnummer), usually because they are staying less than six months. You cannot apply for one yourself: your employer, the Tax Administration, a bank or another authority requests it for you. The order that works for most newcomers is: residence permit or EU registration, ID check at a tax office, ID number, tax card, bank account, BankID, and then everything else (Vipps, Helsenorge, a fastlege) unlocks.

Why does the order matter so much?

Norway runs on one number. Your employer needs it to pay you, your bank needs it to open an account, BankID needs a bank, and almost every public service online needs BankID or MinID to let you in. Newcomers who do things out of order spend weeks in a loop where each office asks for something the next office has not given them yet. The steps below are in the order that breaks the loop.

If you are still at the job-hunting stage, start with finding a job in Norway and, if you are from outside the EU/EEA, the Norway work visa guide.

Step 1: How do you get the right to stay?

From outside the EU/EEA: you need a residence permit from UDI before you start working, and if you applied from abroad, after arrival you book an appointment with the police, who take your fingerprints and photo and order your residence card. When UDI grants you a residence permit, Skatteetaten says you usually do not need to report your move yourself: the permit determines whether you are registered as resident. Our guide to UDI, Norway's immigration authority explains how they work.

EU/EEA citizens: you do not need a residence permit to work. If you stay more than three months, you must register with the police no later than three months after arriving, with a reason to stay such as a job. You get a registration certificate, which confirms you are registered but, as UDI points out, is not in itself proof of your right to reside: keep your employment contract and payslips. Nordic citizens follow a separate, simpler process described on UDI's page for Nordic nationals.

Step 2: Where do you do the ID check?

Before Norway will give you a fødselsnummer, and often before a D-number, you must prove who you are in person. Skatteetaten offers ID checks at 42 selected tax offices, and you book an appointment online. You must attend in person. What to bring depends on your citizenship:

• EU/EEA/EFTA citizens: passport or national ID card showing photo, citizenship and gender.
• Citizens of other countries: passport.
• Nordic citizens: passport or national ID card, with some alternatives listed by Skatteetaten.

If you work in or near Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim or Kirkenes, the Service Centres for Foreign Workers (SUA) let you do the ID check, tax card and police registration in one visit. Book ahead.

Step 3: D-number or fødselsnummer?

Norway has two kinds of identification number, and both have 11 digits. Which one you get depends on how long you are staying.

Getting a fødselsnummer. If you plan to stay at least six months in a row, you must report your move to Norway, pass the ID check and show documents proving you will live here for at least six months, typically your employment contract and rental agreement. The National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) then decides whether you qualify.

Getting a D-number. Skatteetaten is blunt: you cannot apply for a D-number. An enterprise or authority requests it when it needs you to have a Norwegian ID number. That includes the Tax Administration (when you need a tax card), NAV, banks and insurers, UDI and the police, among others. The requesting body usually needs a certified colour copy of your passport or national ID card, both sides, no more than three months old, sent by post. It may also ask you to attend an ID check.

A D-number does not expire, but it becomes "inactive" five years after it was assigned. Services that require an active number will then ask you to reactivate it, which you can do by booking an ID check.

Step 4: When do you need a tax card?

Before your first payday. Skatteetaten says you must have a tax deduction card (skattekort) to work in Norway, and if your employer has no tax card for you, it must deduct 50% of your salary until you get one. You get the money back after the tax return, but that is a long wait. Ordering it, choosing between ordinary tax and the PAYE scheme, and the annual tax return are covered in our guide to the tax card and tax return in Norway; rates are in the Norwegian tax system explained.

Step 5: How do you open a bank account in Norway?

UDI says that to open a bank account in Norway you must have a registered place to live in Norway and an accepted identity document, such as a valid foreign passport, and that the bank may ask for more. In practice, expect the bank to want:

• your passport (and residence card if you are from outside the EU/EEA),
• your fødselsnummer or D-number,
• a Norwegian address, usually your rental contract,
• often an employment contract.

Banks set their own rules, especially for D-number customers. Some will open an account and issue a card on a D-number; others want a fødselsnummer before they offer the full package. Ask before you book a meeting. Until your account is open, your employer may be able to pay into a foreign account; for moving money in and out, see how to transfer money from Norway.

Step 6: How do foreigners get BankID?

BankID is the electronic ID Norwegians use for everything: online banking, signing rental contracts, logging in to the tax office, NAV and Helsenorge. You get it through your bank, and you need a Norwegian identification number, either a fødselsnummer or a D-number.

The BankID app now requires a documented ID verification under EU rules. According to BankID, most users do it by scanning their passport or ID card and their face in the app, and people with foreign passports or a D-number can scan their ID too. The bank can also verify you another way, for example in a branch. What BankID does not decide is whether your bank will issue you a BankID in the first place: on a D-number, that is still each bank's policy. If BankID matters to you early (it usually does), ask that question first when choosing a bank.

Step 7: What unlocks once you have BankID?

• Vipps: the mobile payment app everyone uses to split bills and pay for the flea market sofa. Vipps lists its requirements as BankID, a Norwegian phone number, a fødselsnummer or a D-number (if your bank offers BankID to D-number holders), a registered address in the population register, a Norwegian bank account and card, and an email address.
• MinID: a free alternative login for public services. You request an activation letter, which is posted to the address registered with the Tax Administration. Useful as a backup login for public services.
• ID-porten: not a separate ID but the shared login page for public services. When Skatteetaten, NAV or Helsenorge asks you to log in, you pick BankID or MinID there.
• Altinn: the public portal for forms and messages from authorities, where some tax and employer correspondence ends up.
• Helsenorge and a fastlege: log in to choose your regular GP. The right to a GP follows registration as living in Norway, so D-number holders are generally not entitled to one. Our healthcare in Norway for foreigners guide walks you through it.

What goes wrong most often?

• Waiting for the ID check. Book the appointment the moment you know your arrival date. It is the bottleneck for everything after it.
• No address yet. The bank and the population register both want one. A sublet with a proper written contract is better than a sofa.
• Stuck on a D-number. If you are staying six months or more, make sure you have reported the move so you get a fødselsnummer instead of living on a D-number for years.
• No tax card on payday. 50% withholding on your first salary is a nasty welcome. Order the tax card as soon as you have the ID number.
• Assuming the bank will sort BankID. Ask about BankID for your situation before you open the account, not after.

Once the paperwork is done, the rest is life admin: budgeting (see the cost of living in Norway), finding a flat and settling in. Our guidebook for moving to Norway covers the softer side.

Sources

ID numbers and ID checks: Skatteetaten, identification numbers, Skatteetaten, D-number, Skatteetaten, national identity number and Skatteetaten, ID check. Tax card: Skatteetaten, working in Norway and Skatteetaten, deductions without a tax card. Registration and banking: UDI, EU/EEA nationals and UDI, bank account and card. Electronic ID: New in Norway (UDI), electronic ID and BankID, ID verification. Vipps: Vipps MobilePay help centre. GP rights: Helsenorge.