HARSH TRUTH... ARE YOU COMING TO NORWAY??

66POSTS

12 years ago

I see alot of people on this forum who are "economic emigrants" wanting to move to Norway. I just want to get my point accross feel free to add comments if you live here and feel differently.

I have been contated on this site by people wanting to faulsely succure a visa for norway... Completely pointless as once here you will be screwed without savings.
At the same time i see people that see moving to norway as moving to a new city. Its so so so so far from that i need to express it in a post.
You need savings... Lots of savings.
Please note in Oslo it seems to be easier then this but in general this is how i feel it goes...

Norway is a challenge for an Expat and breaks alot of people. (70% of my term 1 language class have returned home and 4 people from term 2 are thinking of it) To make it here you need to invest in Norway, learn its culture, learn its language, try to make friends and network to find work. It can be soul sucking having no friends, work, social life.
I have also met several people who have seeked asylum in Norway and are severely depressed isolated and lonely.
Norway is expensive if you dont have work over here or a partner willing to support you, within the year you will probably be getting a flight home.
Work is hard to find full stop. In Norwegian culture an individual earns enough to support the family this means people can persue a career they want. Its safe to be out of work and to take it easy... Why do i mention this? Because its normal for Norwegians to take the laid back approach to job hunting. Handing out 1000 CVs with few if any replies is normal. Even the job seeking companys that work for job seekers seem to work 1 hour a week.

Norway is a socalist country and i cannot stress this enough. If you dont know what that means look it up. The capatalism of the UK means that workers are disposible and you are paid little but its easy to find work.
Nowegians are generally happy in thier work (like i said above they can find the right job for them) youngsters generally work in the supermarkets till education is finished then find the job they want.

Norway works for Norway to provide for Norway. with a pinch of a superiority complex you will struggle as a non Norwegian to be accepted and helped along.

Be prepared to be on your own, Norwegians by nature do not come accross friendly and feel they dont need to.
There is little going for a support network for non Norwegians.

Be prepared to learn norwegian and spend money to do this. It will cost you 18,000kr to get a B1 qualification that employers will want to see to show you understand Norwegian.

If you want to make friends you need to pay to join a club (Norwegians love outdoor activities)
Anyone wishing to contribute feel free

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dmcart13 Serial expat

554POSTS

12 years ago

I have heard many people express the same problems. I think a lot of people have a very unrealistic expectations about Norway. They would certainly benefit from thinking about moving here if that is something they are considering. I would never have considered coming here if I didn't have a job sorted out first.

David

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dshivers77 Member

18POSTS

12 years ago

Everything you have mentioned is very true.

James ViP

11272POSTS

12 years ago

Great advice for expatriating to ANY country, not just Norway!

The part about learning the local language is ESSENTIAL if you are immigrating to any non-English speaking nation. Don't fall for the self-serving propaganda of English Language Schools that with English you can communicate anywhere in the world. Not always true if you're talking about anything other than a short vacation.

For work, the local language is absolutely indispensable, you need it to communicate with your superiors, co-workers, clients and customers. You also need it for day-to-day living, shopping, etc.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, Expat-blog Experts Team

ainasamad Member

12POSTS

12 years ago

I do agree that the reality of what Norway is really like and what people think it is really like are 2 different things. I must also add that the Norwegians are not in tune as to what foreigners really think of the country and work culture.

I must say that I have been lucky in that I have gotten a break to get a job when I barely knew the language 17 years ago and have worked my way up. I am now looking for a job in Kristiansand and will see if I will get a call back for any interviews. Since I already have a good stable job in Arendal, I am not in a rush and the commute is plain sailing what with the highway between home and work.

I am聽 of the more 'independant' asian wife and have seen expression of shock when I say聽 a) I own my own car, mine not shared car with spouce b) I can speak Norwegian c) I have a job d) I have an office job and is not a waitress . The point is if you put in hard work and is willing to ignore the ignorant, Norway can be a country that you live comfortably. I cannot for the life of me think of returning to Singapore and live the rat race eventhough I will be closer with my family.

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Foon New member

4POSTS

11 years ago

Dear ainasamad,

have you been back to Singapore recently? I am a working for a production house and we are looking for profiles of overseas Singaporean who has been away from home for a considerable time, it is for a tv series that document the lives of Singaporeans abroad and their return home for a visit. Possible to get in touch with you to find out more?

Thanks!

cheers,
Foon

ainasamad Member

12POSTS

11 years ago

Sure. Email me at ***

I am going back in July and its the first time my second hubby and son will experience Hari Raya.

Moderated by Bhavna 7 years ago
Reason : Contact details should not be posted on the forum but rather exchanged through the private messaging system. Thank you
We invite you to read the forum code of conduct

fornight Serial expat

395POSTS

11 years ago

Hi ainasamad, I am from Singapore too!

I got a job before I moved to Norway.聽 Based on my own personal experience living in Norway, even though Norway has lots of immigrants, it is not really an "internationally exposed" country.聽 It is still stuck in many of its old ways and resistant to change despite its changing environment.聽 This is good as well as bad.

In many ways, I agree that there are still some norwegians who seem to behave like a "frog living in a well" who think that the sky is as big as they can see from the bottom of the well.聽 They like to think that all immigrants are from third world countries, leeching on their welfare benefits.聽 They do not seem to appreciate the fact that there are highly skilled immigrants from FIRST world countries who are contributing more in their society than they think.

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startelver Member

21POSTS

7 years ago

#10

I do not agree Norwegians are unfriendly towards foreigners, they are just a bit shy to make contact.

As a native Norwegian myself I am now moving back after living in Asia for 10 years. I hope to find a job but if not the social welfare system will kick in and save me from poverty.聽 So easier for Norwegians to wait until the "dream job" comes along.

stevemartinov Member

14POSTS

7 years ago

#11

Total BS. I came to Norway because of my job, learned Norwegian in 6 months and easily integrated with Norway. They do not really have a specific culture and it is just a western culture like in the US.
I came with my wife and we both got Norwegians passports.
It pisses me off when people like you guys, who never saw problems say like that. What do you mean, Norway is good only for Norwegians? Are you nuts? From day one, when I got my residence permit I had exactly the same rights as other white Norwegians. Unbelievable

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Christine ViP

42879POSTS

7 years ago

#12

hello everyone > This is an old topic and it is inactive since 2015!!

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startelver Member

21POSTS

7 years ago

#13

Yes many old topics here but lets keep them alive.Not many to choose from.

fornight Serial expat

395POSTS

7 years ago

#14

stevemartinov wrote:
Total BS. I came to Norway because of my job, learned Norwegian in 6 months and easily integrated with Norway. They do not really have a specific culture and it is just a western culture like in the US.
I came with my wife and we both got Norwegians passports.
It pisses me off when people like you guys, who never saw problems say like that. What do you mean, Norway is good only for Norwegians? Are you nuts? From day one, when I got my residence permit I had exactly the same rights as other white Norwegians. Unbelievable

You are not us....so how can you judge if you have never encountered the problems that some of us encountered.

Do you know that there are also certain parts of the areas in US where people acts like frog living in a well too?聽 This is comment coming from Americans themselves.聽 Same in Canada.

Norwegians do have a specific culture and they are very proud of it.聽 Just because you are oblivious about it does not mean it does not exist.

stevemartinov Member

14POSTS

7 years ago

#15

What do you mean I am not one of you? I am immigrant too.

Regarding the culture, read my message properly. What I am saying is that their culture is very similar to Western European culture and complaining that you cannot get into their society because of that means a tota BS. Omg, this is not Japan or Mexico, if you can live ok in the UK you can live the same in Norway as their culture is similar, called EUROPEAN.

And yes, unfortunately their culture is not that rich as italians or chinese and this is the truth, so it does not make be oblivious. Great argument you have there by putting a label straight after the first message.

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fornight Serial expat

395POSTS

6 years ago

#16

Same rights?聽 Can you vote in the norwegian parliamentary elections?聽 no.聽 What residence permit do you have?聽 Skilled worker residence permit holders do not have the same right as norwegians.聽 When norwegians are unemployed, they can get unemployment benefits from NAV while slowly trying to find another job.聽 But not skilled worker residence permit holders.聽

I know that for a fact because our company hired a professional company to advise our staff when we were undergoing retrenchment exercise.聽 I was a skilled worker residence permit holder at that time.聽 That means at that time, if I was retrenched, despite the fact that I was working for almost 5 years PAYING TAXES, I would be left by myself to find a job within 3 months.聽 If I do not have a job within 3 months, I lost my right to stay in the country and has to leave.

Now if immigrant wish to take maternity cash benefits, they need to live at least 5 years in norway PAYING TAXES before they can claim it.聽聽A norwegian can live overseas and come back to Norway to give birth to claim the cash benefits.聽 Same rights huh?

stevemartinov Member

14POSTS

6 years ago

#17

Yes I can vote, I have a Norwegian passport... 5 years? Well that is your own fault, after 3 years you could have applied for a residence permit and obtain benefits if needed.

fornight Serial expat

395POSTS

6 years ago

#18

stevemartinov wrote:
From day one, when I got my residence permit I had exactly the same rights as other white Norwegians. Unbelievable

That was not what you wrote in your post.聽 You said residence permit and not norwegian passport.

My passport is much more powerful than norwegian passport. It is in fact one of the most powerful passports in the world for 2019 based on residence and citizenship consultancy Henley & Partners report.

Why should I apply for their passport?聽 You seem to like to assume that everyone is in the same situation as you.

stevemartinov wrote:
Yes I can vote, I have a Norwegian passport... 5 years? Well that is your own fault, after 3 years you could have applied for a residence permit and obtain benefits if needed.

I have a permanent residence permit now.聽聽and even with permanent residency, I still don't have voting rights to parlimentary elections.

What do you mean it is my own fault?聽 I had not decided that i will stay in Norway permanently so why should I change my permit?聽 In addition, my work takes me round the world and I travelled a lot so I don't get enough days to fulfill the permanent residency to apply at that time.聽 Again, you like to assume that you know my situation and able to comment as if you know everything.聽 I am not from EU, so we have other criterias to fulfil in order to apply for pemanent residency.聽 Still I pay taxes to norwegian government to pay for the benefits to people like you.聽

This is聽 my last post on this topic to you.聽 I wasted enough time.

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Bhavna Team

43505POSTS

6 years ago

#19

Hello everyone,

Just to make it clear here, @ stevemartinov there were some misunderstandings right from the beginning when you posted. Could you please post in a more friendly way ?

Thanks in advance,
Bhavna

happytravellerOslo Member

15POSTS

6 years ago

#20

My experience is that although it is not open, there is a聽 LOT of discrimination against non-Norwegians.聽聽Try to rent an apartment and as soon as they discover that you are not Norwegian then things change.聽聽Try to get a job and even if you have many years of experience, a school leaver with no experience will probably get the job before you do.聽聽Government departments also make it hard for non-Norwegians.

My experience has been that although it is not as extreme as Finland, Norway is not so open to foreigners and generally they only tolerate foreigners, not accept them.聽聽 When it comes to getting management jobs, again they are not so open to foreigners, preferring to keep those jobs for themselves.

As a foreigner, I find that Norway is an uphill struggle for everything, from apartments to jobs to dealing with government departments.聽聽And I speak the language too !

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winmcp Active member

35POSTS

9 months ago

#21

Norway is definitely not a walk in the park as a foreigner. It鈥檚 a difficult place to survive as a foreigner and there is little or no government support. As a refugee they will put you through what I call the Norwegian machine where you enter as a foreigner and come out as a pseudo Norwegian able to scrape through speaking the language but despite that, it won鈥檛 really make your life much easier. The only asset you will be seen as is one who can contribute to enriching the state (which has a real problem with greed), and as soon as you stop feeding the greedy money monster, (for whatever reason) you will quickly realise how worthless the system will make you feel. Even honest Norwegians (there are a few) will tell you, don鈥檛 bother relocating there, you are walking into a mirage.

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Orson Brice New member

3POSTS

8 months ago

#22

The part about learning the local language is ESSENTIAL if you are immigrating to any non-English speaking nation. Don't fall for the self-serving propaganda of English Language Schools that with English you can communicate anywhere in the world. Not always true if you're talking about anything other than a short vacation.