Visitor's visa

A visitor's visa allows you to stay in Norway or other countries in the Schengen area for up to 90 days over a period of 180 days.

Citizens of Australia, travelling on Australian passports, do not need a visitor's visa.

If you plan to visit more than one Schengen country in the course of one trip, or if you plan several separate trips within a period of two months, you must submit your application to the embassy or consulate of the country that is your main destination based on the length of your stay, or the purpose of stay.

If you plan to visit several Schengen countries and the main destination cannot be determined, you must submit your application to the embassy or consulate of the country that is your first point of entry to the Schengen area.

A visa is only intended to allow a foreign national to visit Norway and/or the other Schengen countries for a limited period of time. If you wish to reside in Norway for an extended period of time or work, you need to apply for a residence permit (Student, Work permit or Family reunification).

Please note that special rules may apply to immediate family members of EEA nationals.

SCHENGEN AREA

Before you apply

You should apply well in advance and as a rule no later than 15 days before you plan to travel. Due to the courier sending of documents in some countries, we recommend that you apply at least 4 weeks prior to your planned departure.
You may submit your application up to six months before your planned departure, or up to nine months for seafarers.
We recommend that you do not buy your ticket until a visa has been granted.
You must register your application online before you can hand in the required documentation.
When you hand in your application, you will be asked to provide fingerprints, unless your fingerprints have been collected within the last 59 months.

Applicants who are neither nationals or residents of Australia must document that they are legally in Australia and must provide justification for lodging the application at one of the Norwegian application centers (VFS Global) in Australia. Applications will in most cases not be processed for applicants who are in Australia on a tourist or short stay visa.
If you wish to allow another person, including your reference person, to make enquiries or receive information on your behalf, you must provide a written Power of Attorney. The form for granting Power of Attorney is available for download on UDI's website.
A Schengen visa will generally not give the holder right to work in the Schengen area. This includes working remotely for an overseas employer. If travelling for business, it is the visa holder’s responsibility to ensure that the business conducted does not require a work permit.

Gather the necessary documentation

The checklist gives an overview of the documents you need to hand in to start the application process.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that all required documentation is provided. If you do not submit all required documents, the application may be delayed or rejected.

See the VFS Global website for the checklists valid until 15 June 2023.

Checklists

Checklist - Visitor Visa

Checklist - Visit Family of EU/EEA National

Checklist - Seaman/Seafarer

Other form

Sponsorship form

Online registration and payment

Before you can hand in your passport and other documentation, you must register your application online and pay the fee. If this is the first time you are registering an application in the portal, you will need to create a user account first.

Once you have completed the application form online and paid the fee, you will receive confirmation by email with a copy of your application form (schengen.pdf), application summary and payment receipt attached. You need to print the application form (schengen.pdf) and submit it together with the other required documentation

Go to online application

Application fee

The visa fee is EUR 80. Children under six years do not pay a fee. Children from the age of six years and below the age of 12 years shall pay a visa fee of EUR 40. Please visit the UDI website for information about other groups exempted from the visa fee.

Please note that you pay the fee when registering the application in the portal. Applicants exempted from the visa fee requirement will have the fee refunded.

If you are a applying for a visa as a family member to an EU/EEA citizen you are not required to pay the application fee.

The application fee must be paid by credit card online when you register your application. Information regarding the current fee is available on the UDI website.

Please note that once supporting documents have been submitted and the application has been accepted as admissible by the Embassy, the application fee is non-refundable. This also applies if the application is later withdrawn or rejected.

In Australia, applications are received by the external service provider VFS Global. An additional service and courier fee is payable to VFS Global when you hand in your documents. See VFS Global's website for more information.

Hand in your documents

You must bring with you:

a printout of the application form (schengen.pdf) received by email;
the checklist and the documents listed.
Your passport (must be valid for at least three months after your planned departure from the Schengen area)
Photograph (must comply with international standards)
Your travel health insurance policy
- You should be covered for at least EUR 30 000, including expenses in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, treatment in medical emergencies and/or emergency hospital treatment, and death
- Your insurance should be valid in all Schengen countries
- It should cover the whole of your planned stay in the Schengen area
- It should as a rule be purchased in your home country. If this is not possible it may be purchased in another country.

The application process will start once all the required documents have been submitted.

Where to hand in the documents

VFS Global has visa centres in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Appointments are booked online via the VFS Global website.

When you apply for a visa, the application will be sent from VFS Global to the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok for processing.

Processing time

The processing time for applications is normally up to 15 calendar days after the embassy or consulate has received the application. In some cases, applications are sent to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI), and the processing time in these cases may be up to 45 calendar days.

When further scrutiny of an application is needed and additional documentation is required, the processing time may also be extended up to a maximum of 45 calendar days.

Please note that it will take some days from the application is submitted at the VFS until it is received at the embassy in Bangkok. We strongly advice to submit an application well in advance of the planned travel dates.

The result of your application

You will be notified when your application has been processed.

If you have been granted a visa, a visa sticker will be placed in your passport to allow you to travel to Norway. VFS Global will contact you to let you know when you can collect your passport.

If your application has been rejected, you will receive a written explanation as to why it was rejected. You can appeal the decision. See information below.

You can pick up your passport at the VFS Global visa application centre where the application was submitted. If you opted to provide a self-addressed pre-paid envelope with your application, VFS Global will send the passport to you directly.

Please check the following information on the visa sticker:
- That name and surname is correctly spelled
- The visa's period of validity
- Permitted number of entries
- Permitted duration of stay
- Passport number

If there is an error on the visa sticker, please contact the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok

Appealing a decision

If an application was rejected by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok, the appeal must be submitted to the Embassy by e-mail (visa.bangkok@mfa.no, please write "appeal" in the subject field) or letter/courier. See the rejection letter for more information.

If an application was rejected by the Directorate of Immigration (UDI), the appeal must be sent to the UDI by uploading the documents on their website.

More information about the appeal process and processing times can be found on the UDI website.

On arrival

When you cross the border into the Schengen area, you will have to present:

your passport with the visa sticker
proof that you have enough money to support yourself during your stay (e.g. cash or a credit card). If you have a guarantee form, you should also bring a copy of this with you.
documentation showing the purpose of your visit, such as an invitation, hotel reservation, etc.
a return or round trip ticket if you are visiting the Schengen area for tourist purposes or private reasons

You may be asked to provide fingerprints by the border control officer, in which case these will be compared with the fingerprints provided when you applied for your visa.
As long as your visa is valid, you can travel around freely in the Schengen area, or in the specific Schengen countries covered by the visa. If you leave the Schengen area, for example to visit the UK or Svalbard, you will need a multiple entry visa.

Please note that your short-stay visa is a requirement for, but does not automatically entitle you to enter the Schengen area.

A visa does not automatically entitle you to cross the Schengen border. It is therefore recommended that you carry with you copies of the documents which you presented when you applied for the visa.