Naturalisations

Resident

Who is regarded as a resident of Norway and where in Norway a person shall be regarded as a resident, are laid down in Law on Population Registration from 16 January 1970. The regulations of the law have been amended several times, most recently with effect from 1 February 1998. For details about the term resident, read here under the point "Definitions".

Acquisition of Norwegian citizenship

Pursuant to the Act on Norwegian nationality of 1 September 2006, it is possible to become a Norwegian citizen automatically, by notification or upon application. The main rule on acquisition upon application is that any person has a right to a Norwegian citizenship if the applicant at the time the administrative decision is made fulfills the following criteria and that the application is not in conflict with the interests of national security or foreign policy:

• has clarified their identity
• has reached the age of 12
• is and will remain a resident of the kingdom
• meets the conditions for permanent residence permit as specified in the Immigration Act § 62
• has a total of 8 years of residence in the kingdom during the last 11 years, with residence permits of at least one year's duration, including periods of application within the eight-year period
• meets the requirements for proficiency in spoken Norwegian and has passed the citizenship test, and
• has not been convicted or subjected to special criminal sanctions, or has not undergone a waiting period

For certain groups of applicants, there are more favorable acquisition conditions. This applies to:

• applicants with sufficient income in the past year. The requirement for these applicants is 6 years of residence in the kingdom.
• persons who arrived in the realm before reaching the age of 18 must have spent a total of five years in the kingdom.
• persons who are married to Norwegian citizens and have a joint residence with their spouse. For these, the requirement is that the time in the kingdom and the time married to a Norwegian citizen together constitute at least 7 years. The period of residence and the time married to a Norwegian citizen can be earned simultaneously. However, the applicant must have at least 5 years of residence in the kingdom. The rules apply correspondingly to registered partners and cohabitants.
• Nordic citizens who can obtain Norwegian citizenship after only 2 years of continuous residence.
• those who have previously been Norwegian citizens. For these as well, the residence requirement is 2 years of continuous residence.
• stateless applicants who have resided in the kingdom for the past 3 years.
• those who have been granted a residence permit as a refugee under the Immigration Act § 28, the residence requirement is 7 years.
• children of parents who are acquiring or has acquired Norwegian citizenship, and who have resided in the kingdom for 2 years continuously.

A child becomes a Norwegian national at birth if his or her father or mother is a Norwegian national. If the father dies before the child is born, it is sufficient that the father was a Norwegian national when he died.

A child who is adopted by a Norwegian national becomes a Norwegian citizen by adoption if:

• the child is under the age of 18 at the time of the adoption. The adoption order must be issued by Norwegian authorities pursuant to the Adoption Act.
• through a foreign adoption that is valid in Norway.

Age

A person’s age at the time of the naturalisation.

Marital status

After the Act on Registered Partnerships from 1 August 1993 the following marital status were effective 1 January 1994: Unmarried (not previously married), married, widow/widower, divorced, separated, registered partner, separated partner, divorced partner and surviving partner. Before 1994 only the first five codes applied.

Follows the Standard for Countries and Citizenship in Population Statistics.