Norway Is Rolling Back Its Non-EU Tuition Fees From August 2026
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Money & Budgeting, Canadians Studying Abroad, Canada Higher Ed News & Policy
Norway's government wants to let each university set its own tuition for non-EU students from August 2026, including free tuition at some schools, but parliament has not approved the change yet. Right now you still pay full price: NOK 176,300-205,600 a year at NTNU for 2026/27, and over NOK 500,000 a year for medicine.
📩 Proposed by Norway's Ministry of Education and Research in July 2025, with details due in autumn 2025
💵 NTNU currently charges NOK 176,300-205,600 a year for 2026/27, and NOK 528,650 a year for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine
💵 University of Bergen currently charges NOK 80,000-160,000 a year depending on the program
🎓 New non-EEA enrolment dropped 80% since Norway introduced full-cost fees in 2023
⏱️ The proposed effective date is August 1, 2026, pending approval from the Storting
What Norway's government proposed
In July 2025, Norway's Ministry of Education and Research proposed dropping the rule that forces universities to charge non-EU and non-EEA students the full cost of their program. Under the proposal, each institution decides its own fee for these students, including a fee of zero, starting with the intake on August 1, 2026. The PIE News reported that the ministry planned to release further details in autumn 2025.
The change still needs approval from the Storting, Norway's parliament. Nothing is confirmed. If you plan to apply for the 2026-27 or 2027-28 intake, budget for today's fees and treat a fee cut as a bonus, not a guarantee.
Why the government wants to cut fees
Norway ended free tuition for most students from outside the EU and EEA starting with the 2023-24 academic year, requiring universities to charge the full cost of each program. Since then, new enrolment from outside the EEA fell 80%, according to the ministry. High tuition combined with Norway's cost of living pushed many applicants toward lower-cost destinations such as Germany and France instead. Others weighed Finland's scholarship-heavy tuition system as a Nordic alternative. Some compared the total against non-EU tuition fees at Irish universities, which vary by program type as well.
What non-EU students pay right now
Fees vary by school and by program, not by a single national rate. Two of Norway's largest universities show the range, with NTNU's rate now updated for the 2026-27 academic year, a year-over-year increase from 2025-26.
| University | Typical annual fee (NOK) |
|---|---|
| NTNU, bachelor's and most master's programs (2026/27) | 176,300-205,600 |
| NTNU, medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine | 528,650 |
| University of Bergen, most programs | 80,000-160,000 |
Source: NTNU's tuition fee page . EU and EEA students continue to pay no tuition at Norwegian public universities regardless of this proposal. For comparison, non-EU tuition at Dutch universities runs on a similar sliding scale by program.
What to do before you commit
Some institutions have already signalled where they will land if the law passes. Nord University said it plans to cut fees substantially, with some programs returning to little more than the standard semester fee. Other schools have not committed to a number, and none of this takes effect until the Storting votes.
Check your target university's own fee page, not a summary article, before you accept an offer for a 2026-27 or later intake. Ask the international office directly whether its board has set a non-EEA rate for your intake year. If you already hold an offer priced at 2025-26 rates, get it in writing whether a future fee cut applies to your cohort or only to students starting after August 2026. Whatever the rate turns out to be, plan how you'll actually send the money, since currency exchange strategies for paying foreign tuition can save real money on a fee already priced in NOK.