Norwegian citizenship by descent: who qualifies, the law, and what it takes

Q: Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a parent?

Likely. A child of a Norwegian parent is Norwegian from birth. Born abroad, you keep it past 22 by living in Norway or applying to keep it before then. If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born: possible. If you were born before 2005: possible. If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2005: possible.

Q: Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a grandparent?

Unlikely. Norwegian citizenship passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before 2020 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Norway is residence and naturalisation.

Q: Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Unlikely. Norwegian citizenship passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before 2020 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Norway is residence and naturalisation.

Through a parentCitizen by birth (§ 4)Through a grandparentNo grandparent route Through a great-grandparentNo grandparent route

Routes: Citizen by birth (§ 4) · Retention at 22 (§ 24) · Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a)
Dual citizenship: Kept on every open route

The stamps assume no one in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born. What changes each answer is below.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Mothers’ lines
04Keeping your citizenship
05The routes and the law
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Law changes
10Other doors
11Sources

01Who qualifies

Who qualifies, generation by generation

LIKELY

Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a parent?

Citizen by birth (§ 4)

A child of a Norwegian parent is Norwegian from birth. Born abroad, you keep it past 22 by living in Norway or applying to keep it before then.

What would settle itWhether your parents were married at your birth, or paternity was established under the rules then in force.

A child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth if the father or mother is a Norwegian citizen, parentage following the Children Act. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
A person who acquired Norwegian citizenship at birth but has not lived a total of two years in Norway, or seven years in Norway and other Nordic countries, loses it at 22; an application to keep it must be made before then, and loss never leaves anyone stateless. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 24
Six months' stays in Norway before 22, or living in Norway when the decision is made, count as sufficient ties; a late application is still heard if the applicant is not substantially to blame for the delay or losing citizenship would be unreasonable. Nationality Regulations (statsborgerforskriften), FOR-2006-06-30-756, Chapter 9: loss through absence from the realm, §§ 9-2 and 9-3
Norway has permitted dual citizenship since 1 January 2020, so keeping Norwegian citizenship does not cost you your other one. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)

What changes the answer

POSSIBLE
If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was bornCitizen by birth
Norway stopped stripping citizenship for taking another one on 1 January 2020. Whether your parent was still Norwegian when you were born turns on the date they naturalized.
POSSIBLE
If you were born before 2005
A child of a Norwegian parent is Norwegian from birth, but citizenship lapses at 22 for those born abroad without two years in Norway, unless an application to keep it was made first. Whether yours survived is the question.
POSSIBLE
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2005
A child of a Norwegian parent is Norwegian from birth, but citizenship lapses at 22 for those born abroad without two years in Norway, unless an application to keep it was made first. Whether yours survived is the question.

If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born, 2 more cases

POSSIBLE
If you were born before 2020Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent
Before 2020 a Norwegian who took another citizenship lost Norwegian citizenship, so it did not pass to you at birth. Since 2020 your parent can take it back by simple notification, but that does not hand it on to a child already born; an adult child needs their own route.
POSSIBLE
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2020Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent
Before 2020 a Norwegian who took another citizenship lost Norwegian citizenship, so it did not pass to you at birth. Since 2020 your parent can take it back by simple notification, but that does not hand it on to a child already born; an adult child needs their own route.

UNLIKELY

Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a grandparent?

No grandparent route

Norwegian citizenship passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before 2020 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Norway is residence and naturalisation.

What would settle itWhether your parent is still Norwegian (a current passport, or a retention decision before 22), or regains it by notification; then the parent rule applies to children born afterwards.

Citizenship is acquired at birth from a Norwegian father or mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
A person who acquired Norwegian citizenship at birth but has not lived a total of two years in Norway, or seven years in Norway and other Nordic countries, loses it at 22; an application to keep it must be made before then, and loss never leaves anyone stateless. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 24
Until 1 January 2020 taking another citizenship ended Norwegian citizenship, and children born afterwards did not inherit it; the person who lost it can regain it by notification, but that does not reach children already born as adults. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 22a

UNLIKELY

Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

No grandparent route

Citizenship is acquired at birth from a Norwegian father or mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
A person who acquired Norwegian citizenship at birth but has not lived a total of two years in Norway, or seven years in Norway and other Nordic countries, loses it at 22; an application to keep it must be made before then, and loss never leaves anyone stateless. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 24
Until 1 January 2020 taking another citizenship ended Norwegian citizenship, and children born afterwards did not inherit it; the person who lost it can regain it by notification, but that does not reach children already born as adults. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 22a

02Dates that matter

The dates that matter

2020
1 January 2020
Norway has permitted dual citizenship since 1 January 2020, so keeping Norwegian citizenship does not cost you your other one. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)
2020
1 January 2020
Until 1 January 2020 acquiring another citizenship on application ended Norwegian citizenship; the 2018 amending act abolished that principle going forward. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)
2020
1 January 2020
Until 1 January 2020 taking another citizenship ended Norwegian citizenship, and children born afterwards did not inherit it; the person who lost it can regain it by notification, but that does not reach children already born as adults. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 22a
2020
1 January 2020
Since 1 January 2020 Norway permits holding another citizenship alongside Norwegian citizenship. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)

03Mothers’ lines

How mothers’ lines were treated

In Norway’s rule, the answer changes when the line runs through a woman:

POSSIBLE
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 2005
A child of a Norwegian parent is Norwegian from birth, but citizenship lapses at 22 for those born abroad without two years in Norway, unless an application to keep it was made first. Whether yours survived is the question.

In the law’s words

A child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth if the father or mother is a Norwegian citizen, parentage following the Children Act. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
A child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth only if the father or mother is a Norwegian citizen at the time. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
Citizenship is acquired at birth from a Norwegian father or mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4

04Keeping your citizenship

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

Since 1 January 2020 Norway permits holding another citizenship alongside Norwegian citizenship. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)
Norway has permitted dual citizenship since 1 January 2020, so keeping Norwegian citizenship does not cost you your other one. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)

05The routes

Every route, and the law behind it

Citizen by birth (§ 4)

Open through a parent

LIKELY
Through a parent
POSSIBLE
Through a parent, if you were born before 2005

The law

A child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth if the father or mother is a Norwegian citizen, parentage following the Children Act. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
A person who acquired Norwegian citizenship at birth but has not lived a total of two years in Norway, or seven years in Norway and other Nordic countries, loses it at 22; an application to keep it must be made before then, and loss never leaves anyone stateless. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 24
Six months' stays in Norway before 22, or living in Norway when the decision is made, count as sufficient ties; a late application is still heard if the applicant is not substantially to blame for the delay or losing citizenship would be unreasonable. Nationality Regulations (statsborgerforskriften), FOR-2006-06-30-756, Chapter 9: loss through absence from the realm, §§ 9-2 and 9-3
Norway has permitted dual citizenship since 1 January 2020, so keeping Norwegian citizenship does not cost you your other one. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether your parents were married at your birth, or paternity was established under the rules then in force.
Whether you lived two years in Norway, or were granted retention, before you turned 22; a late application is possible only where you were not substantially to blame.

Citizen by birth

Open through a parent

POSSIBLE
Through a parent, if someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

The law

A child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth only if the father or mother is a Norwegian citizen at the time. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
Until 1 January 2020 acquiring another citizenship on application ended Norwegian citizenship; the 2018 amending act abolished that principle going forward. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)
Anyone who lost Norwegian citizenship by acquiring another, or by failing to release themselves from another, has the right to regain it by notification. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 22a

What would settle an unsure case

Your parent's naturalization date against 1 January 2020 and against your birth.

Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent

Open through a parent

The law

A child becomes a Norwegian citizen at birth only if the father or mother is a Norwegian citizen at the time. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
Until 1 January 2020 acquiring another citizenship on application ended Norwegian citizenship; the 2018 amending act abolished that principle going forward. Act of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)
Anyone who lost Norwegian citizenship by acquiring another, or by failing to release themselves from another, has the right to regain it by notification. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 22a

What would settle an unsure case

Whether the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) will include a minor child in a parent's § 22a notification; an adult child's own route is residence-based naturalisation.

No grandparent route

Closed: no open answer on this route

UNLIKELY
Through a grandparent
Norwegian citizenship passes only from a parent who held it at your birth. A parent born abroad usually lost it at 22, and anyone who naturalized elsewhere before 2020 lost it then, so grandparent lines rarely survive. Without one, the road to Norway is residence and naturalisation.

The law

Citizenship is acquired at birth from a Norwegian father or mother; the Act has no provision for grandparents. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 4
A person who acquired Norwegian citizenship at birth but has not lived a total of two years in Norway, or seven years in Norway and other Nordic countries, loses it at 22; an application to keep it must be made before then, and loss never leaves anyone stateless. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 24
Until 1 January 2020 taking another citizenship ended Norwegian citizenship, and children born afterwards did not inherit it; the person who lost it can regain it by notification, but that does not reach children already born as adults. Norwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51, § 22a

What would settle an unsure case

Whether your parent is still Norwegian (a current passport, or a retention decision before 22), or regains it by notification; then the parent rule applies to children born afterwards.

06The documents

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by birth (§ 4)

Through a parent

Your parent's Norwegian passport or birth record
Your birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate, if any

Through a parent, if you were born before 2005

Your parent's Norwegian passport or birth record
Your birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate, if any
Any decision letting you keep citizenship, or a Norwegian passport issued to you

Citizen by birth

Through a parent, if someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

Your parent's naturalization certificate
Your birth certificate

Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent

Through a parent, if someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born, and you were born before 2020

Your parent's Norwegian birth record and naturalization certificate

Most countries also want proof that no one in the line became a citizen elsewhere before the next birth: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter that none exists.

07What it takes

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by birth (§ 4)

Time: 4–8 weeks for a first Norwegian passport once citizenship is confirmed; longer if the § 24 retention question needs UDI's decision first.
Cost: About $200–400: certified copies, apostilles and the passport fee.
The hard part: If you were born abroad and are past 22, showing two years' residence in Norway (or seven Nordic), or an application to keep citizenship filed before then.
Who decides: The Norwegian consulate for your address, or the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) for a § 24 retention decision.
The first record: Your parent’s Norwegian birth record, from Digitalarkivet (the National Archives of Norway), or the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), which runs the National Population Register. Search Digitalarkivet’s parish registers and censuses by name and parish; for a record after the register began, order a fødselsattest from Skatteetaten with the fødselsnummer if known. digitalarkivet.no

How it’s filed

Where: The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), through the Norwegian embassy or consulate for your address office list
How: In person; no appearance needed
Form: Confirmation of Norwegian citizenship / retention past 22 (§ 24)
Fee: No fee
Decision: 1–9 months

What goes in the file (4)

Your parent's Norwegian birth record or passport history
Your own birth certificate
Your parents' marriage certificate, if any
Evidence of residence or ties to Norway, if you are past 22 and were born abroad

What goes wrong (1)

A § 24 retention decision is free and can be requested before turning 22; a case with no retention issue is essentially a passport application.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Citizen by birth

Time: 3–6 months once the naturalization dates are documented; this is the reformed rule applying to a parent who naturalized on or after 1 January 2020.
Cost: About $200–500 in certified copies and translations.
The hard part: Fixing the exact date your parent naturalized abroad against 1 January 2020 and against your birth.
Who decides: The Norwegian consulate for your address.
The first record: Your parent’s Norwegian birth record, from Digitalarkivet (the National Archives of Norway), or the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), which runs the National Population Register. Search Digitalarkivet’s parish registers and censuses by name and parish; for a record after the register began, order a fødselsattest from Skatteetaten with the fødselsnummer if known. digitalarkivet.no

How it’s filed

Where: The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), through the Norwegian embassy or consulate for your address office list
How: In person; no appearance needed
Form: Confirmation of Norwegian citizenship, reformed-era naturalisation case
Fee: Not confirmed: no official fee was found
Decision: 3–12 months

What goes in the file (3)

Your parent's Norwegian birth record
Your parent's naturalization certificate abroad, with its date
Your own birth certificate

What goes wrong (1)

This is the reformed-era case: a parent who naturalized abroad on or after 1 January 2020 did not lose Norwegian citizenship, so the filing turns on documenting the date.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent

Time: A few months for the parent's own § 22a notification to UDI; an adult child born before the notification needs a separate, residence-based naturalisation and is not carried along.
Cost: About $200–400 for the parent's notification and copies; an adult child's own naturalisation costs considerably more and takes years of Norwegian residence.
The hard part: Understanding that § 22a hands citizenship back to the parent, not automatically to a child already born; UDI's own guidance is the place to confirm whether a still-minor child can be included.
Who decides: The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), by notification for the parent.
The first record: Your parent’s Norwegian birth record, from Digitalarkivet (the National Archives of Norway), or the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), which runs the National Population Register. Search Digitalarkivet’s parish registers and censuses by name and parish; for a record after the register began, order a fødselsattest from Skatteetaten with the fødselsnummer if known. digitalarkivet.no

How it’s filed

Where: The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), through the Norwegian embassy or consulate for the parent's address office list
How: In person; no appearance needed
Form: Notification (melding) to regain Norwegian citizenship under § 22a
Fee: No fee
Decision: 2–6 months

What goes in the file (2)

The parent's Norwegian birth record and their old naturalization certificate
Proof of the other citizenship the parent acquired, and its date

What goes wrong (1)

This route regains citizenship for the parent who lost it; UDI's own guidance is the place to confirm whether a still-minor child can be included in the same notification.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Estimates are honest ranges from official fee tables and what families report; where a fee or time could not be confirmed, it says so.

08Where the records live

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

birth
Digitalarkivet (the National Archives of Norway) for parish and census records; Skatteetaten (the Tax Administration), which runs the National Population Register, for a current record
Search Digitalarkivet's digitized parish registers by name and parish for older entries; order a fødselsattest from Skatteetaten for a person on the current register.
Ask
Online, in Norwegian · request page ↗
Takes
1–4 weeks
Good to know (1)
- Digitalarkivet's parish registers and censuses are free to search online.
Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

Translations

Into: Norwegian
Who may translate: Any certified translator
About: $20–$40 a page

Norwegian missions generally accept documents in English without translation; other languages need a certified translation into Norwegian or English.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

The passport

Where: The Norwegian embassy or consulate for your address, or a police district passport office if you live in Norway.
Fee: Not confirmed
Time: 2–8 weeks

Unverified: the exact current consular passport fee for an application filed from the U.S.; Norway's domestic fee is published but consular surcharges vary by mission.

Checked 26 September 2026 · source ↗

09Law changes

Recent and pending changes

The legislative watch has no pending bill or recent ruling recorded for Norway.

The watch re-reads the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person re-checks the rule before anything here moves.

10Other doors

If descent doesn’t reach you

2 residence programs lead to Norway without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

11Sources

Every source on this page

3 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing. Records and filing checked 26 September 2026.

LawNorwegian Nationality Act (statsborgerloven), Act of 10 June 2005 No. 51 · § 4; § 24; § 22a
LawNationality Regulations (statsborgerforskriften), FOR-2006-06-30-756, Chapter 9: loss through absence from the realm · §§ 9-2 and 9-3
LawAct of 20 December 2018 No. 121 amending the Nationality Act (abolition of the single-citizenship principle, in force 1 January 2020)
RecordsDigitalarkivet (the National Archives of Norway), or the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), which runs the National Population Register: Your parent’s Norwegian birth record · checked 26 September 2026
RecordsHow to file: Citizen by birth (§ 4) · checked 26 September 2026
RecordsHow to file: Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent · checked 26 September 2026
RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait · checked 26 September 2026

Not legal advice. Postern’s rulebook is written from the statutes and tested against documented cases; where the law is unsettled, the answer says “possible” or “unsure” rather than guess.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a grandparent?

Can you claim Norwegian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

The dates that matter

How mothers’ lines were treated

In the law’s words

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every route, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by birth (§ 4)

Citizen by birth

Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by birth (§ 4)

How it’s filed

Citizen by birth

How it’s filed

Reacquisition by notification (§ 22a), then descent

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Norway.