Content of this article:
Can a foreign citizen marry a Norwegian citizen in Norway? If yes, what are the terms and consequences of the marrige?
In this article, we’ll look further into marriage-related questions for a foreign citizen.
Terms for marrying a Norwegian citizen
There are no boundaries to whom a Norwegian citizen can marry after the Norwegian law. This means that also foreign citizens can marry a Norwegian citizen in Norway. However, marrige is not without any restrictions. The basic term is that the foreign citizen needs a legal stay in Norway.
There are several grounds that may give you legal stay in Norway, for instance if you are an EU-citizen or have a visitor visa. The basis for the legal stay has to be presented to the tax authorities (Norwegian: “skatteetaten”).
To have a legal stay in Norway is not enough. In addition to this, you have to send in different types of documentation to the tax authorities (Norwegian: “skatteetaten”). The terms depend on the ground for the legal stay. If you are an EU citizen, have permanent legal stay, or if you are a refugee with granted asylum or an nordic citizen, the terms are equal to Norwegian citizens getting married. If you have received a legal stay on other grounds, the requirements for documentation are a bit more extensive. You can read more about the spesific requirements here.
Consequences of marrige
There are some legal affects following a marriage after the Norwegian family-law. The most important consequence is that the combined fortune will be divided equal in case of a divorce. The economy of the married couple will therefore be mixed together. However, this consequence can be removed with an prenuptial agreement between the married couple.
Another important conseqence is that the spouse gets inheritance rights as a result of the marriage. For instance, if the Norwegian citizen dies, the forreign citizen gets a right to 1/4 of the inheritance.
Furthermore, if the foreign citizen wishes to buy a part of the Norwegian citizens residence, the spouse doesn’t need to pay the document fee. This is usually a fee of 2,5 % of the residence value.
Both of the spouses will also get parental deducation. This is a type of tax deduction that follows from the Norwegian law. The deduction applies even though only the Norwegian citizen has a child.
Norwegian citizenship by marrige
Marriage to a Norwegian citizen, doesn’t give the right to a Norwegian citizenship itself. In long term marriage to a Norwegian citizen may give you Norwegian citizenship. When you as a foreign citizen has a combined seven years of marriage and stay in Norway, you will have the right to apply for a Norwegian citizenship. However, you don’t have to be married to get citizenship. It’s sufficient to be registered partners or cohabitants. The condition of seven years, is the same for all grounds.
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