To become a Norwegian citizen through naturalization, you generally need to have lived in Norway for at least eight of the past eleven years on valid residence permits, hold (or qualify for) a permanent residence permit, have a clean enough record, pass a Norwegian language test at B1 and a citizenship or social studies test, and then apply through the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). Norway has allowed dual citizenship since January 1, 2020, so you usually don’t have to give up the passport you already hold.
Who Qualifies
Four requirements have to be true when UDI decides your case, not just when you file.
Time in Norway
The standard rule is eight years of residence within the last eleven, on permits that were each valid for at least one year. This was raised from seven of the past ten years in January 2022. Applicants who held protection (asylum) status still qualify under the older seven-of-ten rule.1UDI. Citizenship for People Who Hold a Residence Permit in Norway
If your income was high enough in the previous tax year, the requirement drops to six of the past ten years. “High enough” means your ordinary income on the tax settlement was at least three times the National Insurance basic amount (grunnbeløp). For applications filed after the 2025 tax settlement becomes available in 2026, that threshold is approximately NOK 384,348.2UDI. Sufficient Income for Reduced Residence Time When Applying for Citizenship
Permanent Residence Permit
You need to hold a permanent residence permit, or meet the conditions for one, when UDI makes its decision.3regjeringen.no. The Norwegian Nationality Act If yours is still temporary, keep it current. UDI advises renewing at least a month before it expires.4UDI. Citizenship for People Who Hold a Residence Permit in Norway
Good Conduct
A criminal record triggers a waiting period that scales with the offense. Small fines produce a wait of a few months; heavier fines produce one to two years; unconditional prison sentences can push the wait out for many years, up to 33 for the most serious offenses.5UDI. Waiting Times for Permanent Residence Permits for Convicted Persons and People Who Have Been Fined Because these waits apply to your permanent residence permit, and you need that permit before citizenship, they push your citizenship date out too.
Language and Civics
If you’re between 18 and 67, you must pass an oral Norwegian exam at B1 or higher and either the citizenship test or the social studies test taken in Norwegian, before handing your documents in to the police.6UDI. Test Requirements for Norwegian Citizenship
Exemptions exist if you can document Norwegian-language schooling. Completing ordinary lower or upper secondary school in Norwegian with passing grades, or earning at least 30 university credits in Norwegian, exempts you from the oral test. Similar rules apply to the social studies test if you completed social studies coursework in a Norwegian school. Your municipality can also grant an exemption if you have a documented reason you cannot pass the tests.7UDI. Exemptions From Tests When Applying for Norwegian Citizenship
How the Residency Clock Really Works
Only time in Norway on a permit valid for at least a year counts. Any period of illegal stay is out, and so is any gap between an expired permit and the submission of a renewal application.8UDI. Calculating the Residence Period in Citizenship Cases (Residence Permits)
Travel abroad is the trap. Up to two months outside Norway in a calendar year is fine. Go over two months in any single year and the entire time abroad that year is deducted, not just the portion above the threshold.8UDI. Calculating the Residence Period in Citizenship Cases (Residence Permits) A three-month summer away doesn’t cost you one month. It costs you three.
Faster or Different Tracks
Not everyone applies under the general eight-year rule. Several groups qualify under separate provisions.
Spouses, Registered Partners, and Cohabitants
If you’re married to, in a registered partnership with, or cohabiting with a Norwegian citizen, your combined time living in Norway plus the length of your relationship must total at least seven years, and you must have lived in Norway for at least five of the past ten years on permits valid for at least one year each. Relationship time counts whether you spent it in Norway or abroad, but the five-year in-country minimum does not bend.9UDI. Calculating the Marriage Period in Citizenship Cases You have to be living together when UDI decides the case.
Nordic Citizens
Citizens of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland who are over 12 and have lived continuously in Norway for the past two years can apply through a simplified process. Instead of the B1 exam, they can show understanding of Norwegian or Sámi through a confirmation from an employer, school, or other public body. The application fee still applies, and a criminal record certificate is required for anyone over 15.10UDI. Applying for Citizenship for Nordic Citizens
Former Norwegian Citizens
If you lost your Norwegian citizenship because you took another nationality before January 1, 2020, or because you failed to renounce a previous citizenship by UDI’s deadline, you can reclaim it by notification rather than by full application. If you were a citizen from birth, you also need to have spent at least six months in Norway before turning 22. A criminal record certificate is required, and if it shows any charges or convictions since you lost citizenship, the notification route is closed and you must apply under the standard rules.11UDI. Notification of Citizenship for Those Who Were Previously Norwegian Citizens
Children
Norway does not grant citizenship based on birth on Norwegian soil. A child born on or after September 1, 2006 with at least one Norwegian parent is Norwegian at birth, wherever the birth happens and whether or not the parents are married. Children adopted by a Norwegian citizen on or after that date acquire citizenship automatically if they were under 18 and the adoption was approved by Norwegian authorities.12UDI. Norwegian by Birth? Children who don’t qualify automatically can be included in a parent’s application at no extra fee.13UDI. Fees
What You File and What It Costs
Proof of identity is central. A passport from your home country is the standard document, and even an expired one may be accepted if there is no doubt about the information in it. People granted asylum are not required to submit a passport but must hand in whatever identity documents they have.14UDI. Substantiating Identity in Citizenship Cases
Along with the passport, you’ll need your birth certificate, proof of legal residency, income documentation, and certificates showing you passed the language and civics tests. If you’re applying through the spousal track, add your marriage or partnership certificate. Any document not in Norwegian or English needs a certified translation by a state-authorized translator, and foreign documents may need an apostille or legalization.
The application fee is NOK 6,500 for adults. Applications for children under 18 are free.13UDI. Fees
How You Submit
Start the application through UDI’s online portal, fill in the electronic form, and upload your supporting documents. Then book an appointment at a police station to hand in the originals. Bring copies as well; the police verify originals in person. If you’re a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA, fingerprints and a facial photograph are taken at this appointment.15UDI. Provide Your Fingerprints and Facial Photograph (Biometrics)
You’ll receive a confirmation with a reference number for tracking. Check everything before the appointment: missing paperwork or mismatches between the online form and the physical documents slow the case down.
How Long It Takes
UDI currently estimates about 24 months from the day you hand in documents at the police station to a decision, including for applicants on the income-based reduced-residency track.16UDI. Guide to Waiting Time for Applications for Norwegian Citizenship Case status is available on UDI’s website. The decision itself arrives in writing, usually through Digipost or Altinn.
After You’re Approved
Since January 1, 2020, Norway allows dual citizenship. You can keep one or more foreign nationalities, and you don’t need to tell Norwegian authorities that you’re doing so.17UDI. Dual Citizenship The other side of that coin is your home country’s rules: if it doesn’t allow dual citizenship, you may lose that nationality automatically when you become Norwegian. Check with your home country’s embassy before applying.
Everyone approved who is 12 or older is invited to a citizenship ceremony held by the County Governor. Attendance is voluntary. Participants over 18 take an oath of allegiance pledging loyalty to Norway, support for democracy and human rights, and respect for the country’s laws.3regjeringen.no. The Norwegian Nationality Act
The Norwegian passport is a separate application. Book an appointment at a police station and bring your approval letter along with your identity documents.
If You’re Refused
You have three weeks from the date you or your representative received the decision letter to file an appeal. UDI reviews the case again first. If it doesn’t change its decision, the appeal goes to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) for a final ruling. If UNE upholds the refusal, no further administrative appeal is available.18UDI. Appealing a Decision