Norwegian citizenship language requirements: B1 spoken Norwegian and the citizenship test

You need B1 in spoken Norwegian. This applies to applications submitted on or after 1 October 2022; before that, A2 was enough. You must have passed the test by the time you hand in your application documents to the police, not afterwards.

• The speaking part of Norskprøven (from HK-dir, or its predecessors Kompetanse Norge and VOX) with a B1 or B2 result counts.
• A passed speaking part of «Test i norsk – høyere nivå» (the Bergen test) also counts.
• Reading, listening and writing results do not count towards this requirement: only speaking.

• statsborgerskap

  citizenship

• muntlig prøve

  oral test

• statsborgerprøve

  citizenship test

• samfunnskunnskap

  social studies

• fritak / unntak

  exemption

  UDI mostly uses «unntak».

Three groups only need A2 spoken Norwegian as a minimum: stateless people, people over 55 who came to Norway after applying for protection or as resettled refugees, and people over 55 who receive disability benefit (uføretrygd).

You are exempt if you can already document your Norwegian through schooling in Norway or university-level Norwegian studies. UDI assesses the exemption together with your citizenship application, based on the documents you submit.

• A grade of at least 2 in Norwegian or Sámi from compulsory school (grunnskole) or upper secondary school (videregående) in Norway.
• University-level studies in Norwegian or Sámi worth at least 30 credits.
• Health reasons or personal circumstances that prevent you from passing at B1, always with documentation. UDI expects you to have attempted the test first, with adaptations if needed.

The statsborgerprøven is a test of knowledge about Norwegian society, taken in Norwegian. According to HK-dir it lasts up to 60 minutes, has 36 questions and you need 24 correct answers to pass; the language is at A2 level and the content comes from the Norwegian and social studies curriculum for adult immigrants.

Instead of the citizenship test you can use the social studies test (samfunnskunnskapsprøve) taken in Norwegian. You are exempt if you passed social studies at a Norwegian school with a grade of 2 or higher, have at least 10 university credits in social studies about Norway, or your municipality exempted you from social studies tuition or the test.

If you want to practise with questions like those in the test, the SnakkTrygt statsborgerprøven prep course can help; bear in mind it is a preparation course, not an official test.

The spoken Norwegian and citizenship test requirements apply to applicants aged 18 to 67. Citizenship has other conditions too (years of residence, identity, conduct), which are not covered here; check them on UDI.

As of October 2026, the rule in force is still B1 spoken Norwegian, but tightening it is under debate. In the Storting (parliament) there are proposals to evaluate the B1 requirement and consider raising it to B2 spoken, and one private members' proposal asks for a language test at B2 minimum. We have found no adopted change. Rules can change, so always check UDI's citizenship pages before you apply.

For permanent residence (permanent oppholdstillatelse) you need A2 in spoken Norwegian and a pass in the social studies test, which you can take in a language you understand. This has applied since 1 September 2025 to applicants aged 18 to 67; since then, completing the courses alone is no longer enough, and you must meet the requirements when the decision is made. Exemptions are similar to those for citizenship (school grades, Norwegian studies, health).