
Norway's immigration office vows to cut citizenship application backlog
Around 80 percent of the citizenship applications waiting for a decision at the end of last year had applied in 2023 and 2024, while the remaining applicants has applied during or before 2022.
The UDI has set itself the goal of reducing the backlog of cases waiting for an answer by the end of the year.
'Our goal is to process more cases than the number of applications received in 2025, but internal reallocation of resources and external factors may affect how many applicants receive a decision this year. We are constantly working to improve and streamline our processes,' Per-Jan Brekke, team leader in the UDI's press office, told The Local.
Progress on cutting the waiting list had already been made in 2024, when the UDI received 21,700 applications for citizenship but managed to process 25,700 in total.
The UDI said that it hoped that its applications system would be improved throughout 2025 but that a new and improved IT system the government has invested in wouldn't be rolled out this year.
'The immigration sector is working on renewing our systems. In the citizenship department at UDI, we have a partly modernised platform and will further improve our processes throughout 2025 and coming years, but we do not plan to introduce a new case processing solution in 2025,' Brekke said.
'In the long term, this [the new IT system] will lead to shorter waiting times, but we do not believe the development work in 2025 will have a significant impact on waiting times,' he added.
Citizenship cases are either fully or partially automated at the UDI. Cases that are fully automated typically receive an answer within a few weeks or a couple of months of handing in their application, while others wait in excess of two years for an answer.
At the time of writing, the current waiting time for Norwegian citizenship for most foreign nationals was on average around 30 months.
Applications that can't be handled automatically are assigned to a caseworker. The UDI has previously told The Local that caseworkers processed a mix of new and older cases – with older cases being more time-consuming due to factors such as missing paperwork.
The directorate recently said that a drop-off in the number of people being granted citizenship between 2023 and 2024 was due to a mix of fewer applicants and less staff available to handle the applications, many of which still have to be done manually.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Local Norway
8 hours ago
- Local Norway
IN DATA: How Oslo still leads the way for monthly salaries in Norway
According to new data for July from Statistics Norway , the average Oslo worker earns a princely 64,000 kroner a month, a full 5,000 kroner more than the next best paid county, Rogaland, home to Stavanger, the centre of the country's offshore oil industry. Vestland, home to Bergen, Norway's second city, trailed in fourth place, with the Oslo commuter county of Akerhus bagging the third position. Workers in Innlandet had the lowest average salaries, pulling in an average of 51,000 kroner a month, 14,000 less than the average Oslo resident. READ ALSO: What's considered a good salary for foreign workers in Oslo? How foreign workers can be exploited in the Norwegian labour market While Oslo might have the highest average monthly salaries, this isn't the amount that most people get paid as the average is skewed by the capital being home to many of the country's highest overall wage earners, such as CEOs of large firms. Oslo also tends to have higher living costs than other cities in Norway, with property, in particular, significantly more expensive. Advertisement


Local Norway
3 days ago
- Local Norway
ENK or AS: What company type should you use for your Norwegian business?
For many people setting up as freelancers or consultants, or launching small businesses in Norway, one of the first questions is whether to structure their venture as a sole proprietorship ( Enkeltpersonforetak or ENK) or as a limited liability company ( Aksjeselskap or AS). Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and the answer will generally depend on how much you expect to earn from business, how risky it is as a venture, how much time you have for administration, and whether you want to enjoy full social benefits as an employee. What's the difference? Liability With an ENK there is no legal separation between the business and your personal finances. This means you are personally liable for all the debts and obligations, so if the business goes bankrupt, your home and your savings are at risk. With an AS, your liability is limited to the value of the shares you have in the company, which must be 30,000 kronor or more. Your personal assets are protected, unless you've provided a personal guarantee when taking out a loan. This difference in liability shouldn't much matter if you are, for example, a social media consultant or freelance journalist, and your business assets are limited to a laptop. But if, for example, you are buying up old Norwegian farm machinery for export elsewhere and have millions of kroner worth of assets on your books at any one time, it could matter a lot. Advertisement Taxation With an ENK, there is no distinction made between salary and profit: everything is taxed as personal income. With an AS, your company pays corporate tax at 22 percent on any profits, and you pay personal income tax on any salary you pay yourself, as well as dividend tax on any dividends your company pays to you as a shareholder. This means having an AS gives you much greater flexibility in planning your tax, and more opportunities to reduce your tax bill. If you have an ENK, you pay 22 percent in municipal tax, then a trygdeavgift of 10.9 percent, covering social security contributions, then increasing levels of marginal tax on any income above 208,050 kroner a year. This means your effective tax rate will go from as low as 33 percent if you earn just 300,000 kroner a year up to as high as 48 percent if you earn 5 million kroner a year. Regardless of whether you have an ENK or AS, it's possible to subtract business costs like office spaces, computers, car use etc. from your income, reducing your tax bill. Advertisement With an AS, the tax burden can potentially be a little higher, going as high as 52 percent for a company earning 5 million kroner a year if all earnings are taken out as salary. But if you keep earnings in the company and pay yourself a much smaller salary, you can potentially reduce your annual tax bill substantially. If your company earns 5 million kroner and you limit your salary to just 1 million kroner, you can end up paying as little as 27 percent in tax. Social Security Sole proprietors in Norway have slightly worse entitlement to social security than full employees (or owners) of limited companies. You get lower sick pay, with payments delayed until you have been sick for 17 days and covering only 80 percent of your normal earnings. You also get lower parental benefits and accrue less pension. As the owner of an AS, you are treated like an employee and get 100 percent sick pay from day one, full parental leave, unemployment benefits, and pension accruals. Advertisement Costs and bureaucracy An ENK is easy to set up and free to register, with minimal accounting requirements, no need to have an external auditor, and no restrictions on how you can withdraw money. An AS is a lot more complicated, with a requirement to submit annual accounts and to have an external accountant if you have revenues of over 7 million kroner, assets with 27 million kroner or more, or more than 10 employees. You also require a minimum of 30,000 kroner in share capital. Credibility While an ENK is fine for freelancers or consultants, it is seen as less formal and professional, meaning for some types of business, structuring yourself as an AS will increase credibility. So which should you choose? In general, an ENK is the best option if you have few assets or liabilities, a limited income and are not dealing with clients who prefer to work with an AS. Freelancers and small-scale consultants might choose to run their business as an ENK. If you earn a higher salary, perhaps as an IT consultant or independent management consultant, you might opt to structure your business as an AS, even if you lack employees, because of the greater flexibility in tax management.


Local Norway
16-07-2025
- Local Norway
'A reasonable level': Foreigners in Norway relaxed about new language demand
'I think A2 is a reasonable level to request from people who want permanent status in Norway,' said Victoria, a 38-year-old from Bristol, UK. 'A2 is still relatively basic, and to work or integrate in Norwegian culture, it's the minimum needed.' This echoes the argument made by Norway's justice minister, Astri Aas-Hansen, when announcing the higher requirement on June 26th. 'Foreigners who want a permanent residence permit in Norway should have a certain level of oral Norwegian. Being able to speak and understand the Norwegian language is an important prerequisite for being able to participate in education and work,' she said. READ ALSO: Q&A: What's Norway's stricter language requirement for permanent residency? Advertisement Victoria, who has studied at Folkeuniversitetet, Alfa Skole and Berlitz, among other language schools, is already studying at the higher, lower intermediate B1 level. 'I'm not too concerned, although I'll now need to focus more specifically on the A2 topics. That will take a bit of extra time and attention,' she said. She plans to take the language test for residency later this year, before applying for permanent residency in December or January. However, she questions the speed at which the new rules are being introduced. 'The only thing I think is a bit unfair is the timing. As I understand it, the new rules come into force in September. That's not much time for people who had only prepared for A1 to now achieve A2 and pass,' she said. 'It would maybe be fairer to bring it in next year—give those at a lower level a chance to improve.' For now, Victoria is studying independently and plans to dedicate more time during the summer, including booking private tutoring sessions to prepare for the exam. Other language learners were less sanguine. One user shared their concerns in a Reddit forum, where users were discussing how to prepare for the new A2 requirement. 'I've mostly used Duolingo so far, but now I feel I need a proper course or a tutor who can guide me on what to focus on," she wrote. "I think I can pass the A2 test, but I still need to work on grammar—especially verbs and auxiliary verbs—to feel confident.' The changes were officially announced in June and will apply to applications for a permanent residence permit submitted after 1st September 2025. The new requirements include exemptions for those with special circumstances related to health or personal reasons. This particularly applies to adult immigrants with limited or no formal education, elderly people, and individuals with low literacy skills. Advertisement In addition, the requirements for language and social studies tests will be moved from the Integration Act to the Immigration Act. This could indicate a change to streamline the process, reducing the need for assessments by local municipalities. In 2024, 10,554 individuals were granted permanent residency in Norway.