Immigration matters

All foreign nationals who are to stay in Norway for more than 90 days must have a residence permit. Foreign nationals who are to work in Norway will in most cases need to have a residence permit, even if their stay is less than 90 days.

Residence permits are granted for work, studies or family immigration. Applications must be lodged in your home country or in a third country where you have held a valid residence permit for the last six months. For information regarding the application process, required supporting documents etc., please see the embassy’s website.

Applications for renewal of residence permits, residence cards and permanent residency must be lodged with the local police in Norway, not the embassy.

As a general rule, you cannot, once you lodge an application for a residence permit, enter Norway until a decision has been made on your application.

Nationals of certain countries need a visa in order to visit Norway. With this visa, you can visit all Schengen countries, as long as your passport is valid for entry to the country. A visa may only be issued for up to 90 days.

Some people do not need a visa to visit Norway. To check if you can enter Norway without a visa, please check the UDI website.

The embassy receives applications for visas to Norway from residents of all the countries within our jurisdiction. In addition, we receive applications for visas to Sweden and Iceland from residents of Australia. If you are not a resident, only a tourist, we will generally not process your application.

If you wish to visit multiple Schengen countries, your application must be lodged with the mission of your main destination. The main destination is determined by your purposes for visiting and the length of stay in each country. If main destination cannot be determined, you must lodge your application with the mission of the country you will enter first.

For information regarding the application process, required supporting documents etc., please see the embassy’s website.

If you are arriving at Oslo airport (Gardermoen) from a non-Schengen country and departing to a non-Schengen country, you may stay within the premises of the transit area at the airport. Most travelers will in this case not need a visa, as they will not cross the external Schengen border. However, some nationals are required to be in possession of an airport transit visa. This applies to nationals from: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Somalia and Sri Lanka.

Travelers who arrive at Oslo airport for transit only, must be aware that the transit area at the airport is closed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. every day. If your arrival and the time of departure of your connecting flight makes it necessary to stay at the airport between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., you cannot use the transit area as it is closed during this time. All travelers will then have to pass the border control in order to stay at the airport’s non-transit area or a nearby hotel. This means that those nationals, who must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external Schengen border according to Annex 1 of the Visa Handbook, may need a Schengen visa even if they are only transiting Schengen in Norway. In addition, persons who need to check out and check in their luggage at the airport (normally when using different airlines) also have to go through the border control, even if they are only transiting. Check your luggage tag to see if this applies to you.

Nationals who must be in possession of a visa when crossing the external Schengen border must apply for a Schengen visa also for transit if arriving at any other airport in Norway.

When applying for a Schengen visa for the purpose of transit, the applicant must provide a document explaining why they need to exit the transit area of the airport, the flight ticket to the final destination and, if required, the visa to the final destination. If the applicant needs to stay over in Norway in order to await the connecting flight, documentation of hotel reservation and funds to cover the stay in Norway must also be provided.

Some people do not need a visa to visit Norway because they hold a passport from a country that Norway has a visa exemption agreement with, have a residence permit in an EU/EEA country or hold a certain passport or travel document. An overview of who does not need a visa to visit Norway is available on the UDI website.

Even if you travel under the visa waiver scheme, there are certain requirements, which must be met to allow entry to Norway. More information is available here.

If travelling under the visa waiver scheme, you may stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days during a period of 180 days. The stay can be for 90 consecutive days, or divided into several stays. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are not overstaying the visa free period.

However, Norway  currently have valid separate bilateral agreement with several countries, including Australia and New Zealand, allowing stays for up to 90 days visa free in Norway in addition to any days spent in a non-Nordic Schengen country. Consequently, Australian and New Zealand citizens, travelling on Australian or New Zealand passport, will not be refused entry to Norway due to time spent in e.g. Spain. Whether or not non-Nordic countries such as Spain will disregard time spent in the Nordic countries before entering Spain must be confirmed with the Spanish immigration authorities.

For more information regarding the bilateral agreements, please see the UDI website (available in Norwegian only), or contact UDI.

A person may be denied entry to Norway due to an earlier criminal conviction. For more information, please see the Norwegian Immigration Act (Act of 15 May 2008 on the entry of foreign nationals into the Kingdom of Norway and their stay in the realm).  We refer you in particular to Section 17 and Section 66.

For further information regarding rejection of foreign nationals due to previous criminal convictions, please contact UDI.