Norwegian Citizenship Requirements 2026: Residence, Language, Fee

Quick answer: The main requirements for Norwegian citizenship are a clarified identity, a permanent residence permit or meeting its conditions, 8 years of residence in Norway within the last 11 years, oral Norwegian at level B1 or higher and a passed citizenship test if you are 18 to 67, and no criminal penalty whose waiting period is still running. If your last finalised tax assessment shows income of at least 3G, 6 years within the last 10 is enough. The application fee is NOK 6,500, and since 1 January 2020 you can keep your other citizenship. The core rules are in section 7 of the Nationality Act (statsborgerloven).

This guide covers each condition, how residence time is counted, the language and test rules, the fee, how to apply, and the changes the government has proposed. It is based on the law and official pages checked on 27 September 2026.

The conditions in section 7

Under statsborgerloven § 7, you must meet every condition on the date your case is decided, not only when you apply. You must:

• have clarified your identity
• be at least 12 years old
• live in Norway and intend to keep living here
• meet the conditions for permanent residence in Immigration Act § 62, which include having supported yourself for the last 12 months
• have a total of 8 years' residence in Norway within the last 11 years, on residence permits valid for at least one year
• meet the oral Norwegian and citizenship test requirements
• have no criminal penalty, or have served the waiting period (karenstid) that follows it

A complete police certificate (uttømmende politiattest) must also accompany the application, per the same section. If you are still on a temporary permit, our UDI residence permit guide explains the permit types.

EU/EEA citizens do not need to meet the permanent residence condition, but must have lived in Norway for the last three years with a right of residence (§ 14). The 8-year rule still applies. Our EU registration guide covers how that right of residence is registered.

Shorter residence periods

Several groups need less time than the main rule:

Danish, Finnish, Icelandic and Swedish citizens aged 18 or over who have lived in Norway for the last seven years, without a prison sentence in that time, can also become Norwegian by simple notification (§ 20).

The income route: what 3G means in kroner

The 6-year route requires that, in the last year with a finalised tax assessment, you had income and benefits counted as general income (alminnelig inntekt) of at least three times the National Insurance basic amount, known as G (statsborgerforskriften § 6-1).

UDI's guideline for citizenship cases, UDI 2012-021, section 9.1, sets out how this is measured:

• UDI looks at "Sum inntekter" on page 3 of your tax assessment (skatteoppgjør), which is your income before deductions.
• It uses the average G for the year the assessment covers, times three, not the G in force today.
• Income from the current calendar year never counts, and last year's income only counts once Skatteetaten has issued that year's assessment.
• If a newer assessment arrives between your application and the decision and it helps you, UDI uses it.

With NAV's published average G figures, the thresholds are:

The G of NOK 136,549 that took effect on 1 May 2026 is not the figure used for a 2025 assessment. Our Norwegian tax return guide explains how the return and the assessment work.

How residence time is counted

Short trips abroad are allowed, but the limit is strict. If your total time abroad in a calendar year is two months or less, it counts as residence in Norway. If it is more, the whole period abroad is deducted (statsborgerforskriften § 3-4).

UDI's guideline (section 8.5) adds the detail: two months means 62 days, UDI counts the nights you spent abroad, and a day trip without an overnight stay does not count. Three months abroad in one year means only nine months of that year count towards your total.

Norwegian language: B1 oral

Applicants aged 18 to 67 must reach at least B1 on an oral Norwegian test and pass the citizenship test. Age 18 is counted from the date you apply (statsborgerloven § 8). The oral requirement was raised to B1 on 1 October 2022, according to HK-dir. The law asks for spoken Norwegian only, not written.

UDI's guideline, section 10.1, accepts the oral part of HK-dir's Norskprøven with a B1 or B2 result, and the oral part of Test i norsk – høyere nivå (the "Bergenstesten"), among older tests.

You are exempt from the oral test if you can document, among other things (statsborgerforskriften § 4-1):

• a grade of 2 or higher in Norwegian or Sami at lower or upper secondary school
• 30 credits of Norwegian or Sami studies at university level, in Norway or abroad
• that you met the admission requirements for Norwegian- or Sami-taught higher education in Norway

Citizens of another Nordic country who understand Norwegian are exempt from both the language and test requirements (§ 4-3). For ways to reach B1, see our Norwegian language learning guide.

The citizenship test (statsborgerprøven)

HK-dir, the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, runs the test. Per HK-dir:

• It is in Norwegian, in Bokmål or Nynorsk, at language level A2, and you can have questions read aloud.
• It lasts at most 60 minutes and has 36 questions with three options each.
• Only 32 questions are scored, and you need 24 correct answers to pass.
• A pass in the social studies test (samfunnskunnskapsprøven) taken in Norwegian also meets the requirement.

Your municipality sets the price, between NOK 300 and NOK 1,800, and registration is binding: you pay even if you do not take the test, although with a sick note you can take it another time (HK-dir registration page).

Exemptions include a grade of 2 or higher in social studies at lower secondary school, 10 credits of social science studies covering Norway, or completed studies taught in Norwegian at a Norwegian university or college (statsborgerforskriften § 4-2).

Criminal record and waiting periods

A fine can delay citizenship. For fines imposed by a penalty notice or a court, the waiting period is based on the alternative prison term attached to the fine (§ 5-2). The table in § 5-1 sets 2.5 years for 10 to 15 days of imprisonment, 5 years for up to 90 days, and 8 years for up to one year. A simplified fine (forenklet forelegg) or a waiver of prosecution does not trigger a waiting period (§ 5-7).

Dual citizenship

Norway ended its single-citizenship principle with an amending act passed in December 2018. It removed the requirement to be released from your previous citizenship and repealed the rule under which Norwegians lost their citizenship by acquiring another. Both changes took effect on 1 January 2020, as the amendment notes to § 7 and the repealed § 23 record.

Norway will not ask you to renounce your current nationality. Whether you keep it depends on your other country's law. The government also notes that a dual citizen convicted of serious offences seriously harming Norway's vital interests can be deprived of Norwegian citizenship.

Fee and how to apply

The fee is NOK 6,500 (statsborgerforskriften § 15-2), payable no later than when you submit the application. Children under 18 pay nothing (§ 15-1). A Nordic notification under § 20 costs NOK 2,700.

The process, per UDI 2012-021, section 2.1 and the government's overview:

1. Register the application in UDI's online application portal and pay the fee.
2. Meet the police, or a Norwegian foreign mission if you are abroad, to prove your identity and hand in your documents. UDI normally treats the date of this appointment as your application date.
3. UDI decides the case. A refusal can be appealed to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE).

Everyone granted citizenship who is 12 or older is invited to a citizenship ceremony, where participants over 18 make an oath of allegiance (regjeringen.no).

Proposed changes (not yet law)

On 21 June 2026 the government announced proposals to tighten and simplify the rules:

• 8 years within the last 11 would become 8 years of continuous residence.
• Spouses, registered partners and cohabitants of Norwegian citizens would need 6 years of continuous residence, having lived together for the last two years.
• The requirement for stateless applicants would rise from 3 to 7 years.
• Time spent on Svalbard would no longer count as residence.

The same announcement says about 30 percent of cases are already decided fully automatically, and that the queue of pending cases is large. The proposals are on public consultation until 19 October 2026. As of 27 September 2026 the current rules above apply.