What is the marriage period?

The marriage period is the time you have been the spouse, registered partner or cohabitant of a Norwegian citizen. You may accrue time towards the marriage period both abroad and in Norway, but you must still live in Norway with a residence permit for at least five of the last ten years before you can apply for Norwegian citizenship.

How do I calculate the marriage period?

• The marriage period begins the day you married/registered as partners/cohabitants. 
• However, you may only include time when you and your spouse/partner/cohabitant have actually lived together.
• Whether you married in Norway or abroad is irrelevant. 
• The time you have been married to a Norwegian and shared a place of residence abroad also counts. You need to document that you have had a common place of residence abroad with your Norwegian spouse or cohabitant, for instance by attaching a rental or sales contract of a shared residence, or a printout from the equivalent of Norway's National Population Register in the country you were living in.
• If your spouse was not a Norwegian citizen at the time of your marriage, the marriage period is deemed to have begun on the date your spouse was granted Norwegian citizenship. 
• You must still be married, registered partners or cohabitants when we make a decision in your case.

The residence period and the marriage period can run concurrently

You can add together your residence period and marriage period.

Example of a calculation of residence period and marriage period if you are from a country outside the EU/EEA

If you have lived in Norway for five years with residence permits that were valid for at least one year each, and you have been married to and lived with a Norwegian citizen for at least two of these years, your residence period and marriage period will total seven years. You will then fulfil the residence period requirement of seven years of residence period and marriage period combined. 

Example of a calculation of residence period and marriage period if you are an EU/EEA national

If you have lived in Norway for five years while meeting the requirements for registering as an EEA national, and you have been married to and lived with a Norwegian citizen for at least two of these years, your residence period and marriage period will total seven years, which fulfils the residence requirement.