Visitor’s visa and residence permit
A visitor's visa allows you to stay in Norway or other Schengen countries for up to 90 days over a period of 180 days. A residence permit gives you the opportunity to work in Norway and to stay for more than 90 days.
Citizens of Bahrain must a apply for a visitor's visa. Likewise, citizens of Bahrain need a residence permit in order to work or to take up residence for longer than 90 days.
Visas and Residence Permits
Visa applications to Norway are handled by the German Embassy in Manama, Bahrain.
Submission of work/residence permits and family reunification:
Applications for residence permit are handled by the Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and must be lodged through a VFS Global application centre which is collaborating with the Embassy in Abu Dhabi, i.e. VFS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar or the UAE.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia- https://visa.vfsglobal.com/sau/en/can
The United Arab Emirates (UAE)- https://visa.vfsglobal.com/are/en/nor
Qatar- https://visa.vfsglobal.com/qat/en/nor
General information regarding different residence permits and immigration rules: Want to apply - UDI
The Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi is a regional visa hub and is responsible for handling visa and residence permit applications for Norway for the following countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Qatar.
In addition to the above-mentioned countries, the Embassy receives applications for residence from Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
For information about the application procedures and requirements for other nationals, please select your country from the list on www.norway.no.
Requirement to give biometrics when applying for residence permit and visa for Norway
Since March 18, 2021, persons applying for a residence permit in Norway have been requested to submit biometrics in the form of a live photograph. This means that, applicants will have to meet at a VFS application Center to submit their application.
From and including January 24, 2022, applicants will, in addition to fingerprints and photographs, have to submit a signature when applying for a residence permit with VFS.
The matrix below gives a full overview of the biometric requirements for the different groups of applicants:
General enquiries about visas and residence permit
Please note that The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway has a global agreement with VFS Global regarding receiving applications for visa and residence permits, answering phone calls and answering e-mails on behalf of Norwegian Embassies. Therefore, if you have any questions regarding your visa or residence permit to Norway, you must contact VFS Global. The main webpage of VFS Global is www.vfsglobal.com. From here you can find contact details to the VFS applications centers in the country you want to hand in your application, or you want to contact for questions.
If you have further queries that VFS cannot answer, you may contact the Visa Team at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi: visa.abudhabi@mfa.no