Want to apply Citizenship for people who have residence cards for family members of EU/EEA nationals
The information on this page is personalised for
The applicant is a citizen of : United States
When you apply, the UDI will consider which group you belong to, and whether you fill the requirements. Here you can check for yourself what the requirements are for the most common group of applicants. Remember that you may belong to more than one group.
What group do you belong to?
-
Over the age of 18
If you have right of residence in Norway as a family member of an EU/EEA national (residence card scheme) and you live here on a permanent basis, you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. You must have right of residence both when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and while your application is being processed.
Requirements for Norwegian citizenship
- You must pay an application fee.
- You must have clarified your identity. As a rule, you are required to have presented a passport.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must be permanently resident when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is processed.
- You must have stayed in Norway for a total of eight of the past eleven years, the past three years with a right of residence.
- This means that you must have been granted family reunification with an EU/EEA citizen in Norway throughout the entire three-year period. During the other five years, you must have stayed here with a right of residence or permits that were each valid for at least one year.
- Read more about how to calculate the length of your residence period.
- If you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must meet all three of these requirements:
- If you over the age of 15: You must order a criminal record certificate (external website), which you must hand in with the application. The certificate cannot be more than three months old when you meet for your appointment with the police to submit the application documents. Therefore, you must wait to apply for a criminal record certificate until you know when you have an appointment with the police. 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.
- From 1 January 2020, it is not a requirement that you give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. Even so, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow that you have more than one citizenship, you can still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
You must make sure what the rules are in the country you are now a citizen of. You can for example look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in this country or ask an embassy.
You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.
There are shorter residency requirements for some groups. If you have sufficient income, you must have resided in Norway with a right of residence for the last three years, and a total of six years of the past ten years with a right of residence or permits of at least one year's duration.
If you were born in Norway or came here before you reached the age of 18, there is a shorter residence period requirement. In that case, you must have resided in Norway with a right of residence for the last three years, and for a total of five years of the past seven years with either a right of residence or with permits of at least one year's duration.
A few other groups also have their own requirements for residency time. Read more about the exemptions for «researchers associated with a Norwegian research institution», «athletes», «household members of deployed personnel at a Norwegian foreign service mission or of military personnel», «foreigners who have held a Norwegian passport», and «Kola Norwegians» here.
This applies regardless of how long you have lived in Norway and what kind of permit you have.
Please note that changes in Norwegian language requirements will apply from 1 October 2022. Read more about the changes in Norwegian language requirements for obtaining Norwegian citizenship here.
-
Spouse, registered partner or cohabitant of a Norwegian citizen
If you have registered as an EU/EEA national with the police in Norway and you live here on a permanent basis, you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. You must meet the requirements for registration both when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and while your application is being processed.
Requirements for Norwegian citizenship
- You must pay an application fee.
- You must have clarified your identity. As a rule, you are required to have presented a passport.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must be permanently resident when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is processed.
- You must have resided in Norway for a total of five years during the last ten years, the last three years with a right of residence.
- The stay must have been continuous for the last three years. This means that you may not have stayed abroad for more than two months per calendar year during the last three years. This applies regardless of whether you have a permanent right of residence or not.
- You have had a right of residence if you yourself are an EU/EEA citizen and have exercised your right of residence in Norway through work, self-employment or studies in Norway. You have also had a right of residence if you have been family reunited with an EU/EEA citizen, and this person has had a right of residence in Norway for the entire three-year period. If you do not have a permanent right of residence nor meet the conditions for a permanent right of residence, you may not have been without a right of residence for more than a total of two months during the last three years. "The last three years" are calculated from the date we make a decision in your application for citizenship. In order to have a total period of residence of five years, you must have resided here for at least two more years with a right of residence or permits of at least one year's duration.
- In addition, your combined residence period and marriage period must total at least seven years.
- If you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must meet all three of these requirements:
- If you over the age of 15: You must order a criminal record certificate (external website), which you must hand in with the application. The certificate cannot be more than three months old when you meet for your appointment with the police to submit the application documents. Therefore, you must wait to apply for a criminal record certificate until you know when you have an appointment with the police. 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.
- From 1 January 2020, it is not a requirement that you give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. Even so, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow that you have more than one citizenship, you can still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
You must make sure what the rules are in the country you are now a citizen of. You can for example look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in this country or ask an embassy.
You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.
This applies regardless of how long you have lived in Norway and what kind of permit you have.
Please note that changes in Norwegian language requirements will apply from 1 October 2022. Read more about the changes in Norwegian language requirements for obtaining Norwegian citizenship here.
-
Children under the age of 18 who have one Norwegian parent or apply together with one parent
If you have right of residence in Norway as a family member of an EU/EEA national (residence card scheme) and you live here on a permanent basis, you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. You must have right of residence both when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and while your application is being processed.
Your parents must apply
Since you are under the age of 18, your parents, or the parent who has sole parental responsibility for you, must apply for Norwegian citizenship on your behalf. If your parents are dead or have forfeited their parental responsibility, your guardian has to submit the application.
If you are over the age of 12, you have to consent to an application for Norwegian citizenship being submitted on your behalf.
Requirements for Norwegian citizenship
- You must have clarified your identity. As a rule, you are required to have presented a passport.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must be permanently resident when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is processed.
- You must have stayed in Norway continuously for the past two years with a right of residence (applies if you are over the age of two when you apply).
- You must have stayed in Norway continuously for the past two years. This means that you cannot have been abroad for more than two months per calendar year during the past two years before we make a decision in your case.
- If you are under the age of two when you apply, there is no requirement for a residence period, but you must have registered with the police before we make a decision in your case.
- If you over the age of 15: You must order a criminal record certificate (external website), which you must hand in with the application. The certificate cannot be more than three months old when you meet for your appointment with the police to submit the application documents. Therefore, you must wait to apply for a criminal record certificate until you know when you have an appointment with the police. 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.
- From 1 January 2020, it is not a requirement that you give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. Even so, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow that you have more than one citizenship, you can still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
You must make sure what the rules are in the country you are now a citizen of. You can for example look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in this country or ask an embassy.
You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.
-
Children over the age of 12 who apply on their own
If you have right of residence in Norway as a family member of an EU/EEA national (residence card scheme) and you live here on a permanent basis, you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. You must have right of residence both when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and while your application is being processed.
Your parents must apply
Since you are under the age of 18, your parents, or the parent who has sole parental responsibility for you, must apply for Norwegian citizenship on your behalf. If your parents are dead or have forfeited their parental responsibility, your guardian has to submit the application.
If you are over the age of 12, you have to consent to an application for Norwegian citizenship being submitted on your behalf.
Requirements for Norwegian citizenship
- You must have clarified your identity. As a 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 permanently resident when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is processed.
- You must have stayed in Norway for a total of five of the past seven years, the past three years with a right of residence.
- This means that you must have been granted family reunification with an EU/EEA citizen in Norway throughout the entire three-year period. During the other four years you must have stayed here with a right of residence or permits that were each valid for at least one year.
- Read more about how to calculate the length of your residence period.
- If you over the age of 15: You must order a criminal record certificate (external website), which you must hand in with the application. The certificate cannot be more than three months old when you meet for your appointment with the police to submit the application documents. Therefore, you must wait to apply for a criminal record certificate until you know when you have an appointment with the police. 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.
- From 1 January 2020, it is not a requirement that you give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. Even so, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow that you have more than one citizenship, you can still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
You must make sure what the rules are in the country you are now a citizen of. You can for example look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in this country or ask an embassy.
You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.
