Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Obtaining permanent residency
• Part 2 of 3: Meeting the citizenship conditions
• Part 3 of 3: Applying for citizenship

Residents of third countries can apply to become a citizen of Norway after 7 years of legal residence in the country. This means that you must have permanent residency before you can apply for citizenship, unless you are an EU citizen. The Norwegian people take pride in their language and culture, which is reflected in the fact that you must study and pass a test in Norwegian civics and the Norwegian language before you can become a citizen.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Obtaining permanent residency

1. Make sure you have a valid residence permit for at least three years. You will usually not be eligible for a permanent residence permit until you have lived in Norway for at least three years with a residence permit. Residence permits are usually issued to work or study in Norway.
   • If you are a married or unmarried partner living with a Norwegian citizen who works in a Norwegian embassy or consulate, you are exempt from the requirements for applying for permanent residency.
   • If you are an EU citizen, you will automatically be issued a permanent residence permit in Norway after having a permanent address there for five years. You will have to prove that you have lived in the country legally for five years, and that you work, study or are financially independent.
2. Learn the Norwegian language. Although most Norwegians speak English, if you want to become a permanent citizen in Norway, you will need to demonstrate that you have proficiency in the Norwegian language. Free online lessons to learn Norwegian are available on the following page: https://www.ntnu.edu/learnnow/.
   • There are other options available to learn Norwegian for free and you can of course take commercial (private) lessons. More information can be found on the following page: https://www.kompetansenorge.no/English/Immigrant-integration/#Norwegianlanguagetuition_5.
3. Participate in Norwegian language and civics exams. If you are between 16 and 55 years old, you must pass an oral exam in Norwegian with a minimum score of A1 level, and a written exam in Norwegian social studies in a language of your choice.
   • For the Norwegian language exam, surf to https://www.kompetansenorge.no/norwegian-language-test/. On this page you can register to take the exam either in the summer (June 5 - 12) or in the winter (November 26 - December 6). The page contains links to study material and a practice exam.
   • To register for the civics exam, visit https://www.kompetansenorge.no/test-in-social-studies/.
4. Make sure you have a clean criminal record. You must not have any criminal convictions during the three years that you have lived in Norway and before you apply for permanent residency. You are also not eligible for permanent residency if you were required to undergo involuntary psychiatric treatment or care.
   • Being legally convicted does not mean you can never become a permanent resident of Norway. However, it may be that at least three years have passed since the date of conviction before you can apply.
5. Register on the Application Portal. Most applicants can complete their application for permanent residency through the online Application Portal of the Norwegian Directorate for Immigration (UDI). Surf to https://selfservice.udi.no/ to create your user account.
   • You can complete your application, submit forms, make appointments and check the status of your application through your account on the Application portal.
6. Show that you are financially independent. The UDI only grants permanent residency permits to applicants who can demonstrate that they meet the minimum income requirements of the previous year. In 2018, this amount was NOK 238,784.
   • The requirements and documents necessary to prove the minimum income are stated on your application.
   • You also cannot receive social benefits during your stay prior to submitting your application.
7. Pay your permit fee. As of 2018, the cost of applying for a permanent residence permit is NOK 3,100. There is no charge for children under the age of 18. Consult the UDI website to find out the latest amounts that apply to apply for permanent residency and how to pay.
   • When you have completed and submitted your application online, you can immediately pay the costs online with your Visa or Mastercard.
   • Please check all your answers to the questions in your application before submitting them. Once you have clicked through to the payment screen, you cannot return to make changes.
8. Take the supporting documents to the nearest police station. Once you have submitted your application, you can also make an appointment to hand over the necessary supporting documents at your local police station.
   • To create a checklist with the documents you need to have during your appointment, surf to https://www.udi.no/en/checklists-container/citizenship-travel-permanent/checklist-permanent-residence/ and answer a few questions regarding your application.
9. Wait until you get a message. After you have submitted your application, the UDI will start an evaluation process. It usually takes 3 to 6 months to process the application for permanent residence. You can be contacted if additional information or documentation is required to approve your application.
   • You can check the estimated waiting time required to process your application on the page https://www.udi.no/en/word-definitions/guide-to-case-processing-times-for-applications-for -permanent-residence / and answer a number of questions there.
   • If your application is rejected, you can contest this decision. The information you need to contest the decision will be included in the message you receive.
10. Make an appointment at the police station. If your application for permanent residence has been approved, you must complete this application at the nearest police station and you will obtain your permanent residence card. The police will take your fingerprints, a photo and then order the card for you.
    • You can make an appointment online via the Application portal if you have an active account there.
    • If you are having trouble making an appointment online, call the police station right away. You can also make an appointment through the UDI.
11. Receive your card by post. Your card will be sent to you when it is ready. It will take at least 10 business days to receive them by post. If you have plans to travel abroad, make sure you have enough time to receive your residence card before leaving the country. Otherwise you may experience difficulties when you return.
    • Even if your photo is on your residence card, it is not considered as proof of identity. When traveling outside of Norway you must always have a passport.

Part 2 of 3: Meeting the citizenship conditions

1. Make sure you have lived in Norway for at least seven years. The "length of stay" condition is the first condition you must meet to be eligible for Norwegian citizenship. Most applicants must live in Norway for at least seven uninterrupted years with a residence permit.
   • Exceptions are made for some special groups of applicants, such as spouses of Norwegian citizens, athletes, or family members of Norwegian citizens living abroad at a Norwegian embassy or consulate.
   • Short trips abroad are allowed without interrupting your stay. However, if you are staying abroad for more than two months during a year, your period of stay will start again.
2. Keep a clean criminal record while living in Norway. To become a Norwegian citizen, you must be able to prove that you were not criminally convicted or received psychiatric treatment or care during your stay.
   • If you have incurred a criminal conviction, you may still be able to get Norwegian citizenship. For this you usually have to wait. The length of your waiting time depends on the criminal action you were given as a result of your conviction.
3. Clarify your identity. The Norwegian government must be able to confirm your identity with reliable information before you can be eligible for citizenship. In most cases you have to prove this by means of a valid passport from your country of origin.
   • If, for whatever reason, you no longer have a valid passport, you can use other documents, such as a birth certificate.
   • Norway considers documents from Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia to be unreliable. This is usually because the governments of these countries are not stable, or have recently been unstable. If you are from such a country, you must take additional actions to confirm your identity.
4. Pass an oral exam in Norwegian at A2 level. To become a Norwegian citizen, you must be able to demonstrate your Norwegian language proficiency with an A2 level or above. If you pass your exam in Norwegian for your permanent residence at A1 level, you will have to take this exam again to achieve an A2 level.
   • If you have already passed your oral exam in Norwegian at A2 level for your permanent residence permit, you do not need to take the exam again.
   • More information about the language exam can be found on the Skill Norway website: https://www.kompetansenorge.no/English/.
5. Pass the Norwegian Social Studies exam. When you took this exam for your permanent residence permit, you could take this exam in a language of your choice. If you then took this exam in your native language, you must now take it again in Norwegian to be eligible for citizenship.
   • Information about the civics exam is available on the Skill Norway website: https://www.kompetansenorge.no/English/.
   • If you have taken the civics exam in Norwegian for your permanent residency and passed, you do not need to retake this exam when applying for citizenship.

Part 3 of 3: Applying for citizenship

1. Complete your application. You can apply for citizenship online through the UDI portal on the page https://selfservice.udi.no/. If you are already registered on the Application Portal to apply for your permanent residence permit, you can use the same account to apply for citizenship.
   • After logging into your user account, click through to complete the necessary citizenship application forms. Make sure your answers are as complete and detailed as possible. All fields with a yellow star must be completed in order to accept your application.
2. Pay the costs for your application. The fee for applying for citizenship was NOK 3,700 in 2018. Consult the UDI website to know the current rates. There is no charge for children under the age of 18.
   • If you submit your application via the Application Portal, you can pay the costs for your application directly online with your Visa or MasterCard.
   • Once you click on the "go to payment" button, you can no longer change your request. You can only change your application during your appointment at the police station.
3. Take your supporting documents to the police station. After submitting your application, you can make an appointment at the nearest police station to submit all required documents supporting the statements you have provided in your application.
   • Although the documents in the documentation vary, it usually includes your birth certificate, marriage or spouse certificates, passport, tax return, police background checks, proof of your language study, and the results of your language exams and your social studies exam.
   • Go to https://www.udi.no/en/checklists-container/citizenship-travel-permanent/checklist-for-citizenship/ and answer the questions to create a checklist of the documents you need to have in your possession during your appointment.
4. Wait until you get a message. The UDI will start processing your application when it has received all the documents. You can be contacted for an additional interview or to provide additional documents to support your application.
   • To get an idea of ​​how much time your application will take, you can consult the following page: https://www.udi.no/en/word-definitions/guide-to-case-processing-times-for-applications -for-norwegian-citizenship / and answer the questions.
   • If your application is rejected, you can contest this decision. The information you need to contest the decision will be included in the message you receive from the UDI.
5. Make an appointment to collect the decision regarding your application. If the UDI approves your application, you can pick up the documents at the nearest police station. You must collect this decision personally within 3 months.
   • Once you have received the documents for your citizenship, you can apply for a Norwegian passport.
   • Take the notification letter with you to the police station, along with your old passport and your permanent residence card.
6. Distance yourself from your previous nationality. Dual citizenship is not allowed in Norway. If you want to become a Norwegian citizen, you must formally renounce your previous nationality. Go to the nearest embassy or consulate of your country of origin to find out the procedure you need to follow for this.
   • A proposal from the government is to allow dual citizenship. Until parliament approves the law, you will have to renounce your previous nationality to apply for Norwegian citizenship. If the law were to be passed, the new rule will not apply until 2019 at the earliest.
7. Participate in the citizenship ceremony. Once you obtain citizenship, you will receive an invitation to a ceremony where you will formally become a Norwegian citizen. Although you can participate voluntarily, this ceremony is a special event for most new citizens.
   • If you choose not to participate in this ceremony, you will still be a Norwegian citizen.