Contract pilots have to pass through all the hoops/background checks mandated by the Norwegian CAA, and are trained /tested to the same standard.
Many Contractors were paying taxes/social charges in their country of residence (as was legally allowed for anyone "employed" before the implementation of the new EU regs on 25th June)
They will now be forced to pay both social chgs & tax at their "home base", some domiciles will make it easier than others to pay the correct amount of tax, some have no bilateral agreement with Spain.
In spite of spending less than 183 days a year at this base, Norwegian require this, to make their "concealed employment" look whiter than white for the very puritanical Norwegian public.
That is the fact of the matter & the motivation for the change, spurred along by some stirring in the press by the SAS pilot union (none of whom ever "resided" abroad when convenient for tax purposes.)
