In English
Permanent residence: the social studies test
For permanent residence, any language you understand will do. For citizenship, it has to be Norwegian. That one difference decides a lot.
What changed on 1 September 2025
The old rule asked whether you had attended tuition. The new rule asks whether you have passed tests. UDI:
Fra 1. september 2025 vil det ikke lenger være et krav om at du må ha gjennomført opplæring i norsk og samfunnskunnskap for å få rett til permanent oppholdstillatelse.
Our translation: from 1 September 2025 there is no longer a requirement that you must have completed tuition in Norwegian and social studies in order to qualify for a permanent residence permit.
And what replaced it:
Hvis du søker om permanent oppholdstillatelse etter 1. september 2025, må du ha bestått muntlig norskprøve på minst nivå A2 og ha bestått prøve i samfunnskunnskap på et språk du forstår.
Our translation: if you apply for a permanent residence permit after 1 September 2025, you must have passed the oral Norwegian test at level A2 or higher and passed the social studies test in a language you understand.
Two tests, then. Attendance no longer counts for anything on its own.
«A language you understand» — including English
This is the phrase that makes the permanent residence rule much easier than the citizenship rule.
Samfunnskunnskapsprøven is available in 23 languages, and HK-dir confirms that the exam is where you choose:
Språket velger du når du skal ta prøven på prøvestedet.
Our translation: you choose the language when you are about to take the test at the test centre.
So registration does not lock you in. You can prepare in Norwegian and still switch at the machine — or prepare in your own language and take it there.
English is one of the 23. It is also one of the ten languages where the questions can be read aloud to you.
If your language is not on the list at all, there is still a route:
Hvis prøven ikke er tilgjengelig på et språk du forstår godt, kan du søke om å ta prøven muntlig eller ved hjelp av en tolk.
The trap: this test may not count later
Passing in English satisfies permanent residence. It does not satisfy citizenship. UDI is categorical:
Den avsluttende prøven i samfunnskunnskap må være bestått på norsk, hvis du har bestått den på et annet språk er ikke det tilstrekkelig.
HK-dir says the same from its side: «Hvis du skal bruke prøven til å søke om norsk statsborgerskap, må du ta prøven på norsk.»
| You are applying for | The social studies test must be |
|---|---|
| Permanent residence | passed in a language you understand |
| Norwegian citizenship | passed in Norwegian |
So the real decision is not «which language is easiest today». It is «how many tests do I want to sit in total».
- Take it in English now: permanent residence is handled. Citizenship later costs you a second test — a new registration, a new fee, more waiting.
- Take it in Norwegian now: one test covers both. The price is that this test sits at a higher language level than statsborgerprøven.
- English now, statsborgerprøven later: two tests, but the second one is the gentler of the two. Statsborgerprøven is written at level A2 and has audio.
One more thing worth weighing: if you have the right and obligation to social studies tuition, you may take the test free once. Fail it in Norwegian and that free attempt is gone.
The test itself
Du får 38 oppgaver.
Du må ha minst 26 riktige svar for å bestå prøven.
Sixty minutes at most. Most tasks are multiple choice with three options and one correct answer, and there are also image tasks where you click the right spot in a picture. Only 34 of the 38 tasks are scored — new tasks are being trialled, and you are not told which.
The syllabus is the 75-hour social studies curriculum for adults, published free at samfunnskunnskap.no. It is split into three subject areas: education, competence and working life; family, health and everyday life; Norway past and present.
The age bracket, and the exemptions
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 18–67, no test is required of you.
Inside it, there are still exits. If your municipality has decided you are exempt from the duty to attend tuition and/or sit tests, UDI treats that as a right to an exemption. And there is a route for circumstances:
Du kan be om unntak hvis du ikke kan gjennomføre og bestå prøve i norsk muntlig eller prøve i samfunnskunnskap på grunn av helsemessige årsaker eller andre personlige forutsetninger.
UDI names reading and writing difficulties, and little or no schooling from your home country, among the examples.
Do not confuse the two doors. Exemption from the duty to attend tuition and sit tests is decided by your municipality. Exemption from the requirement in your residence or citizenship application is decided by UDI, on UDI's own forms.
If you are not ready
UDI's own advice is blunt, and it is worth following:
Hvis du ikke fyller kravene, bør du vente med å søke om permanent oppholdstillatelse.
Practising with us
If you decide to take the test in Norwegian, this is where we can help. The syllabus is identical whatever language you choose, so what is usually hard is the vocabulary, not the facts.
Our practice is in Norwegian, because a test in Norwegian is what we are preparing you for. 20 questions a day are free, with no account and no card, and one full mock exam needs no sign-up either. Full access costs 199 kroner, paid once.
Taking it in English instead? Then samfunnskunnskap.no is the right place — official, free, and covering the same syllabus.
What we could not confirm
- Whether a test passed in English can later be "converted" for citizenship purposes. Nothing found at UDI or HK-dir suggesting it can, checked 22 September 2026.
- Whether the tasks are identical across all 23 languages. Not described anywhere we could find.
- How long a passed test stays valid. No expiry date published by HK-dir.
Ready to practise? 20 questions a day are free – no account, no card. The questions are in Norwegian, because the test is.
Start practising free →Want everything – the full book, the audiobook and unlimited practice? Full access costs NOK 199, paid once.