Retention of citizenship
A person who acquired Norwegian nationality at birth, but who has not resided in Norway for a total of two years, or in Norway and other Nordic countries for a total of seven years, will lose the Norwegian citizenship automatically when turning 22, if having dual citizenship. You may, however, apply to maintain your Norwegian citizenship. Such an application must be lodged after the age of 21, but before the age of 22 through the nearest Norwegian foreign service mission.
Please note that if you are a second generation Norwegian having been born abroad, it may be more difficult to retain your Norwegian nationality.
Further information concerning Norwegian nationality may be obtained from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration.
Citizenship for Norwegians who emigrated between 1960 and 1975
If you emigrated from Norway between 1960 and 1975, and has not since been registered as a a permanent resident in Norway, you are requested to contact the Norwegian Embassy before applying for a new passport.
The Norwegian Directorate of Taxes decided in 2012 that that the citizenship of persons who emigrated from Norway in the period 1960–1975, and who have not since been registered as permanent residents in Norway, will be altered from “Norwegian” to “unknown” in the National Population Register.
If you are affected by this, the Embassy will have to raise the matter with the Directorate of Taxes.
- You will have to prove your Norwegian citizenship. Please note that you may have lost your Norwegian citizenship automatically if you actively applied for and acquired citizenship from another country.
- You will be asked to provide a copy of your old Norwegian passports and the full names and dates of birth of your parents. If you do not have an old Norwegian passport, you must provide the following information: full name, date and place of birth, and the full names and dates of birth of your parents.
- If you were born abroad, you should also provide a copy of your birth certificate or family book.
- You will need to provide residence permit in the country you reside.
Citizenship of another country
If you have since acquired citizenship of another country before 01.01.2020, the Embassy will ask you to provide information about this in order to clarify the situation before taking up the matter with the Directorate of Taxes. Documentation of citizenship of the country concerned, such as a copy of your passport or certificate of citizenship, must be provided. You will be asked to clarify whether your citizenship of the country concerned was awarded on the basis of an application or in another way. If the Directorate of Taxes concludes that your Norwegian citizenship has been lost, your citizenship in the National Population Register will be altered accordingly.
Clarification of your citizenship will take a few weeks. If your citizenship is reverted to “Norwegian” in the National Population Register, the Directorate of Taxes will notify the Embassy, which will then notify you. If it is decided that you are no longer a Norwegian citizen, for example due to loss of citizenship, you will receive a copy of the decision directly from the Directorate.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Directorate of Taxes directly by email: skattedirektoratet@skatteetaten.no.
From 1 January 2020, it is allowed to have one or more citizenships in addition to a Norwegian citizenship.
Persons who have previously been Norwegian can now apply to have their Norwegian citizenship back.
From Monday 3 February 2020 these categories of applicants will be able to apply in UDI's online portal:
- retention of your Norwegian citizenship;
- those who have previously been Norwegian;
- those born before 2006 and whose parents were not married at the time of birth
https://www.udi.no/en/want-to-apply/citizenship/
The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is the central agency in the Norwegian immigration administration, and can answer questions about the citizenship rules. Here is the contact info for the UDI.