UCITS passporting in Norway

1. EEA UCITS Schemes 

EEA Management Companies may exercise passporting rights for the management and marketing of an EEA UCITS Scheme in Norway. 

Notification 

An EEA UCITS Scheme may be marketed in Norway once the HMSA has given the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (“FSAN”) notification of marketing in accordance with Section 9-3 of the Norwegian Securities Funds Act of 25 November 2011 No. 44 (“SFA”). 

The notification shall include the current version of the following documents: 

  1. standard notification letter to be completed by the fund / management company (Annex I to Commission Regulation No 584 / 2010); 
  2. UCITS attestation issued by the HMSA (Annex II to Commission Regulation No 584 / 2010); 
  3. articles of association; 
  4. prospectus; 
  5. PRIIPS KID; and 
  6. latest annual report and biannual report (if applicable) 

The documentation listed above may be submitted in Norwegian, English, Swedish or Danish, except for the PRIIPS KID which must be submitted in Norwegian. The KID may, however, be submitted in English if the EEA UCITS Scheme has a minimum subscription amount corresponding to at least NOK 5m, or if the fund will be marketed to institutional investors on an individual basis only, and without any use of advertising. If the EEA UCITS Scheme wishes to make use of this exemption, Part B of the notification letter shall include a statement that the fund meets the abovementioned conditions, and that the fund in the future will not be marketed to private individuals or households. 

Following the transmission of this notification from the HMSA to FSAN, FSAN will issue its confirmation of recognition to the HMSA within five days of receipt of the notification. The EEA UCITS Scheme may be marketed in Norway once it has been informed by the HMSA that transmission of the documentation has taken place. 

Sales in Norway of units of the EEA UCITS Scheme must take place directly from the head office of the EEA Management Company, through a representative office in Norway or through a management company holding a license or a credit institution entitled to engage in financing activity in Norway, an insurance company entitled to engage in insurance activity in Norway or an investment firm entitled to provide investment services in Norway. 

The EEA UCITS Scheme shall, in accordance with the SFA, make such arrangements as are necessary for the purpose of making payments to the unit holders, redeeming units and providing such information as is required in the fund’s home state with regards to prospectuses, KIID, annual and interim reports and publication of unit values. 

All marketing in Norway consisting of an offer to purchase units in the EEA UCITS Scheme shall state that a prospectus and (if applicable) a KID has been produced and indicate where these documents are available. The notification letter (Part B) shall contain a statement that such information will be included in all marketing materials offered to Norwegian investors. 

The PRIIPS Regulation has not yet entered into force in Norway, and thus the applicable regulation states that a UCITS KIID is required when submitting a passporting notification, but the Norwegian FSA has stated that from 1 January 2023 they will accept PRIIPS KIDs for passporting notifications as an alternative to UCITS KIID.  

2. Fees 

Norway charges one-off fees for UCITS passport notifications, marketing applications and annual fees for having registered a UCITS in Norway. Fees for notifications and marketing applications are set by regulation between NOK 5,000 (approx. EUR 450) and NOK 30,000 (approx. EUR 2700), and annual fees are set at up to NOK 10,000 per fund (approx. EUR 900). The FSAN has not set legally binding final fee levels, but has in the consultation leading up to the regulation indicated the following fee levels:  

  1. Passporting under UCITS (and AIFMD): NOK 5,000 (approx. EUR 450) per fund 
  2. Annual fees: NOK 7,000 per fund (approx. EUR 600) 

EEA fund managers passporting into Norway on a branch basis are required to pay periodic fees on the regulated activities conducted in Norway, calculated by the FSAN in accordance with certain mechanisms decided by the Ministry of Finance based on the branch’s relative share of the FSAN’s activities.