• General requirements to obtain citizenship
• On the residence requirement and exemptions from it
• Concerning the good conduct requirement
• General exemptions from the requirements for Norwegian citizenship

General requirements to obtain citizenship

If you have a valid residence permit in Norway, you can apply for Norwegian citizenship. For the application to be granted, you must, among other things, meet the following requirements:

• Be above the age of 12 (does not apply to stateless persons or children for whom citizenship is applied for concurrently with their mother or father, or children with a Norwegian mother or father)
• Have documented or clarified your identity
• Be resident in Norway and intend to continue to live here
• Meet the conditions for a settlement permit
• Have stayed in Norway for a total of seven years during the last ten years on permits each of which must have been granted for at least one year (see exemptions below)
• Have completed 300 hours of tuition in the Norwegian language or have documented sufficient skills in Norwegian or Saami (NOTE: Applies to persons under the age of 55 whose applications are decided after 1 September 2008). For further information, see www.imdi.no.
• Must not have been convicted of a criminal offence or been ordered to undergo enforced psychiatric health treatment or enforced psychiatric care (good conduct requirement)
• Must have been released from your original citizenship unless it automatically expires when you become Norwegian

Remember that you need a valid permit while the application for citizenship is processed. A permit is not valid only because you have applied for citizenship. You therefore need to apply for a renewal of the application at least a month before the permit expires.

On the residence requirement and exemptions from it

In order to become a Norwegian citizen, the principle is that you must have resided in Norway for seven years during the last ten years. You must have stayed here on work or residence permits with a duration of at least one year. You must be permanently resident in the country when you apply for Norwegian citizenship and when the application is processed.

If you were granted a permit before you entered Norway, or if you are a Nordic national, your period of residence will be reckoned from the date on which you came to Norway. If the date is unknown, your period of residence will be reckoned from the date on which you were registered with the police or in the population register, or from the date from which you can document in some other manner that you arrived in the country. If you were granted a permit after entering Norway, your period of residence will be reckoned from the date on which you applied for a permit. Illegal stays in Norway will not be counted as a period of residence.

Exemptions from the residence requirement:

• If you came to Norway before you reached the age of 18 years, you must have lived here for a total of five years during the last seven years.
• If you are married to, or are the registered partner or cohabitant of a Norwegian national, the time you have lived in Norway and the total time you have been married, registered partners or cohabitants must be at least seven years. You must have lived in Norway for a total of at least three years during the last ten years. It is a condition that you are still married, registered partners or cohabitants and live together at the time of the decision.
• If you are a Nordic national or have previously been a Norwegian national, it is sufficient that you have lived in the country for the last two years in order to acquire Norwegian citizenship.
• If you are stateless and above the age of 18 years, you must have lived in Norway for the last three years (for children, only the requirement for a residence permit applies).

For children who apply as subordinate persons (mother or father is Norwegian or applying at the same time), a requirement applies that they have resided in Norway for the last two years.

Concerning the good conduct requirement

If you have been convicted of a crime, fined or ordered to undergo enforced psychiatric treatment or enforced psychiatric care, this may result in your application being rejected, and you not being entitled to Norwegian citizenship until a certain period of time has elapsed (quarantine period). The length of the quarantine period depends on the seriousness of the sentence or the size of the fine. If you are charged with or are under investigation for criminal offences, the processing of your application will be halted. When the criminal case has been decided, you must yourself ensure that the processing of your application is resumed.

General exemptions from the requirements for Norwegian citizenship

Exceptions can be made from the above-mentioned rules for acquiring Norwegian citizenship if there are particularly strong grounds for doing so.