Requirements for permanent residence permit

A permanent residence permit means you can live and work in Norway indefinitely, without having to renew the permit.

The requirements, in outline

• Residence period. You must have lived in Norway for a certain period with a valid residence permit.
• Correct basis for residence. Not all permits form a basis for permanent residence.
• Norwegian and social studies. Completed compulsory training, and passed samfunnskunnskapsprøven.
• Income. A requirement for your own income for a period before the application, with exceptions.
• Conduct. Criminal offences can lead to the application being refused or postponed.

Why we don't list numbers

Because the numbers depend on which group you belong to, and because they change. The residence period requirement isn't the same for everyone, the income requirement has several exceptions, and the rules have been adjusted several times in recent years.

A website that states a specific number of years and a specific amount is useful right up until it's out of date, and then it's worse than nothing. The UDI has the current requirements for your situation.

The part we can actually help with

Samfunnskunnskapsprøven. It's an absolute requirement for almost everyone, it's the only part of the application you can fail, and it's the one you can practise for.

And one detail worth remembering: if you take it in Norwegian, it also covers the knowledge requirement for citizenship later. If you take it in another language, it doesn't.