Skazka - Russian Society of Trondheim >

Pycckuù

Economic Tips for a foreigner (notably a Russian) in Norway

• 15% tax deduction for foreign employees
• Transferring money to Russia
• Cheaper international calls?
• Stretching rules of Tax-Free Shopping (in Russian)
• Where to get free map of Trondheim, and about city buses
• Cheap car rent

• Unlike in Russian shops, in Norway a rank salesman is often authorized to make substantial discount. I, for example, often get a lower price on photographic items.

• Books are expensive in Norway. A decent Norwegian-Russian or Russian-Norwegian dictionary costs NOK 700, a tiny one NOK 150. Exactly the same dictionaries (only in different binding) are sold in Russia for a fraction of these prices.

• All newcomers to Norway must pass a tuberculosis test and chest X-ray, the latter at cost. If you bring a certificate of recent X-ray from Russia (i.e. a short note in Russian with stamp from your clinic), the paid procedure can be avoided.

• Student discounts: you can ask about them everywhere. Discounts are almost always available for long-distance travel, also for concerts and museums. Even some shops can sell to a student at reduced cost. It never hurts to ask. Don't overlook frequent traveller programs and cheap plane tickets. Note, however, that some firms with "student discounts" (e.g. Kilroy Travels) can in fact be more expensive than those not advertising any special prices.

• It's better to use air mail ("A-post, Prioritaire") for all your correspondence with Russia. A letter sent by surface mail ("B-post, Economique") may well take an eternity to reach the recipient. Air mail to or from St. Petersburg takes about a week.
  For comparison, in Norway all mail marked "A-post" is delivered on the next day, except in the northern territories where it can take two days. B-post is usually only used for mass mailings.
  My bank once sent me an urgent note about overdrawn account by B-post. The letter reached me in St. Petersburg a month later. After resolving this incident, the bank was marking all letters to me as A-post for quite a long time.

• If you've strolled into an expensive store and are staring silently at the price tags, you can be sometimes directed to a cheaper competitor (not with the same goods, of course). If you, however, are looking for a specific item that the store doesn't happen to have, you will be always suggested another shop that may have it.

• Warranty on all goods purchased in Norway is either five or two years, depending on whether the item is classified as long-lasting or not. For instance, while my camera had a two-year warranty, my backpack has five-year one. The original manufacturer warranty is usually shorter than that, and after it expires, warranty repair can only be made through the Norwegian distributor.

• Have your teeth attended to at home, if possible. Dentists in Norway, while being at least as good as Russian ones, are very expensive.

• Buying cheap goods and services not always result in savings, in the long run. Remember that everything costs money to make well.

• How to save on Travel St. Petersburg - Trondheim
• How to Get your diploma recognized and start working (in Russian)
  

Since the tuberculosis test is mandatory, you should not pay at all for the X-ray. In Trondheim, make sure you go to "lungeavdelingen", not to "roentgen-avdeling" when taking the X-ray. The lungeavdeling knows the procedure and they will not charge you for this test. The X-ray department does not know these rules.

-- John Gunnar Krogstad (johngk@johngk.net), August 30, 2001

• Guide for pregnant students published by Social services of University of Oslo. -- added by Polina Pilipenko (Polina.Pilipenko@bygg.ntnu.no) in June 2000
• Tips for newcomers (in Russian) from Russian Society of Tromsoe
• Studentrabatter - searchable database of Norwegian firms and shops that offer student discounts. -- added by Ekaterina Prasolova-Foerland (Ekaterina.Prasolova-Forland@idi.ntnu.no) in July 2001