How Covid-19 regulations can affect outgoing exchange students

Are you planning an exchange semester abroad in Spring 2022? Have you received the admission letter from your host institution? Here is some important information for outgoing exchange students from Nord University.
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​NB: For updated information regarding travel restrictions​, please visit regjeringen.no

​​​​Travel advice and restrictions

The COVID-19 situation in the world is changing very quickly, and changes may occur before and during your stay abroad. Therefore you must stay updated about the latest developments regarding coronavirus, both before departure and during your stay at the host institution. You will need to familiarize yourself with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official travel advice and the general travel advice for the country you are travelling to. All Norwegian citizens need to register their trip on reiseregistrering.no. ​

  • We advise all outgoing exchange students to follow the official travel advice provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ​Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

​​​​​​​​​Information for outgoing exchange students 

Study permit and visa

​Familiarise yourself with immigration rules and requirements for making a student visa application as early as possible. 
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Please take into consideration: 

  • ​Application deadline and expected ​processing time
  • Semester start date at the host institution
  • ​Guidelines and rules for quarantine, isolation and vaccination upon arrival at host country
  • Look up host country student visa requirements and if necessary book an appointment at the respective embassy 

Travel information USA

Travel information Canada

Travel information Russia

Travel information for South Korea

Travel information for other countries

Any questions? Please contact exchangestudent@nord.no ​

Students travelling to EU/EEA

Norwegian citizens do not need a study permit or visa to study inside the EU/EEA area. 

Stay updated on information given by your host institution.​

Non-EU/EEA citizens ​

​​​Third-country nationals with a residence permit in Norway may travel up to 90 days to another Schengen country. 

  • If you need to stay longer than 90 days, you must apply for a residence permit in the host country. The application process differs from country to country and the expected processing time may be up to three months. ​
  • The host university may provide relevant information and individual support in the application process. 
  • We strongly recommend you to carefully read all information given by the host university regarding​ travel to your host country and residence permit. 

Any questions? Please contact exchangestudent@nord.no ​

Insurance

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We advise all outgoing exchange students to follow the official travel advice provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry issues travel advice whenever there is a reason to advise people against travelling to a specific country or region. As a general rule, most insurance companies will not provide travel insurance to people going to countries included in the travel advice.  ​

We strongly recommend outgoing exchange students to contact their insurance company.  You have to make sure that your travel insurance covers COVID-19 related medical care and quarantine. 


The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen)

Lånekassen offers three types of support for exchange program with a foreign university: basic support, travel support and support for tuition fees, if you have to pay tuition fees. The support is either given as loans or grants. ​

​Outgoing exchange students who have to stay in Norway due to ​​the coronavirus pandemic may be eligible for loans and grants. This only applies to studies who normally is location-based but now is offered online due to coronavirus. This applies for the autumn 2021 and spring 2022.  

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Visit Lånekassen's website for updated information regarding measures given due to COVID-19: https://www.lanekassen.no/korona


Financial consequences

The Norwegian government has decided that travel to go on student exchange is considered a necessary travel, similar to necessary work travel. It is up to every individual student to decide whether to go abroad on student exchange or not.  

Nord University has opened up for exchange students to/from Nord`s partner universities. There are no restrictions as to destinations , unless the student exchange option is cancelled at study program level.

If you are travelling to a partner institution with tuition fees, please familiarize yourself with study permit at the university you are planning to study. Transition to digital teaching may have an effect on the support from Lånekassen and result in financial consequences for you. This varies from institution to institution.

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We recommend all outgoing exchange students, ​regardless of destination, to the read cancellation policies related to travel and student housing at your exchange destination carefully.  ​​

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Extra costs might occur for outgoing exchange student as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Nord University is not financially responsible for costs related to the admission process or costs during the stay at the partner institution. These costs need to be covered by the individual student. 
Nord University is responsible for the study progress of exchange students. ​

Practical information: arrival at the host institution

Visit the host institution's webpage for updated information before arrival. 

We will keep you updated if we receive information about cancellations or online teaching at one of our partner universities. Please note that this information may come at different times depending on the the host country's measures and guidelines, and dates for semester start.

Deferring your studies​

Contact the international coordinator at your faculty at Nord to find out whether it is possible to defer your exchange studies. ​


​If you decide to defer your exchange semester, please contact  exchangestudent@nord.no  . The International office will help you contacting your host institution. 

You have to check with your host institution whether it is possible to defer your stay, and how to do it. The International office at Nord University will help you in this process. ​


Contact information:

Contact persons at the International Office: ​

Kai-Martin Johnsen, kai-martin.johnsen@nord.no
Elena Popova, elena.popova@nord.no

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Official travel advice provided by the​ Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affair: 
By:
International Office
Published:05. January 2022 kl. 23:00
Updated:29. June 2022 kl. 14:30