Samfunnskunnskapsprøven, everything you need to know
Samfunnskunnskapsprøven is the test you must pass to apply for a permanent residence permit. It covers Norwegian society: democracy, health, school, working life, equality, law and justice.
The most important thing to know straight away: you can take it in your own language.
The test in brief
| Questions you get | 38 |
| Questions that count | 34 |
| Correct answers needed to pass | 26 |
| Answer options per question | 3, one correct |
| Time | maximum 60 minutes |
| Language | all the languages the test is offered in |
| Where | a test venue in your kommune (municipality) |
| Cost | a fee set by the kommune |
Four of the 38 questions don't count. HK-dir tries out new questions in every sitting, and you won't know which ones. This just means you shouldn't spend time puzzling over a question that seems odd.
The one rule people miss
If you take samfunnskunnskapsprøven in Norwegian, it also covers the knowledge requirement for Norwegian citizenship. Then you won't need to take statsborgerprøven (Norwegian citizenship test) later.
If you take it in another language, it counts fully towards permanent residence, but not towards citizenship. If you apply for citizenship later, you'll also need to take statsborgerprøven, and that's only available in Norwegian.
If your Norwegian is good enough to take it in Norwegian, that means one test instead of two. If it isn't, there's no reason to risk failing: a pass in your own language is still a pass.
What it takes to pass
26 correct out of 34 questions that count is about 76 per cent. So you can get eight wrong. It's not a test you can guess your way through, but it's also not a test that requires you to know everything.
How long does it actually take
You have up to 60 minutes, but most people use far less. Half of the practice exams on our site are finished in under 16 minutes. Time is rarely the problem.