Stateless person under the age of 18
If you hold a valid residence permit in Norway and you live here on a permanent basis, you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. Your residence permit must be valid both when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and while your application is being processed. Applying for Norwegian citizenship does not mean that you have a valid permit to stay in Norway. It is therefore very important that you renew your permit in the normal manner no later than one month before it expires.
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.
- 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 have permanently residence when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is processed.
- 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.
- When you meet the conditions for a permanent residence permit that is decisive for when you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. If you do not already have a permanent residence permit, you must wait to apply for citizenship until you meet the residence requirement for a permanent residence permit. You must also meet the other requirements that apply to a permanent residence permit. You must fulfil all requirements until the UDI processes your citizenship application.
The residence requirement for obtaining a permanent residence permit is three or five years, and depends on the basis on which you have a residence in Norway. Here you will find more information about calculating residence time and which groups are required to have five years of residence to be entitled to a permanent residence permit.
- If you are born in Norway, are under the age of one and your parents hold or meet the conditions for being granted a permanent residence permit, you can apply for a permanent residence permit and Norwegian citizenship at the same time, without having held a residence permit in Norway before.