Norway has different requirements in place for Norwegian citizenship applicants based on multiple factors, such as age, when the person in question came to the country, how much they earn and who they’re married to.

All of these factors can affect how long one must live in Norway before one can apply for citizenship.

• READ MORE: Why your Norwegian citizenship application might be rejected and how to avoid it

Once you’ve finally applied for citizenship, it’s up to the Immigration Directorate (UDI) to reach a decision in your case.

While the process related to positive replies is quite straightforward, what happens if your Norwegian citizenship application is rejected?

How many times can I re-apply – and what should I do?

First things first – know that you can re-apply for citizenship if your first application has been rejected.

As senior adviser to the press Oda Gilleberg at the UDI told The Local, “a person may re-apply after their application has been rejected. There is no upper limit to how many times a person may re-apply.”

The actual waiting time for re-applying differs based on individual circumstances. You will find the requirements that you need to meet before you can re-apply in the rejection letter that you got from the UDI.

Gilleberg pointed out that one must make sure that one meets all the stated requirements before applying again.

“The applicant should read the rejection (letter) thoroughly, as the rejection (letter) will give important information regarding the requirements that have to be met before re-applying. One should not re-apply before all the requirements are met,” she noted.

Essentially, depending on why you were rejected will determine how long you need to wait to reapply. To understand when you can reapply, you will need to understand more about the requirements for citizenship.

Requirement examples

As stated beforehand, there are multiple requirements that one needs to meet in order to get one’s Norwegian citizenship application approved.

One such requirement is Norwegian language proficiency. As of October 1st 2022, applicants must pass an oral Norwegian language test at the B1 level of proficiency.

You can find out more about what the B1 level entails here.

So, for example, if you fail to meet the language level requirement, you can apply for citizenship again once you reach the required level of proficiency.

Another example of why your Norwegian citizenship application might get rejected is that the documentation you submitted was too old or expired (e.g., police certificates, ID documents, etc.). In such cases, you can re-apply after you get the required up-to-date documents.

If you applied for Norwegian citizenship despite not meeting the requirement for residency time (you can find out more about the residency rules that apply here, in Norwegian), know that you’ll have to wait to re-apply until you’ve resided in Norway for the required period of time.

If you have any questions regarding your individual case, make sure to reach out to the UDI directly. You can find their contact information here.

Appeal options – and an important deadline

Remember, if you don’t agree with the rejection of your citizenship application, you are at liberty to appeal it. In such cases, you will need to thoroughly document that you meet the requirements.

“If the applicant does not agree with the rejection and is in a position to document that they, in fact, fulfil all the requirements, they may appeal the decision,” Gilleberg confirmed.

She also accentuated that appeals must be sent to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration within three weeks of receiving the rejection.