Loss of citizenship because of non-residence in Norway
A person who acquired Norwegian citizenship at birth, but who has not resided in Norway for a total period of two years or in Norway and other Nordic countries for a total of seven years shall lose his or her Norwegian citizenship upon reaching the age of 22. The period of residence is defined as minimum 6 months.
Exception
This does not apply to a person who will become stateless as a result of the loss. In other words, only Norwegian citizens who hold citizenship of another country in addition to their Norwegian citizenship can lose their Norwegian citizenship on reaching the age of 22 years.
Application
A person with sufficient connection to Norway may, however, apply for retention of his/her Norwegian citizenship. Such application must be submitted before the applicant reaches the age of 22 years. Applications which are submitted too late may be processed if the applicant cannot be blamed for his/her failure to meet the deadline, or if the loss of citizenship would be unreasonable.
Applications for children may only be lodged by parents jointly or by the parent who has sole parental responsibility. If the parents have been deprived of parental responsibility or if the parents are dead, the guardian shall act on behalf of the child. In the case of children who have reached the age of 12, their consent to the application is required.
Requirement for continuous stay
It will be decided on the basis of a concrete overall assessment whether the applicant has the necessary connection. Among other factors, emphasis will be placed on whether the applicant has had a passport issued that is valid beyond the age of 22 years. Applicants who have resided in Norway for a total of six months before reaching the age of 22 or who reside in Norway, are deemed to have sufficient connection.
Applications shall be submitted to the Embassy in person. Applications will be decided by the Directorate of Immigration and the Embassy will inform you about the decision.
Applications shall be filed by completing form GP-7054B (Application for retention of Norwegian citizenship).
Documents to be enclosed with the application
-Birth certificate (only for persons born abroad)
-Copy of the applicant's Norwegian and foreign passport
-Copy of Norwegian passport of the parent from whom the applicant got his/her Norwegian citizenship
-Copy of residence or work permit from the country in which the Norwegian parent is residing
-Documentation from a public authority that the applicant does not have any other citizenship, cf item 2
-Birth certificate of the parent from whom the applicant got his/her Norwegian citizenship
-Copy of the parents' marriage certificate (if the applicant's father is Norwegian)
-Documentation of period of residence in Norway or other Nordic countries, e.g. transcript from a public authority
(documentation from the Norwegian Population Register not required)
-Documentation of circumstances which have resulted in the application being submitted after the age of 22
If your application does not contain documents that should be enclosed, you must clarify the reason for this in writing. Documents not issued by Norwegian authorities shall be presented to the Norwegian foreign service mission in their original version. The foreign service mission will make a copy.
All copies must be certified as correct copies by a public authority. The certificate must be signed, stamped and dated.
Documents not issued in English or Norwegian must be translated into English or Norwegian, and the translation must accompany the application together with the original documents.
If the document is translated, correct translation must be confirmed by an authorised translator or public interpretation service.
The confirmation must be dated and must accompany the application.
It is your responsibility to organise translation and confirmation and pay for these services.
Incorrect information in the passport:
On the inside of the passport’s back side, in point 4 it says:
Norske statsborgere født i utlandet, og som aldri har bodd i Norge, taper norsk statsborgerrett når de fyller 22 år - dersom de ikke etter søknad har fått beholde retten. Slik søknad sendes til norsk utenriksstasjon (ambassade, legasjon, konsulat) i god tid før en fyller 22 år.
The Law on Citizenship states that people who became Norwegian citizens by birth lose their Norwegian citizenship when they turn 22 years old, unless they have lived in Norway for at least two years or in Nordic countries for a total of seven years.
This is not the case for people who have applied for and been granted the right to keep their Norwegian citizenship.