Coronavirus

Information on the various measures which apply in connection with the coronavirus for pupils, students and anyone repaying a student loan.

Document a drop in income to get the grant

In January, Lånekassen asks students and pupils who received additional loans to provide documentary proof of the fact that they suffered a drop in income due to the coronavirus situation

Read more about which documentation you should submit

Additional loan - spring 2021

You may be eligible for an additional loan if you have experienced a drop in income from employment due to the coronavirus situation for all or parts of the period between 16 June 2020 and 15 June 2021.

The additional loan is NOK 26,000

The additional loan is NOK 26,000, regardless of whether you are studying full-time or part-time. You cannot apply for smaller portions of the loan only.

NOK 10,400 of the additional loan may be converted to a grant if you are able to document that you are eligible for the loan.

Drop in income from employment in order to be eligible for the loan

Your income from employment must have dropped and must therefore have been lower than before the decline for all or parts of the period from and including 16 June 2020 up to and including 15 June 2021.

Income from employment refers to ordinary salary or income from freelance assignments and similar. Capital income, such as interest income, income from rent, returns on shares and similar is therefore not considered income from employment. Increased costs are also not considered a drop in income.

Application terms and conditions for students

Only students over the age of 18 who are receiving support from Lånekassen during spring 2021 may apply for the loan.

Loan eligibility criteria:

you must have received support from Lånekassen during the period in which you experienced a drop in income
you must have experienced a drop in income from employment for all or parts of the period from and including 16 June 2020 up to and including 15 June 2021
you must be able to document the drop in income and the reason for the decline
the coronavirus situation must be the reason for the decline in income

If you attended upper secondary school with statutory rights as a young person during the spring of 2020 and experienced a drop in income before 16 August 2020, you will be eligible for the loan only if you received a loan for students over the age of 18 during the spring of 2020.

Application terms and conditions for pupils

Only pupils over the age of 18 who receive loans pursuant to Section 67 of the regulations concerning educational support from Lånekassen during spring 2021 are eligible to apply.
Loan eligibility criteria:

you must have received a loan for applicants aged 18 or older, pursuant to Section 67 of the regulations concerning educational support, during the period in which you experienced a drop in income.
you must have experienced a drop in income from employment for all or parts of the period from and including 16 June 2020 up to and including 15 June 2021
the coronavirus situation must be the reason for the decline in income
you must be able to document the drop in income and the reason for the decline

The application is on Dine sider

Only those who receive the e-mail from us can apply for the additional loan on Dine sider. You will receive an e-mail from us when your application is ready. Please do not apply before you receive the e-mail from us. The majority received the e-mail at the end of February.

The application deadline is 30 June 2021

You do not need to submit the application as soon as you receive it. If you are unsure whether you are eligible for the loan, you should wait to apply until you are sure. If you have read the terms and you yourself believe that you meet the terms, and you will be able to provide documentation to this later, you can apply for the loan.

The application will be available via Dine sider up to and including this date.

Consequences of providing incorrect information

If you apply for the additional loan, you will need to submit a self-declaration as part of the application to confirm that you meet the criteria. You must not apply if you are unable to document that you are eligible for the loan.

You have a duty to provide correct information to us when applying. You also have a duty to let us know of any changes to your circumstances after submitting the application.

Breach of the duty to provide correct information may have serious consequences. You can read more about the consequences of breaching the duty to provide correct information in the regulations.

You are not required to submit any documentation about your income now

If the exemption from the income threshold in 2020 applies to you, you do not need to submit anything yet. You should do so after you have received your decision about conversion for 2020, and only if your income has exceeded the threshold.

Exceptions to the income threshold

If you have received extra income for work that is related to the coronavirus epidemic, you can have your loan converted into a grant, even if you have earned more than Lånekassen’s income threshold in 2020 and 2021.

There is a limit to how much you can earn before your grant can be reduced, or for not having part of your loan converted into a grant.

The exception rule applies for 2020 and 2021

The exemption rule means that Lånekassen will disregard income that is above the threshold between the period 1 March 2020 and up to and including 31 December 2021, if such is payment for work related to the coronavirus pandemic. This means that you can earn over the threshold for 2020 and 2021 during this period, and still have your loan converted into a grant. If you have other income that is not related to the coronavirus pandemic during the same period, the exception will not apply to such income.

This exception only applies to certain groups

The government has determined that this exemption shall apply to students in higher and other education in Norway and abroad:

students in Norway working in the healthcare sector
students abroad, both those working in the healthcare sector in Norway and those who may be working in the country in which they are studying
police students who sign up to work for the police or emergency services
students who are ordered to serve in the Home Guard or Civil Defence Corps

Furthermore, students who have children will not receive a reduction in their childcare grant on the basis of additional income from work related to the coronavirus pandemic which has been carried out by their spouse or partner. This exception also applies to the period 1 March 2020 and up to and including 31 December 2021. If your partner or spouse has other income that is not related to the coronavirus pandemic during the same period, the exception will not apply to such income.

You must document that the income is related to the pandemic

The exception only relevant to you if you receive a decision that you have income above the income threshold in 2020 or in 2021.

When assessing whether or not you are entitled to a grant for the calendar year of 2020, we will not be checking to see how much your 2020 income was until the summer of 2021.

This means that you should wait until then to submit documentation showing that you or your partner/spouse have had income related to the coronavirus pandemic. If your income did not exceed the threshold, you do not need to submit anything.

Do not submit documentation for 2021 yet

If you have income above the limits for 2021, you must wait to submit documentation for 2021 until 2022. It Is not until the summer of 2022 that we will check your income for the calendar year 2021. You must only submit documentation if you receive a decision that you have earned above the limits for 2021.

The wealth and social security benefit thresholds still apply

No exceptions have been made to the thresholds which apply to how much wealth or social security benefit you can have before your grant is reduced. These thresholds still apply to students who could be exempt from the income threshold due to work related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Income threshold for 2020

The threshold is NOK 188,509 when you receive support for more than seven months in 2020, and NOK 471,270 when you receive support for seven months or less in 2020.

You can receive a grant even if you are living at home

Pupils and students who must live at home due to the coronavirus situation may be eligible for a grant.

Ordinarily, only students who live away are eligible for grants and pupils who live away are eligible for housing grants. Due to the coronavirus situation, exemptions to these rules have been made.

The following applies only to those who must live at home due to the coronavirus pandemic

The exemption rules apply only to pupils and students who would normally be living away but have to temporarily live at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

This means that pupils and students who would also have lived at home in a normal situation are still not eligible for a grant.

The following applies to students and pupils who are studying in Norway during the spring of 2021

All pupils and students who receive support because they are living away from home, but who have had to temporarily live with their parents as a result of the coronavirus situation will be treated as though they are living away from home during the spring of 2021.

The exemption rules apply only to pupils and students in Norway during the spring of 2021. If you lived at home during the autumn of 2020, you are not eligible for support as though you were living away from home.

The following applies for the duration of 2020-2021 for pupils and students who are studying abroad

All pupils and students who are studying abroad and who temporarily lived at home with their parents during the autumn of 2020 and spring of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic will be treated as though they lived away from home for the entire academic year.

Remember to stop your direct debit payments

If you are granted deferral of your bill payments, please remember to stop your direct debit payments.

Additional payment deferrals

You can defer bills with deadline in the period March 2020 to June 2021 without using your fixed quota of 36 deferrals.

Anyone can apply for deferred payment of their bills

You apply for payment deferral on Your Pages, and you do not need to explain why you are applying or submitting documentation.

This also applies if you have used up your 36 payment deferrals, or if your payment deferral application has been rejected because you have already used up your 36 deferrals.

Customers with terminated loans are also eligible for payment deferrals. Read more about terminated loans here.

Applies to bills between March 2020 and June 2021

These additional deferrals apply to the bills with a payment deadline in the period March 2020 to June 2021. But remember that you can only apply for deferral of bills you have not paid.

You will not be eating into your 36 regular payment deferrals during the period between March 2020 and June 2021

If you have applied for deferral of any of your deadlines during the period between March 2020 and June 2021, these additional deferrals will also apply to you – and you will not be "eating into" your 36 deferrals by applying.

You will pay more interest when you defer payment

When you defer a payment, we will extend your repayment time. As a result, you must pay more interest overall than you would have done if you had not deferred payment. If you defer one bill, we will extend the repayment period by one month. If you postpone two bills, we will extend it by two months, and so on.

Your payment schedule will be updated on Your Pages each time you are granted a deferral.