If you have a criminal record
If you have been convicted of a criminal offence or have received a fine, you must wait longer before you meet the requirements for a permanent residence permit and Norwegian citizenship. How long you must wait is calculated differently for a permanent residence permit and Norwegian citizenship. This means that even if the waiting period for a permanent residence permit may have expired, the waiting period for Norwegian citizenship may not have expired – or vice versa.
If you apply for Norwegian citizenship without holding a permanent residence permit, the waiting period must have expired under both the rules for a permanent residence permit and the rules for Norwegian citizenship before your application can be granted.
On the pages below, you will find important information about calculating the waiting period for your case:
Waiting times for Norwegian citizenship for convicted persons and people who have been fined - UDI
Please also be aware of the following:
- Even if a fine has been paid, it can result in a waiting period under the rules for both a permanent residence permit and Norwegian citizenship.
- A fine or prison sentence can result in different waiting periods under the rules for a permanent residence permit and the rules for Norwegian citizenship. For example: A 1-year prison sentence results in a 4-year waiting period for a permanent residence permit, while a 1-year prison sentence results in an 8-year waiting period for Norwegian citizenship.
- A fine or prison sentence can become time-barred (meaning it does not result in a waiting period) under the rules for a permanent residence permit. Under the rules for Norwegian citizenship, most sentences or fines will not become time-barred, and an old sentence or fine can result in a waiting period (especially if you have committed new offenses).
- Fines with a subsidiary prison sentence of less than 10 days do not result in a waiting period under the rules for Norwegian citizenship, but do result in a waiting period under the rules for a permanent residence permit.
- The point in time from which the waiting period is calculated – and thus also the date it expires – may differ for Norwegian citizenship and a permanent residence permit. The waiting period for Norwegian citizenship is calculated from the date the fine was accepted or the date of the conviction, while the waiting period for a permanent residence permit can be calculated either from the time of the offence or the date you meet the residence period requirement for a permanent residence permit (depending on which date is later).