Samfunnskunnskapsprøven and statsborgerprøven are two separate Norwegian tests that share a curriculum but serve two different applications: samfunnskunnskapsprøven is the social-studies test required for permanent residence, and statsborgerprøven is the citizenship test. Both are set by HK-dir, both are taken on a computer at a test centre, and their overlapping names and subject matter are the main reason applicants confuse them.
What is samfunnskunnskapsprøven?
Samfunnskunnskapsprøven is the social-studies knowledge test tied to permanent residence in Norway. Applicants aged 18 to 67 must pass it, or be exempt, and it is one of the more flexible tests on offer because it can be taken in any of 23 languages, so applicants can sit it in a language they already know well rather than in Norwegian. Most tasks are multiple choice with three options and one correct answer, and there are also image tasks where the candidate marks the correct spot in a picture.
What is statsborgerprøven?
Statsborgerprøven is Norway’s citizenship test. Applicants aged 18 to 67 must reach oral Norwegian at level B1 and pass statsborgerprøven, or qualify for an exemption. Unlike samfunnskunnskapsprøven, it is offered only in Norwegian, in either bokmål or nynorsk, and it is written at language level A2, a little lower than samfunnskunnskapsprøven. Every task on statsborgerprøven is multiple choice with three options and one correct answer.
Which Norwegian test do I actually need?
It depends on what you are applying for, and the two tests are not interchangeable. For permanent residence, applicants aged 18 to 67 must pass samfunnskunnskapsprøven or be exempt from it. For citizenship, applicants aged 18 to 67 must pass statsborgerprøven or be exempt from it, and passing samfunnskunnskapsprøven in Norwegian is one of the listed exemptions. Passing statsborgerprøven does not satisfy the permanent-residence condition, so an applicant who only needs residence should not assume the citizenship test covers them.
What curriculum do both tests draw on?
Samfunnskunnskapsprøven and statsborgerprøven are both built on the same curriculum for adult immigrants, Læreplan i samfunnskunnskap for voksne innvandrere (FOR-2021-06-20-2054), in force since 1 August 2021. It sets 25 competence aims split across three modules of 25 hours each:
- Education, competence and working life: schooling, training, workers’ rights, tax-funded welfare, and privacy.
- Family, health and everyday life: children’s rights, public services, health care, personal finances, and everyday life.
- Norway past and present: history, democracy, holidays, diversity, equality, and human rights.
The two tests draw their tasks from this shared material, which is why studying one gives you a head start on the other even though the tests themselves are scored separately.
How do the two tests differ in format?
Samfunnskunnskapsprøven presents 38 tasks in 60 minutes, of which 34 are scored (four are unscored trial tasks), and the pass mark is 26 correct out of those 34. Statsborgerprøven presents 36 tasks in the same 60 minutes, of which 32 are scored, with a pass mark of 24 correct out of those 32. Both tests trial new tasks that carry no weight in your result.
What does either test cost?
HK-dir sets no single national price for samfunnskunnskapsprøven or statsborgerprøven. Each municipality sets its own fee and its own test dates, and HK-dir quotes roughly NOK 500–1,300 for samfunnskunnskapsprøven and NOK 300–1,800 for statsborgerprøven. Some people with the right and duty to social-studies training can take samfunnskunnskapsprøven once free of charge; statsborgerprøven is always paid. Treat the amount shown when you register with your municipality as the one that applies to you, since it varies by location.
Practising for samfunnskunnskapsprøven and statsborgerprøven
Because both tests draw on the same three-module curriculum, practising the shared material prepares you for whichever test you actually need to sit, and for both if your situation calls for it. The RiverMap Learning app for these two tests covers all three curriculum modules with original questions written in Norwegian from the published curriculum and Norwegian statutes, explanations in both Norwegian and English, and a timed mock built around each test’s scored question count and pass mark (34 questions with 26 to pass, or 32 with 24 to pass, in 60 minutes) rather than a single generic quiz. The app’s questions are all three-option multiple choice; it does not rehearse samfunnskunnskapsprøven’s image tasks.