Everything that changes in Norway in September 2023
Local elections, an update on a scheme that could grant a work permit in three days and tweaks to toll road charges are among the many changes in Norway in September.
Local elections
Norway's population will head to ballot boxes nationwide on September 11th. The local elections will decide leadership at municipal and county levels.
The elections also act as a barometer for the national elections for 2025. The Labour Party and Centre Party will hope their election day results don't mimic the polls. Meanwhile, Norway's Conservative Party hopes to turn strong polling into solid election results.
Unlike national elections, foreign residents can vote in local elections. Foreign citizens who have lived in Norway longer than three years will have the right to vote on September 11th and have a say in shaping local policy for the next four years.
READ ALSO: Who is allowed to vote in Norway's 2023 local elections?
Update on fast-track work permit scheme
During Oslo Innovation Week, which runs between September 25th and September 29th, the findings of the first phase of a new pilot scheme that aims to cut down work permit waiting times will be unveiled.
The system, called the Kompetansespor (the competence track), aims to reduce the time it takes a foreign worker to be ready to participate in working life in Norway from around nine months down to just three days.
The new digital solution is a collaboration involving the city, Oslo Business Region, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, Bank ID, the University of Oslo, the police and the Norwegian Tax Administration, among others.
The initial phase involves manually testing how to speed up the time it takes for new hires from outside the EU/EEA to be cleared for work. It isn't clear when the scheme will be ready for a full rollout.
Toll road changes
Drivers without a toll chip installed on their vehicle will be subject to new toll rules from Friday, September 1st.
In several toll areas, there is a rule that means only the first registered passage must be charged to the road user within a period.
For example, if you were to have a toll chip agreement and you entered a toll zone, there would be a cool-down period of one hour before you could be charged for entering the area again.
This rule is changing so that those without a toll chip on their car can also benefit from the cool-down period. This prevents motorists from being charged multiple times for entering a zone within a short period of time.
Oslo's monthly transport ticket discount ends
Travellers in Oslo will have until September 15th to secure a discounted monthly ticket for Zone 1. The zone covers the entirety of Oslo and its bus, tram, metro and ferry network.
Monthly travel tickets have been discounted by 40 percent and will cost 499 kroner rather than 853 kroner. During the period, a children's monthly ticket will cost 20 kroner, and a student ticket will cost 299 kroner for a 30-day travel card.
Oslo City Council's scheme is being paid for via unused funding from last year.
Interest rate increase
Norway's key interest rate will likely be increased to 4.25 percent. The increase of 0.25 percentage points was forecasted when the central bank, Norges Bank, raised the key policy rate in August.
It is widely expected that the key policy rate will peak at between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent. The rate has been continually raised from the historic low of zero percent in 2021 to try and curb inflation.
DNB Markets predicts that once the interest rate does peak, it is unlikely to fall until December 2024.
The key interest rate could be raised beyond forecasted targets if inflation continues to remain high and the Norwegian krone continues to remain weak.
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Local elections
Norway's population will head to ballot boxes nationwide on September 11th. The local elections will decide leadership at municipal and county levels.
The elections also act as a barometer for the national elections for 2025. The Labour Party and Centre Party will hope their election day results don't mimic the polls. Meanwhile, Norway's Conservative Party hopes to turn strong polling into solid election results.
Unlike national elections, foreign residents can vote in local elections. Foreign citizens who have lived in Norway longer than three years will have the right to vote on September 11th and have a say in shaping local policy for the next four years.
READ ALSO: Who is allowed to vote in Norway's 2023 local elections?
Update on fast-track work permit scheme
During Oslo Innovation Week, which runs between September 25th and September 29th, the findings of the first phase of a new pilot scheme that aims to cut down work permit waiting times will be unveiled.
The system, called the Kompetansespor (the competence track), aims to reduce the time it takes a foreign worker to be ready to participate in working life in Norway from around nine months down to just three days.
The new digital solution is a collaboration involving the city, Oslo Business Region, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, Bank ID, the University of Oslo, the police and the Norwegian Tax Administration, among others.
The initial phase involves manually testing how to speed up the time it takes for new hires from outside the EU/EEA to be cleared for work. It isn't clear when the scheme will be ready for a full rollout.
Toll road changes
Drivers without a toll chip installed on their vehicle will be subject to new toll rules from Friday, September 1st.
In several toll areas, there is a rule that means only the first registered passage must be charged to the road user within a period.
For example, if you were to have a toll chip agreement and you entered a toll zone, there would be a cool-down period of one hour before you could be charged for entering the area again.
This rule is changing so that those without a toll chip on their car can also benefit from the cool-down period. This prevents motorists from being charged multiple times for entering a zone within a short period of time.
Oslo's monthly transport ticket discount ends
Travellers in Oslo will have until September 15th to secure a discounted monthly ticket for Zone 1. The zone covers the entirety of Oslo and its bus, tram, metro and ferry network.
Monthly travel tickets have been discounted by 40 percent and will cost 499 kroner rather than 853 kroner. During the period, a children's monthly ticket will cost 20 kroner, and a student ticket will cost 299 kroner for a 30-day travel card.
Oslo City Council's scheme is being paid for via unused funding from last year.
Interest rate increase
Norway's key interest rate will likely be increased to 4.25 percent. The increase of 0.25 percentage points was forecasted when the central bank, Norges Bank, raised the key policy rate in August.
It is widely expected that the key policy rate will peak at between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent. The rate has been continually raised from the historic low of zero percent in 2021 to try and curb inflation.
DNB Markets predicts that once the interest rate does peak, it is unlikely to fall until December 2024.
The key interest rate could be raised beyond forecasted targets if inflation continues to remain high and the Norwegian krone continues to remain weak.
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