🌍 EEA access: Norway’s gateway to the Single Market

Norway is not a member of the European Union, but it takes part in the EU Single Market through the EEA Agreement (European Economic Area). For your company, this means almost the same rights and rules as inside the EU — for trade, services, capital, and people.

What the EEA gives you

• Free movement of goods, services, capital, and people across all 30 EEA states (27 EU + Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein).
• Norway adopts most EU Single Market rules — company law, public procurement, consumer protection, financial services.
• EU companies can open a branch (NUF) or a subsidiary (AS) in Norway under the same freedom-of-establishment rules as inside the EU.
• A Norwegian company gets the same right to operate across the EU — a gateway to 450+ million consumers.

EFTA: Norway’s wider trade network

• Norway is a founding member of EFTA (since 1960), with Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.
• EFTA has 29 free trade agreements covering 40 countries — including Canada, Singapore, South Korea, and the UK.
• Norway is not in the EU Customs Union — it sets its own tariffs on goods from outside the EEA.
• Norway keeps full control over agriculture and fisheries policy.

What this means in practice

• No VAT representative needed — EEA companies register directly in the Norwegian VAT Register.
• Board residency for an AS can be met by EEA citizens (aksjeloven § 6-11).
• Mutual recognition of professional qualifications across the EEA.
• Access to Norwegian public procurement under the same EU directives.
• GDPR applies fully — Norway adopted it through the EEA Agreement.
• Schengen member — no border controls for EU/EEA citizens travelling for business.