The requirements for Norwegian citizenship are not the same for everyone. How old you are, when you came to Norway and who you are married to, can affect how long you must have lived in Norway before you can apply.
The information on this page is personalised for
The applicant is a citizen of :
United States
When you apply, UDI will consider which group you belong to, and whether you meet the requirements. Here you can check for yourself what the requirements are for the most common groups of applicants. Remember that you may belong to more than one group.
What group do you belong to?
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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 your identity verified. As a general rule, you are required to present a passport.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must reside in Norway both 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 with a right of residence or permits with a minimum length of one year. A right of residence means that you must have been granted family reunification with an EU/EEA citizen in Norway.
- Read more about how to calculate the length of your residence period.
- 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 a total of six years of the past ten years with a right of residence or permits with a minimum length of one year.
- If you were born in Norway or came here before you reached the age of 18, there is also a shorter residence period requirement. In that case, you must have resided in Norway with a right of residence for a total of five years of the past seven years with either a right of residence or with permits with a minimum length of one year.
- 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.
- You are required to either have a permanent right of residence or having stayed in Norway with a right of residence for the past three years. If you do not have a permanent right of residence, your stay for the last three years must have been continuous. This means that you cannot have traveled more than two months abroad per calendar year during the last three years.
- You have a permanent right of residence if you have received a permanent residence card or a permanent residence certificate. You may also have a permanent right of residence even if you have not applied for a residence card.
- If you are wondering whether you have a permanent right of residence, you can find information about your residence if you log in using ID-porten on «My page».
- If you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must meet the following requirements:
- Passed an oral test in Norwegian at level B1 at the minimum or provide proof of sufficient Norwegian skills
- Passed a test in social studies in Norwegian, passed a citizenship test or provide proof of sufficient knowledge about the Norwegian society
- You may request exemption from these requirements if you are unable to meet them due to health, personal circumstances or other compelling reasons
- If you over the age of 15 years: 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, you are not required to give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. However, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow you to have more than one citizenship, you may still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
- You must make sure what the rules are in your current country of citizenship. You can, for example, look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in that country or ask an embassy.
- You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.
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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 your identity verified. As a general rule, you are required to present a passport.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must reside in Norway both 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 with a right of residence or permits with a minimum length of one year.
- You have 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.
- Your combined residence period and marriage period must be at least seven years in total.
- You are required to either have a permanent right of residence or having stayed in Norway with a right of residence for the past three years. If you do not have a permanent right of residence, your stay for the last three years must have been continuous. This means that you cannot have traveled more than two months abroad per calendar year during the last three years.
- You have a permanent right of residence if you have received a permanent residence card or a permanent residence certificate. You may also have a permanent right of residence even if you have not applied for a residence card.
- If you are wondering whether you have a permanent right of residence, you can find information about your residence if you log in using ID-porten on «My page».
- If you are between 18 and 67 years old, you must meet the following requirements:
- Passed an oral test in Norwegian at level B1 at the minimum or provide proof of sufficient Norwegian skills
- Passed a test in social studies in Norwegian, passed a citizenship test or provide proof of sufficient knowledge about the Norwegian society
- You may request exemption from these requirements if you are unable to meet them due to health, personal circumstances or other compelling reasons
- If you over the age of 15 years: 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, you are not required to give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. However, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow you to have more than one citizenship, you may still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
- You must make sure what the rules are in your current country of citizenship. You can, for example, look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in that country or ask an embassy.
- You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.
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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 your identity verified. As a general rule, you are required to present a passport.
- You must be residing in Norway and intend to continue living here in the future.
- You must reside in Norway both 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 years: 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, you are not required to give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. However, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow you to have more than one citizenship, you may still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
- You must make sure what the rules are in your current country of citizenship. You can, for example, look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in that 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 your identity verified. As a general rule, you are required to present 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 reside in Norway both 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 seven years with a right of residence or permits with a minimum length of one year.
- This means that you need to have been family reunited with an EU/EEA citizen in Norway for at least five years out of the last seven years.
- Read more about how to calculate the length of your residence period. (external website)
- You are required to either have a permanent right of residence or having stayed in Norway with a right of residence for the past three years. If you do not have a permanent right of residence, your stay for the last three years must have been continuous. This means that you cannot have traveled more than two months abroad per calendar year during the last three years.
- You have a permanent right of residence if you have received a permanent residence card or a permanent residence certificate. You may also have a permanent right of residence even if you have not applied for a residence card.
- If you are wondering whether you have a permanent right of residence, you can find information about your residence if you log in using ID-porten on «My page».
- If you over the age of 15 years: 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, you are not required to give up your original citizenship to become a Norwegian citizen. You can have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship. However, if the country you are a citizen of now does not allow you to have more than one citizenship, you may still lose this citizenship when you become a Norwegian citizen.
- You must make sure what the rules are in your current country of citizenship. You can, for example, look for information on an official website which belongs to the authorities in that country or ask an embassy.
- You do not have to inform Norwegian authorities that you wish to keep your previous citizenship.