In English

The Norwegian citizenship test, explained in English

Two different tests, one syllabus, and a rule about language that decides which one you should take.

First, the honest part

This page is in English. The tests are not, and neither is our practice app.

Statsborgerprøven — the citizenship test — exists only in Norwegian. HK-dir, the directorate that runs it, puts it plainly:

Our translation: you may choose whether to take the test in nynorsk or in bokmål. That is the whole choice. There is no English version, and there is no plan for one that we have seen published.

So this English section exists to answer the questions you are searching for right now — what the tests are, who must take them, how to register — and then to point you at practice that is in Norwegian, because that is the language you will meet on the screen.

Two tests, one syllabus

Both draw on the same syllabus: the 75-hour social studies curriculum for adult immigrants, published free at samfunnskunnskap.no.

HK-dir states the numbers directly. For the citizenship test: «Statsborgerprøven har 36 oppgaver» and «Du må ha 24 riktige svar for å bestå prøven». For the social studies test: «Du får 38 oppgaver» and «Du må ha minst 26 riktige svar for å bestå prøven».

A detail worth knowing: not every task is scored. HK-dir says only 32 of the 36 tasks on the citizenship test give points, and 34 of the 38 on the social studies test, because new tasks are being trialled. You are not told which ones.

The language rule that decides everything

This is the single most expensive misunderstanding we see.

You may take samfunnskunnskapsprøven in English. It counts for permanent residence. It does not count for citizenship. UDI leaves no room:

Our translation: the final social studies test must be passed in Norwegian; if you have passed it in another language, that is not sufficient.

So there are three sensible routes:

1. Social studies test in English now. Fastest to permanent residence. If you later want citizenship, you take a second test.
2. Social studies test in Norwegian now. One test covers both. But it sits at the higher language level of the two.
3. English now, statsborgerprøven in Norwegian later. Two tests, but the second one is the gentler one — level A2, with audio available.

Route 3 is the one most people underestimate. The citizenship test is deliberately written at A2, and you can have the questions read aloud: «Du kan få spørsmålene lest opp ved hjelp av lydfiler når du tar prøven.»

Who has to take a test at all

The same age bracket appears in every rulebook: 18 to 67.

For citizenship, UDI writes: «Er du mellom 18 og 67 år må du ha bestått prøvene når du leverer søknadsdokumentene hos politiet» — the tests must be passed when you hand your application documents to the police, not later.

For permanent residence, since 1 September 2025: «Er du mellom 18 og 67 år og skal søke om permanent oppholdstillatelse, er det krav om å ha bestått prøve i norsk muntlig på nivå A2 eller høyere og prøve i samfunnskunnskap på et språk du forstår.»

Outside that bracket, or holding an exemption decision from your municipality, no test is required of you.

What it costs, and when it happens

There is no national price and no national calendar. Your municipality decides both. HK-dir gives ranges: 300–1800 kroner for the citizenship test, 500–1300 for the social studies test. If you have the right and obligation to social studies tuition, you may take that test free once.

Registration is binding: «Påmelding er bindende. Det betyr at du må betale for prøven hvis du har meldt deg på, selv om du ikke tar prøven.»

What we are

An independent practice service. We are not HK-dir, IMDi or UDI, and we never reproduce tasks from the real tests. You practise on questions we wrote ourselves, covering the same syllabus.

Everything you practise on is in Norwegian: the questions, the explanations, the book and the audiobook. That is deliberate. Practising in English would teach you the content but not the words you will actually read on test day — and the words are what trips most people up, not the facts.

20 questions a day are free, with no account and no card, and you can take one full mock exam without signing up. Full access costs 199 kroner, paid once — less than a third of a typical test fee.

If you are taking the social studies test in English instead, the official free resource is samfunnskunnskap.no. It covers the syllabus, and it is the right place to be.

What we could not confirm

• Why the citizenship test exists only in Norwegian. No published reasoning found at HK-dir or UDI, checked 22 September 2026.
• Whether the tasks are identical across all 23 languages. Not described anywhere we could find.
• Test dates beyond your own municipality. No national list exists. Ask your test centre.