Starting a Business in Norway as a Foreigner

You moved to Norway and you want to invoice clients, sell a product, or run a company here — but the structure choices (enkeltpersonforetak? AS?), the registers (Brønnøysund? VAT?), and the permit questions all collide at once. This guide walks you through what to register, in what order, what it actually costs, and the one trap that catches non-EU founders.

By the end you'll know which legal form fits, how to register it through Altinn, how to get your organisation number, when you're forced to charge MVA (VAT), and whether you need a residence permit before you start.

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Step 1: Pick a legal form — enkeltpersonforetak or AS

Two structures cover almost every newcomer.

An enkeltpersonforetak (ENK — sole proprietorship) is you, personally, running a business. There's no share capital to put up and registration is cheap, but you are personally liable for the company's debts — your own money is on the line.

An aksjeselskap (AS — private limited company) is a separate legal entity. Your liability is limited to what you invest, but you must deposit a minimum share capital of NOK 30,000 into a dedicated bank account before you can register, and the rules around accounting and reporting are heavier.

	Enkeltpersonforetak (ENK)	Aksjeselskap (AS)
Share capital	None required	Minimum NOK 30,000
Liability	Personal — unlimited	Limited to your investment
Best for	Freelancers, one-person services	Funded ventures, hiring, partners
Setup cost	Lower	Higher (capital + larger fee)

If you're a one-person consultancy or freelancer testing demand, ENK is usually the sane starting point — see our guide to freelancing in Norway for how invoicing and self-employment tax work day to day. If you plan to raise money, take on a co-founder, or shield personal assets, the AS is built for that.

Step 2: Register in the Brønnøysund Register Centre via Altinn

Every Norwegian business is registered through the Brønnøysund Register Centre (Brønnøysundregistrene), and you submit the paperwork digitally via Altinn, the government's business portal. You log in with an electronic ID — most newcomers use a Norwegian national identity number plus MinID or BankID once they have one.

The form you file is the Coordinated Register Notification (Samordnet registermelding). It registers you in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities (Enhetsregisteret) and, when relevant, the Register of Business Enterprises (Foretaksregisteret) at the same time.

For a sole proprietorship the broad steps are:

1. Decide on a business name and confirm it's available in the registers.
2. Log in to Altinn and open the Coordinated Register Notification.
3. Enter your details, the business activity (NACE) code, and address.
4. Submit, pay the registration fee, and wait for confirmation in your Altinn inbox.

For an AS, you do more first: draw up the memorandum of association, open a share-capital account, deposit the NOK 30,000, and get the bank (or an auditor, lawyer, or authorised accountant) to confirm the deposit. You attach that confirmation when you register in the Register of Business Enterprises.

Fees change, so treat these as indicative and confirm current amounts on brreg.no: registering a sole proprietorship electronically has been around NOK 2,181 (more if sent by post), while online registration of an AS in the Register of Business Enterprises has been around NOK 6,825. Note that an ENK is only required to register in the Register of Business Enterprises in certain cases (for example if it resells goods or has more than a handful of employees) — otherwise the Central Coordinating Register entry is enough.

Step 3: Get your organisation number and set up money

When your registration is accepted, Brønnøysund issues a nine-digit organisation number (organisasjonsnummer). This is your business's identity for invoices, contracts, the tax office, and opening a business bank account. You cannot legally invoice as a registered business without it.

With the number in hand, open a Norwegian business bank account. Banks run their own anti-money-laundering checks, so bring your organisation number, ID, and proof of address. If you're moving startup funds in from abroad — paying yourself in, or settling early supplier invoices — a service like Wise can move money at the mid-market rate and often lands cheaper than a traditional cross-border bank transfer; just confirm the receiving account is in your business's name, not your personal one.

For how business income is taxed, advance tax (forskuddsskatt), and deductions once you're running, read the Norwegian tax system for expats.

Step 4: Know when you must register for MVA (VAT)

You do not charge MVA from day one. Registration in the VAT Register (Merverdiavgiftsregisteret) becomes mandatory once your taxable turnover exceeds NOK 50,000 within a 12-month period. That figure is turnover — gross sales — not profit.

Once you cross it, you register through Altinn (the Norwegian Tax Administration, Skatteetaten, runs the VAT Register), start adding MVA to invoices, and file VAT returns. The standard rate is 25%, with reduced rates for some goods and services — check skatteetaten.no for the rate that applies to what you sell. Some activities are exempt or outside the scope entirely, so confirm your category rather than assuming.

Step 5 (non-EU founders): the self-employment residence permit

This is the step that catches people. If you are not an EU/EEA citizen, registering a company does not give you the right to work in it. You need a residence permit that allows self-employment, granted by UDI (the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration).

The self-employed route has firm conditions: the business must normally be your own sole proprietorship (an ENK — not an AS), the work must require your qualifications as a skilled worker (completed higher education or vocational training), and the business must be likely to give you enough income to support yourself. UDI sets a minimum expected profit threshold — confirm the current figure on udi.no before you build your business plan around it.

A useful detail: you don't have to register the company with Brønnøysund until after your first self-employed permit is approved — unless you already live in Norway, in which case you can register first. Either way, registering the company alone is never enough on its own.

Common problems and fixes

• "I registered my AS but I'm non-EU and can't work in it." The self-employed permit requires a sole proprietorship, not an AS. If immigration is the goal, structure as an ENK, or get a different permit basis (e.g. skilled worker via an employer) before relying on company income.
• No electronic ID, so Altinn won't let me in. You need a Norwegian national identity number (or D-number) plus MinID/BankID. Sort your registration with the National Registry and the tax office first; the business registration depends on it.
• Bank refuses the share-capital account. Some banks are slow with foreign founders. Ask specifically for a share-capital deposit account (aksjekapitalkonto), and remember an auditor, lawyer, or authorised accountant can also confirm the deposit.
• Charged the wrong MVA, or registered too early. You only register at NOK 50,000 turnover over 12 months. If you charged VAT before you were registered, or used the wrong rate, correct it with Skatteetaten promptly rather than letting it compound.
• Mixing personal and business money. Even with an ENK, keep a separate account and clean records — it makes the annual tax return far easier and protects you if questioned.

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Start with the form that fits — then register through Altinn today

If you're an EU/EEA citizen freelancing solo, register an enkeltpersonforetak through the Coordinated Register Notification on Altinn — you can have an organisation number within days and start invoicing. If you're non-EU, do not register anything until you've checked the self-employment permit conditions on udi.no; getting the permit basis right first saves you from rebuilding the whole structure. Either way, confirm the current fees and the MVA rate for your activity on brreg.no and skatteetaten.no before you commit.