National identity number to get a passport

In order to apply for a Norwegian passport, you need to have a Norwegian national identity number. For children born outside of Norway, you apply for a national identity number at the same time as applying for a Norwegian passport for the child.

29. May 2023

For norsk, se her.

For a child to be given a Norwegian national identity number, at least one of the parents must be a Norwegian citizen when the child was born.

According to the Passport Regulations of 19.10.2020, only the passport authority (the embassy) can submit an application for the allocation of a personal identification number. Before making an appointment, persons wishing to apply for a national identity number are requested to answer the questions on the Tax Administration's website; Norwegian national identity number to get a passport - The Norwegian Tax Administration (skatteetaten.no). After all questions have been answered, the system will produce a list of documentation requirements and how to move forward with the application. The requirements for documentation may vary. For information on case processing time, see here.

Before applying for a passport and national identity number for the child, paternity must be established.

If the parents are married to one another and the marriage is registered in the Norwegian Population Registry, paternity follows Pater est-rule.
If the Norwegian parent is permanently residing in Norway and not married in Norway or abroad, see more details here.
If the Norwegian parent is permanently residing in Norway, and has gotten married in a country classified as Group 2 countries in section 8-4-2 of the National Registration Regulations, the Norwegian father must declare paternity by personal attendance at a tax office (Skattekontor). The father may also declare paternity by personally attending the appointment at the embassy.
If the Norwegian parent resides abroad, see more details here.

The embassy has created a checklist for documentation requirements for applications for a Norwegian national identity number:

Checklist

Print out the list, check the boxes and sign once you are sure that you have all the required documents ready. Bring the signed checklist to your appointment along with the documents. The application will not be processed without the required documentation.

Parents and children are required to meet physically at the appointment, even if the child is an infant. The parents must identify themselves with a valid passport or a valid ID card with photo, signature and date of birth. If one parent cannot attend the appointment, then that parent must go to a police station in Norway or a Norwegian embassy abroad to give consent. Consent can be given at all passport offices (police in Norway and Norwegian foreign service missions with passport authorities), see more about this here. The Norwegian Embassy in Nairobi is open for drop-in on Tuesdays between 9.00-10.00 in order to give consent. It is now also possible to register electronic consent after the embassy has received the application for a Norwegian National Identity Number and the application is registered electronically.

If the ID document is not Norwegian, you will be required to have a certified copy of the document from the issuing authority.

Information about the process for legalizing Kenyan and Somali documents can be found here.

DNA testing of children and mothers is required in connection with the allocation of national identity numbers for children born in Kenya and Somalia. This follows from Section 8 of the National Registry Regulations. You will find information on how to order a DNA test on the Norwegian Tax Administration's guide. NOTE! You must not drink or eat anything 20 minutes before testing. This also applies to children.

You can book your appointment for applying for national identity number and passport when:

You have received a reference number from Oslo University Hospital for DNA-test.
You can present all the required documents on the Tax Administration’s guide and the Embassy’s checklist
All necessary non-Norwegian documents have been legalized

When will new appointments be released?

The Embassy is changing the routine for releasing appointments. We will start releasing appointments one month ahead only. We will release the appointments for April 2025 in the middle of March 2025.

An exact time or date will not be given in advance, however, appointments will be dropped towards the middle of the month ahead. Appointments will be released during office hours (8.00-16.00).

The demand for appointments continues to be higher than the Embassy's capacity, which leads to long waiting times. We are continously trying to improving our system and routines in order to increase our capacity. However, we do expect this to continue to be an issue going forward.

Be considerate and cancel appointments you cannot attend. If you have an appointment that you cannot attend, please cancel your appointment so that others might take advantage of the free slot. We remind you to go carefully through the documentation requirements before the appointment.

If you require an appointment urgently and you do not find available appointments in the embassy's booking system, we recommend you contact other Norwegian embassies in the region. You can apply at any embassy with passport issuing authority and request the passport to be sent to Nairobi for collection or you can collect the passport where you submitted the application.

The embassy now uses a booking system for appointments. It is not possible to book appointments via email or phone.

To set up an appointment, create an account and book your appointment. IMPORTANT: Maximum 1 applicant per appointment. If there are multiple applicants, you must book one appointment per child. You will not be allowed entry to the Embassy without an appointment. If you do not come to the Embassy in time for your appointment, you will be denied access and will have to book a new appointment.

Book here

Please note that your original documents will be sent to the Norwegian Tax Administration along with the application. The documents will be returned to you once the application process is finished. If you do not want your original documents to be sent to the Tax Administration, you must bring a notarized copy as well as the original.

The total processing time of applications may vary. Normally an application takes 6-10 months to process. The Norwegian Tax Administration state that their case processing time is 2-4 months, in addition to this there is case processing time at NAV and Oslo University Hospital (DNA-test) and the embassy's own case processing time. We advise that you do not book tickets for travelling with the child, nor plan visas for non-Norwegian parents, until the child has received a valid travel document.

The Embassy will inform you once the Tax Authorities have issued a Norwegian National Identity Number. It is not necessary to contact the embassy or other agencies while the application is being processed.