According to Statistics Norway, the average number of Russian citizens who obtained Norwegian citizenship between 2017 and 2018 was 186 — this is only 5.7% of the 2021 level.
This increase in the number of applicants applying for Norwegian citizenship occurred after legal changes were made to Norwegian law that allowed people to have more than one citizenship, and the changes came into into force in 2020.
“After this change in the law, the number of persons obtaining Norwegian citizenship has grown from the “normal” to an annual figure from ten to fifteen thousand during the previous decade to 19,700 and 41,100 in 2020 and 2021, — explains Statistics Norway.
A large number of naturalizations also occurred among citizens of the Philippines, the UK and Poland — their number has almost tripled. On the other hand, the Somali figures, on the contrary, decreased from 2,204 between 2017 and 2019 to 1,831 in 2021.
Russians rank fifth among people who have lived in Norway for more than eight years: 77.2% Russian citizens who are currently in Norway have been living there for eight years or more.
Our fellow citizens lag behind the Swedes (79.4%), Poles (82.1%) and Danes (83%). Leading in this "rating" the British at 93.1%.
Statistics Norway also notes that the number of people who acquired Norwegian citizenship increased dramatically in 2021, reaching 41,092, the highest number ever years.
