Requirements to get Norwegian citizenship if you have held a Norwegian passport without being a Norwegian citizen
In addition to the fact that you do not need to have a residence permit in Norway, you also do not need to meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit. As a general rule, you have to meet the other requirements to get Norwegian citizenship. You do not have to pay a fee to have your application for Norwegian citizenship processed.
Requirements for Norwegian citizenship
- You must have clarified your identity. As a main rule, you are required to have presented a passport.
- You must be over the age of 12.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must be a permanent resident when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is being processed.
- If you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must have passed an oral test in Norwegian at level B1 at the minimum, or
- You must have passed an oral test in Norwegian at level A2 at the minimum, if you are:
- a stateless person
- over 55 years of age and came to Norway on the basis of an application for protection or as a resettled refugee, or
- over 55 years of age and receive disability benefits, and
- If you are over the age of 15: You must order a criminal record certificate on the police's website (external website), which you must hand in with the application. The certificate cannot be more than three months old when you attend your appointment to submit the application documents. Therefore, you must wait to apply for a criminal record certificate until you know when you have an appointment. If you already have a criminal record certificate that is older than three months, you must apply for a new certificate before you have your appointment. If you have been convicted or fined by the police or if you are under investigation for a criminal offence, you might have to wait longer to become a Norwegian citizen.
- You must have stayed in Norway for a total of seven years during the last ten years. If you have stayed abroad for a total of two months or more during a calendar year, this will be deducted from the total period of stay.
Certain groups have shorter residence requirements:
- If you have sufficient income, you must have resided in Norway for a total of six of the past ten years.
- If you were born in Norway or came here before you reached the age of 18, there is a shorter residence period requirement. You must have stayed in Norway for a total of five out of the past seven years.
- If you are married, a registered partner or cohabiting with a Norwegian citizen with whom you still live, five years of residence are required during the last ten years. The time you have lived with your Norwegian spouse, registered partner or cohabitant and the time you have stayed in Norway must be a total of at least seven years.
- Children of a parent who has been granted Norwegian citizenship must have lived in Norway for the last two years, and the child does not need to have reached the age of 12. If the child is under two years old, there is no requirement for a period of residence.
It is possible to make exceptions to some of the requirements above if there are strong reasons in your case. This means that it may be possible to get an exemption from the requirement to be residing in Norway now and intending to reside in Norway in the future.