After years of debate, a majority in Parliament finally approved dual citizenship in Norway on Thursday for all those who have strong ties to both their homeland and their country of residence.
Norway has been been one of the few countries in the world, and the only Nordic country, to have banned dual citizenship until now.
Dual citizenship law will allow immigrants in Norway to keep the citizenship of their birth while also acquiring Norwegian citizenship and finally being able, for example, to vote in national elections. It will also allow Norwegians who have moved abroad and become citizens of their resident country to retain, or re-acquire, their Norwegian passports. They had to give up their Norwegian citizenship if they became citizens of, for example, the US or Australia, just like Americans and Australians would have had to surrender their passports in order to acquire a Norwegian one. Many have refused to do so, living in Norway on the grounds of permanent residence permission and having to renew residence within the EU’s Schengen area every two years.
“I think this is a day of great joy,” said Ove Trellevik, a member of Parliament for the Conservative Party that backed dual citizenship .
Trellevik noted that the law banning dual citizenship dated from 1888. “It was ripe for a re-evaluation, and had to adapt to the times we’re living in,” Trellevik told news bureau NTB.
Donna Fox, who spearheaded a major effort to end the ban on dual citizenship, wrote in a message to newsinenglish.no that “after a long campaign we have all won the best possible outcome for all.”
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