Best Credit Cards in Norway 2026

Can Foreigners Get a Credit Card in Norway?

Yes. Norwegian banks do not require citizenship. What they require is that you can be identified and credit-checked in Norway, which in practice means four things:

• A Norwegian personal number (fødselsnummer) or D-number
  A D-number is issued to people staying in Norway for less than six months, or who need one to work or pay tax. Most card issuers accept it, but a small number only accept a full personal number.
• BankID
  Every credit card application in Norway is signed electronically with BankID. You cannot apply without one. You normally get BankID through a Norwegian bank once you have a personal number or D-number and have visited a branch for ID verification.
• A registered Norwegian address in Folkeregisteret
  Issuers post the card to your registered address.
• Documented income taxed in Norway
  Most banks want to see stable Norwegian income. Requirements range from around NOK 50,000 to NOK 250,000 per year depending on the card.

Your credit history does not follow you to Norway. A long, clean credit record from another country counts for nothing here. Norwegian banks check Gjeldsregisteret — the national debt registry — and your Norwegian tax record. If you have just arrived, you have no Norwegian credit history at all, which is not a black mark, but it does mean banks lean more heavily on your income and employment.

If you have been in Norway for less than a year, the most realistic route is a fee-free card with a lower income requirement and a modest credit limit, rather than a premium card. Cards with a total limit under NOK 30,000 are also exempt from full income documentation requirements under Norwegian lending regulation, which makes them noticeably easier to be approved for.

How Does Kredittkortlisten.no Work?

At Kredittkortlisten.no you can compare credit cards for free. Before you start, it helps to think through what you actually need - that makes the shortlist much shorter.

1. Choose a credit card
   Compare cards on interest rates, fees, bonus schemes and terms. The goal is to give you a clear basis for choosing the card that suits your finances. Explore our categories to find cards with the benefits that matter to you.
2. Submit an application
   Once you have found a card, click "Apply" and you will be forwarded to the bank's own application form. Kredittkortlisten.no never processes the application itself and never sees your data.
3. Receive the credit card
   If the application is approved and you accept the offer, the bank posts the card to your registered address. The bank handles the card, the account and all customer service from that point.

Fees You May Encounter When Using a Credit Card

Beyond the monthly invoice, credit cards carry a range of fees. Some cards have far more than others, so it is worth knowing what to look for.

The most common credit card fees in Norway:

• Nominal interest (nominell rente) - charged after the interest-free period on any amount you have not repaid.
• Annual fee (årsgebyr) - what you pay simply to hold the card. Most popular Norwegian cards charge nothing.
• Currency surcharge (valutapåslag) - added when you buy or withdraw cash in another currency. Typically 1.75–2.00%.
• Cash withdrawal fee (uttaksgebyr) - charged on ATM withdrawals and transfers to a bank account. Note that withdrawals often start accruing interest immediately, even on cards with an interest-free period on purchases.
• Invoice fee (fakturagebyr) - charged for paper invoices, usually avoidable by switching to eFaktura.
• Late payment fee (purregebyr) - charged when you miss the due date and the creditor sends a reminder. The maximum rate is set by inkassoforskriften and is NOK 38 in 2026.
• Overdraft fee (overtrekksgebyr) - charged if you spend beyond your credit limit.

The effective interest rate (effektiv rente) is the number to compare on. It bundles the nominal interest rate with all mandatory fees, so it reflects what the card actually costs rather than the headline rate.

What Does It Cost to Use a Credit Card?

The cost of a credit card depends entirely on how you use it.

If you pay the invoice in full every month, the interest rate is close to irrelevant. What matters is the annual fee, the currency surcharge and the cash withdrawal fee.

If you carry a balance or pay in instalments, the effective interest rate becomes the single most important number, and it will dwarf every other fee on the card. Below you will find the cards with the lowest interest rates and the cards with no annual fee.

How Norwegian Lending Rules Affect Your Application

Two pieces of Norwegian regulation shape whether you get approved and for how much.

Utlånsforskriften is the national lending regulation. It caps total debt at five times gross annual income, across all your loans - mortgage, car loan, consumer loans and credit card limits combined. It also requires banks to check that you could still service your debt if interest rates rose. If you are close to the five-times ceiling, a new credit card will be refused regardless of how good your payment history is.

There is one important exception: credit card applications where your total card limits stay below NOK 30,000 are exempt from the full income documentation requirement. This is the regulatory reason low-limit cards are easier to get, and it is the most practical route if you have just moved to Norway or have a thin credit file.

Gjeldsregisteret is the national debt registry, and it records your credit limits, not just your balances. A card with a NOK 150,000 limit and a zero balance still counts as NOK 150,000 of available credit against you when you apply for a mortgage. If you are planning to buy property, reducing unused credit limits before you apply is usually more effective than paying down a small balance.