Over 16,000 individuals have been granted Norwegian citizenship without passing the citizenship test, by means of an exemption scheme the government is unable to account for. The Progress Party (FrP) is now calling for a complete tightening.
– The figures show that this has completely got out of hand, says Member of Parliament Erlend Wiborg (FrP) to Document.
In a written question, Wiborg asked the Minister of Labour and Inclusion (arbeids- og inkluderingsminister) Kjersti Stenseng (Ap) to account for how many have been granted exemptions from the requirement to pass the citizenship test, and on what basis.
The response, submitted on 24 March, reveals that only 32,270 of the more than 100,000 who were granted Norwegian citizenship in the period September 2020 to March 2026 actually passed the citizenship test itself.
The largest exemption group is 16,256 individuals who were granted exemption pursuant to the Citizenship Regulations (statsborgerforskriften) § 4-2 letter g, which provides exemption for those who have received a municipal decision granting exemption from the obligation to sit the final test in social studies.
In addition, 1,822 individuals were granted exemption on health grounds, other weighty reasons, or personal circumstances beyond their control.
Cannot explain the exemptions
Minister Stenseng admits in the response that the government does not know what underlies the 16,256 exemptions.
“The basis for exemption is not differentiated in the available statistics,” writes Stenseng.
The Integration Act (integreringsloven) § 29 provides for two entirely different grounds for exemption: either that the person can already document knowledge about Norway, for example through a social studies test in another language, or that the person, due to health-related or other weighty reasons, cannot complete the test at all.
In other words, it is impossible to determine whether the 16,256 individuals have actually demonstrated knowledge of Norwegian society, or whether they were granted citizenship without documenting any such knowledge at all. Exemption decisions are made by the municipalities, without a central overview of practice.
– A Norwegian passport is not a human right
Wiborg believes the figures show that the practice is far too lenient.
– The regulations state that exemptions shall be practised strictly, but when the exemptions become so extensive, it is evident that the practice is too lenient, he says.
– My starting point is that I do not see the need for any exemptions. If you cannot fulfil the requirements for Norwegian citizenship, you should not be granted it.
When asked whether there should not be exemptions for individuals with serious health challenges, Wiborg is clear:
– I understand that some have health challenges and therefore cannot fulfil the requirements. But one can perfectly well reside in Norway without becoming a Norwegian citizen. A Norwegian passport is not a human right.
– The point of citizenship is precisely to ensure that those who become Norwegian citizens are in fact integrated, know the language, and possess basic knowledge about Norway. If one grants citizenship to people who do not fulfil these requirements, one weakens the entire system.
Wants significant tightening
Wiborg has, together with FrP leader Sylvi Listhaug, put forward a private member’s proposal (representantforslag) in the Storting concerning what he describes as significant tightening of the citizenship rules.
– FrP wants at least ten years’ residence, an unblemished record, a passed language test at a minimum B2 level, a test on basic Norwegian values, an oath of allegiance, and a requirement of self-sufficiency over the past five years, says Wiborg.
– There is no reason why the Norwegian authorities should lower the requirements again and again in order to push more people through the system. On the contrary, we should tighten them, because citizenship should be something that carries weight.
Norway among the top in Europe
The figures come as Eurostat on Thursday published new figures on citizenship grants in Europe. In 2024, nearly 1.2 million individuals became citizens of an EU country, an increase of 11.6 per cent.
Norway is not included in the EU figures, but national data show that the country ranks among the very top in Europe. In 2023, more than 6 per cent of all foreign citizens residing in Norway were granted Norwegian citizenship. This was higher than all EU countries except Sweden.
By comparison, the naturalisation rate in Denmark was only 0.54 per cent. In the period 2021 to 2024, Norway granted approximately seven times as many citizenships as Denmark: 145,261 versus 21,242.
Figures for 2025 show that the trend is once again pointing upwards. Last year, 34,840 Norwegian citizenships were granted, up from 27,276 in 2024.
Three out of four received exemption
The minister’s response shows that in the period September 2020 to March 2026, citizenship was granted to 100,204 individuals aged 18 to 67 who were required to document having passed the citizenship test.
Of these, 32,270 passed the citizenship test itself. A further 32,027 passed the equivalent social studies test in Norwegian pursuant to the Integration Act. In total, therefore, 64,297 have passed one of these two tests.
29,326 documented knowledge through education, either through a grade in social studies from lower or upper secondary school (26,834), study credits in social sciences at university or college level (703), or completed studies in Norwegian or Sami (1,789).
Thereafter come the 16,256 who received a municipal exemption, and 1,822 who were granted exemption on the basis of health-related or personal reasons.
The minister specifies that the total sum in the table (111,701) is higher than the number of individuals who were granted citizenship (100,204), because some applicants fulfilled the conditions for multiple exemptions simultaneously.