The announcement comes after a series of reforms brought in by the former minister of higher education and research, Ola Borten Moe, came in for heavy criticism from universities and international student organisations.
Since the autumn semester of 2023, when students from outside the EU or EEA first had to pay student fees which at least cover the cost of their education, the number of these international students coming to Norway has fallen by "around 80 percent", the government said in a press release announcing the changes.
Sharp reduction in tuition fees
They are not being scrapped completely, as was first reported in the Aftenposten newspaper. Instead, the government is proposing to remove the requirement that tuition fees must at least cover costs.
"This will give universities and colleges more room to manoeuvre to attract talented international students," the government wrote.
Researchers no longer required to learn Norwegian
From June 16th, this year, foreign researchers have no longer been required to learn Norwegian.
The requirement that foreign researchers study to reach an upper intermediate level in Norwegian became law in August 2024, but as universities were given a year to implement the requirement, it will now have been abolished before they have had to meet it.
The government said it would "instead prioritize other measures to ensure Norwegian professional language proficiency and prepare candidates for the Norwegian working world".
Universities will still be required to offer language training to students.
Lower maintenance requirement for PhD students
Currently, when PhD students apply for a residency permit in Norway, they need to document that they have 325,000 kroner in their account if they cannot show that they will receive an income for the period for which they are applying for residence.
Norway's justice ministry has now ordered the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) to reduce the maintenance requirement to just 80,000 kroner.
What has the reaction been?
The reaction from universities and student organisations has been positive.
Dag Rune Olsen, Rector of UiT The Arctic University of Norway, told the higher education news website Khrono that he welcomed the news.
"This gives institutions the freedom to offer education for a fee they believe is reasonable, both for the institution and for the students, or to waive fees where we believe it is most beneficial," he said.
Selma Bratberg, head of the Students and Academics International Relief Fund, told Khrono that it was "a very good day for all student organizations and universities".
"The fact that the government is now taking action to reverse a multi-year trend where international collaboration in academia has been systematically downgraded is very good," she said.
Ola Borten Moe, the minister of higher education who brought in the criticised changes, was, however, sharply critical.
"I think it is unwise to make this change," he told the Klassekampen newspaper. "The government is effectively signalling that Norway cannot compete on quality in the international education market. We're going to compete on low price. Norway is making itself the education sector's answer to Nille or Temu."
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