Norwegian by birth?
Which group do you belong to?
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Children with a Norwegian mother or father (born after 2006)
If you were born on 1 September 2006 or later and you have a Norwegian mother or father, you automatically became a Norwegian citizen at birth. This applies regardless of whether you were born in Norway or abroad, and regardless of whether or not your parents were married.
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Children with a Norwegian mother or father (born before 2006)
If you were born before 1 September 2006, you became a Norwegian citizen at birth if
- your mother was Norwegian, or
- your father was Norwegian and was married to your mother when you were born, or
- your father died before you were born, but was a Norwegian citizen and married to your mother at the time of his death.
If your father was Norwegian, but he was not married to your mother, you did not automatically become a Norwegian citizen. However, if you are under the age of 18, you can easily become a Norwegian citizen by handing in a notification of Norwegian citizenship.
Born before 1979
If you were born before 1979 and you are uncertain about whether you became a Norwegian citizen at birth, you can contact the UDI for more information.
If you do not meet the requirements for becoming a Norwegian citizen, you may apply for a residence permit for those who had a Norwegian parent when they were born.
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Children of Nordic parents who became Norwegian by submitting notification
If your parents were citizens of Sweden, Denmark, Finland or Iceland, and became Norwegian citizens by submitting notification before you turned 18, you automatically became a Norwegian citizen if you
- were living in Norway and
- were not married or a registered partner
Children under the age of 18 automatically become Norwegian at the same time as you if your child is resident in Norway and is not married or a registered partner (see the Citizenship Act § 22).
Before you can apply for a Norwegian passport for your children, they must be registered as Norwegian in the National Register. You must contact the Tax Office yourself to do this.
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Adopted children
If you were adopted after 1 September 2006
If you were adopted by a Norwegian citizen on 1 September 2006 or later, you automatically became a Norwegian citizen if you
- were under the age of 18 and
- the Norwegian authorities issued the adoption licence or
- the foreign adoption is approved/valid in Norway.
If you were adopted before 1 September 2006
If you were adopted before 1 September 2006, you may have become a Norwegian citizen when you were adopted, or have become one later after handing in a notification or application.
If you have not become a Norwegian citizen, and are still under the age of 18, you can become Norwegian now by handing in a notification. Please contact the UDI for information about what you need to do to become Norwegian.
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Children born through surrogacy
Surrogacy means that a woman ( the surrogate mother) agrees to give birth to a child and hand over the child to someone else when it is born. Surrogacy is not allowed in Norway, but some people still choose to enter into surrogacy agreements with women in other countries.
There are no specific rules for determining/transferring who the mother and father of a child born after the use of egg donation/surrogacy are. This means that the woman who gives birth to the child is the child’s mother and that paternity is determined in the same way as for other children, as described in The Children Act.
Even if the egg or sperm is donated by a Norwegian citizen who wishes to receive the child, the child does not become Norwegian until the parenthood has been transferred. When parenthood has been transferred, the child automatically becomes Norwegian.
Please contact The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (bufdir.no) if you have questions about surrogacy, parenthood and adoption.