Citizenship, Statistics Norway | 37,340 people received Norwegian citizenship

On Thursday, Statistics Norway presented figures showing how many foreigners received Norwegian citizenship during 2023.

A total of 37,340 changed their citizenship.

According to Statistics Norway, this number has remained relatively stable since a change in the law in 2020 which opened up more citizenships.

The overwhelmingly largest group were Syrians, directly triggered by the refugee crisis in 2015.

– Syrians made up the largest single group that received Norwegian citizenship in 2023. This primarily reflects that it was then seven years since the refugee flow from Syria. Many of the Syrians who came then had achieved the minimum residence requirement for refugees, seven out of the last ten years, reports SSB.

There is a very large difference in how long the various groups have lived in Norway:

– The fact that Syrians typically have a relatively short period of residence when they obtain Norwegian citizenship is consistent with the general pattern we see among immigrants from countries outside Europe. While the average length of stay tends to be short, about seven years or a little more, for immigrants from outside the continent, it is longer among immigrants from countries such as Poland, Russia, Sweden and especially Great Britain, says SSB.