🪪 Norwegian language requirements for permanent residence and citizenship in 2026

Three different statuses

Many people mix up three things. A permanent residence permit (permanent oppholdstillatelse) is for people from outside the EU and EEA, such as a skilled worker from India or a spouse from Brazil. It lets you live and work in Norway with no end date, gives extra protection against expulsion, and comes with a residence card that is valid for two years at a time. EEA citizens have their own system. They register with the police and receive a registration certificate (registreringsbevis), and after five years they can get a permanent right of residence (varig oppholdsrett). Citizenship (statsborgerskap) is the last step and gives you a Norwegian passport. The language rules differ. For a permanent residence permit A2 oral is enough, for citizenship you need B1 oral. All test requirements in this guide apply to adults aged 18 to 67.

Permanent residence and the test rules since 2025

If you hand in your application to the police on or after 1 September 2025, you must have passed an oral Norwegian test at level A2 or higher and a social studies test (samfunnskunnskapsprøven) in a language you understand. Before that date A1 oral was enough, and at the same time the old rule that you had to complete a set number of Norwegian lessons was dropped. The oral part of Norskprøven is the usual way to show A2. The social studies test lasts up to 60 minutes and has 38 tasks, of which 34 count, and you need at least 26 correct. It is offered in 23 languages, including English, Spanish, Ukrainian and Russian, but not Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, German or Romanian. You can be exempted from the oral test if you have, for example, a grade of 2 or better in Norwegian from a Norwegian school, 30 credits of Norwegian at university or documented health reasons.

Time in Norway, income and fee for permanent residence

The main rule is three years of continuous residence on permits that can lead to permanent residence, such as work or family immigration permits. Student permits do not count. Refugees, people with residence on strong humanitarian grounds and their family members need five years. In total you may not have been abroad for more than seven months in three years, or ten months in five years. You must also have had your own income for the last twelve months. In October 2026 UDI's figure is 341,373 kroner before tax, and money from a spouse, gifts or savings does not count. Since 1 September 2025 every requirement except income must still be met on the day the police or UDI decide, so if your permit is based on a job and that job ends before the decision, you can be refused. The fee is 4,000 kroner for adults and 2,000 kroner for children.

EEA citizens and the permanent right of residence

Citizens of EU and EEA countries, such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Romania and Spain, do not apply for a permanent residence permit. You register with the police and get a registration certificate as a worker, self-employed person, student or person with enough means of your own. After five continuous years with a right of residence you can apply for a permanent right of residence (varig oppholdsrett), and UDI asks for no Norwegian or social studies test for it. Being abroad for more than six months in a year normally breaks the five years. Citizenship is a different matter. EEA citizens face the same language rules as everyone else, B1 oral and the citizenship test, and must have lived in Norway for eight of the last eleven years. On top of that you need either a permanent right of residence or three continuous years with a right of residence just before you apply. EEA citizens also have no right to free Norwegian classes, so expect to pay for a course.

Citizenship needs B1 oral and the citizenship test

Since 1 October 2022 adults aged 18 to 67 must have passed an oral Norwegian test at B1 or higher, and both tests must be passed before you hand in your documents to the police. There is no written test requirement. A2 is still enough if you are stateless, if you are over 55 and came to Norway after applying for protection or as a resettled refugee, or if you are over 55 and receive disability benefit (uføretrygd). UDI accepts, among others, the oral part of Norskprøven with B1 or B2, the reading and oral part of Norskprøven C1 and the oral Bergenstesten. You must also pass the citizenship test (statsborgerprøven) or the social studies test in Norwegian. The citizenship test is in Norwegian at about A2 level, lasts up to 60 minutes and has 36 multiple choice tasks with three options. Of these, 32 count, and you need 24 correct. The municipality sets the price, between 300 and 1,800 kroner, and you can have the questions read aloud.

Years of residence, fee and dual citizenship

The main rule is eight years in Norway during the last eleven, with permits of at least one year. Refugees need seven of the last ten years. If your income was at least three times the National Insurance basic amount (3G), six of the last ten years are enough, and for the 2025 tax assessment UDI uses 384,348 kroner. Spouses, registered partners and cohabitants of Norwegian citizens need five of the last ten years and at least seven years of residence and marriage combined. Unless you are an EEA citizen, you must also have, or qualify for, permanent residence when UDI decides. Everyone needs a clarified identity, must live in Norway and must bring a police certificate from age 15. The fee for adults is 6,500 kroner, and children pay nothing. Since 1 January 2020 you no longer have to give up your old citizenship, but your home country may still take it away, so check with your country's embassy before you apply.

Ukrainians with collective protection

Collective protection (kollektiv beskyttelse) is granted for one year at a time and, by law, does not lead to permanent residence, so it cannot lead to citizenship either. In March 2026 those who came in 2022 had their permits extended for a fifth year, and on 17 September 2026 the government wrote that the scheme will not end in 2027. The same day it sent out for consultation a proposal that Ukrainians with collective protection who are in work can get a permit based on employment. After three years that permit would lead to permanent residence. The government suggests a minimum income of 2.8 G or 3 G a year, which is 382,337 or 409,647 kroner. In October 2026 this is only a proposal and has not been adopted. You have a right, but no duty, to one year of free Norwegian classes after you settle in a municipality, and you can take a free final test. If you later switch permits, you usually get no new right to free classes, so make good use of that year.

Who has the right and duty to Norwegian classes

Under the Integration Act your type of permit decides. Refugees, family members of Norwegian citizens and others with permits that can lead to permanent residence usually have both a right and a duty to classes in Norwegian and social studies. For them the classes are free and last until you reach your personal Norwegian goal, for at most 18 months if you have upper secondary education or higher, or three years if you do not. Labour migrants from outside the EEA and their families only have a duty. They must take part, the municipality can charge them, and the duty ends after 225 hours or when they reach their goal. Social studies means 75 hours in a language you understand. EEA citizens have neither a right nor a duty, although the municipality may offer a paid course. Remember that hours alone no longer count for permanent residence or citizenship. What counts is a passed test.

Exemptions, proposed changes and your next steps

You can ask for an exemption from the tests if documented health problems or personal circumstances, such as dyslexia or little schooling before you came to Norway as an adult, make it impossible for you to pass, but UDI expects you to have tried the tests recently. Several changes have been proposed but not adopted. In June 2026 the government sent out a consultation, with a deadline of 19 October 2026, proposing eight years of continuous residence instead of eight of the last eleven, six continuous years for spouses of Norwegian citizens and B1 instead of A2 for stateless applicants. A proposal in Stortinget to demand B2 and ten years of residence was recommended for rejection by the committee in April 2026, and several committee members wrote that today's B1 requirement should stay. So take the oral test early, keep your certificate and check udi.no again when you book your police appointment. This page is a guide, not legal advice, and UDI decides your case.

Sources

Checked on 17 October 2026.
UDI, udi.no · Krav om prøver for å få norsk statsborgerskap · Unntak fra prøver ved søknad om norsk statsborgerskap · Statsborgerskap for deg som har oppholdstillatelse i Norge · Statsborgerskap for deg som har brukt registreringsordningen for EU/EØS-borgere · Få permanent oppholdstillatelse · Permanent oppholdstillatelse (ord og begreper) · Krav om å forsørge deg selv for å få permanent oppholdstillatelse · Endringer i kravene om norsk og samfunnskunnskap · Tilstrekkelig inntekt for kortere oppholdstid (05.12.2025) · Varig oppholdsrett for EU/EØS-borgere · Gebyr / Fees · Har fått ja på søknad om kollektiv beskyttelse
HK-dir, prove.hkdir.no · Statsborgerprøve (Les om prøven, Meld deg på) · Samfunnskunnskapsprøve (Les om prøven)
IMDi, imdi.no · Veileder til integreringsloven, chapters 7 and 8
Regjeringen, regjeringen.no · De først ankomne ukrainerne får oppholdstillatelsen forlenget igjen (03.03.2026) · Regjeringen vil skjerpe og oppdatere statsborgerloven (21.06.2026) · Høring, forslag til endringer i statsborgerloven og statsborgerforskriften (23.06.2026, høringsfrist 19.10.2026) · Regjeringen foreslår at ukrainere som jobber i Norge kan få oppholdstillatelse (17.09.2026) · Ordningen med midlertidig kollektiv beskyttelse for fordrevne fra Ukraina avvikles ikke i 2027 (17.09.2026)
Lovdata, lovdata.no · utlendingsloven § 34 and § 62 · utlendingsforskriften kapittel 11
Stortinget, stortinget.no · Innst. 232 S (2025-2026)

Useful phrases

• Jeg vil søke om permanent oppholdstillatelse.I want to apply for a permanent residence permit.
• Jeg har bestått muntlig prøve på nivå B1.I have passed the oral test at level B1.
• Jeg må bestille time hos politiet.I need to book an appointment with the police.
• Jeg har registreringsbevis som EØS-borger.I have a registration certificate as an EEA citizen.
• Kan jeg beholde mitt gamle statsborgerskap?Can I keep my old citizenship?
• Jeg trenger en ny politiattest.I need a new police certificate.
• Jeg har kollektiv beskyttelse fra Ukraina.I have collective protection from Ukraine.
• Hvor lang er saksbehandlingstiden nå?How long is the processing time now?
• Jeg søker om unntak av helsemessige årsaker.I am applying for an exemption for health reasons.
• Hvor mye er søknadsgebyret?How much is the application fee?
• Jeg har forsørget meg selv det siste året.I have supported myself for the past year.