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 Ghana must apply for a visitor's visa.
Please note that only applications where Norway is the main destination of the travel may be submitted at the VFS Global Visa Application Centers. In order to apply for a visa you must either be a citizen of the country you apply from or legally reside there. Applicants who are not nationals or residents of any of the countries we are responsible for, must document that they are legally in the country where they apply from and must provide justification for lodging the application to the responsible embassy.
Stricter rules apply to citizens of the Gambia, regardless of where they live, who are applying for a Schengen visa. The processing time is extended to 45 days for all cases. The authority for the stricter rules are two decisions adopted by the European Union.
- All applicants must present a complete set of supporting documents when applying for a Schengen visa.
- Holders of diplomatic or service passports are required to pay the visa fee.
- Only a single-entry Schengen visa can be issued.
The stricter rules do not apply to you if you are
- a close family member of an EU/EEU citizen, or
- you have been invited by an international organisation, or
- you are to attend an international conference organised by a Schengen country
Family members of EU/EEA nationals may be entitled to an accelerated visa procedure free of charge if you meet the following criteria:
- You are a family member of an European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) citizen;
- and that EU/EEA citizen is travelling to or is residing in a member state other than that of which he/she is a citizen;
- and you are accompanying the EU/EEA citizen or planning to join him/her in the Schengen State of destination.
- If you think you are entitled to an accelerated visa procedure you will need to show proof that you meet these criteria when you submit your visa application. For more information, please click here.
- Family members of EU citizens can submit their short-term Schengen visa application directly at the Embassy, after making an appointment. you can also submitt your visa application at a VFS application centre.
When you are going to visit Norway, you must show that you have enough money to finance your stay here and for the return journey.
You must document that you have at least NOK 500 per day during your stay in Norway and the Schengen area. If you do not have enough money yourself, you must have a financial guarantee from the person you are visiting. In this connection, the person you will be visiting will have to provide a sponsorship form.
For more information, please visit the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration website.
A Schengen visa is generally issued for a single entry.
- If you plan to travel outside the Schengen area and return within the period of the visa, the box for “Two entries” or “Multiple entries” must be ticked off in the visa application form.
- You should also document why two or more entries are required. We will then assess if there is a genuine need for a multiple entry visa.
- If only one entry is required, and this is your first trip to Norway and/or the Schengen area, we encourage you to apply for a "single entry" visa.
Multiple entry visas with a validity from 1 to 5 years
- Frequent travellers with a positive visa history can be granted multiple-entry visa with a gradually increasing validity period from 1 year to a maximum of 5 years.
- Your fulfilment of entry conditions will be thoroughly and repeatedly verified in all cases, and only persons with a positive visa track record will be issued multiple-entry visas with a long validity.
- Provided that the applicant fulfils the entry conditions, multiple-entry visas with a long validity shall be issued for the following validity periods, unless the validity of the visa would exceed that of the travel document:
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- for a validity period of one year, provided that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used three visas within the previous two years;
- for a validity period of two years, provided that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry visa valid for one year within the previous two years;
- for a validity period of five years, provided that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry visa valid for two years within the previous three years.
- Multiple-entry visas allow the holder to travel repeatedly to the Schengen area during the period of validity of the visa.
- Even with a multiple-entry visa with a validity from 1 to 5 years, the applicant cannot stay in the Schengen area more than 90 days within any 180 day period.
All questions regarding your application must be directed towards the VFS GLOBAL office where you applied. You should only direct your questions toward the responsible embassy if VFS requests it, or if they cannot answer your question.
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.
- Travel to Svalbard requires you to apply for two or more entries.
Group registration: If two or more people of the same nationality are travelling together, for any kind of purpose, they should register using the group application, not individual applications. This ensures quicker processing time. Groups of more than 15 people should be divided into smaller subgroups.
Please note that only applications where Norway is the main destination of the travel may be submitted at the VFS Global Visa Application Centers. In order to apply for a visa you must either be a citizen of the country you apply from or legally reside there. Applicants who are not nationals or residents of any of the countries we are responsible for, must document that they are legally in the country where they apply from and must provide justification for lodging the application to the responsible embassy.
If you want someone to act on your behalf in connection with your application, you must authorise this person to do so. Please visit the UDI website for more information and the relevant form.
If you give a person Power of Attorney, all communication regarding your application will go to him/her and not to you, the applicant.
When applying for a visa, you need travel insurance.
The travel medical insurance must cover the days of your intended stay in the Schengen area. Failure to hold an insurance that covers the actual stay may lead to problems at the airport or entering the Schengen area. The travel medical insurance must meet the following criteria:
- valid throughout the Schengen area;
- valid during the entire period that you will be in the Schengen area;
- the coverage is at least Euro 30 000,-;
The coverage includes repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical care and/or emergency treatment in a hospital and assistance in case of death.
Gather the necessary documentation
The checklist gives an overview of the documents you need to hand in to start the application process.
Please follow the links below, and read the information carefully and make sure you have all the documents you are going to submit before coming to the Visa Application Centre.
Visa applicants must ensure that certain documents, according to the relevant checklist are in English or Norwegian. Applicants who do not submit translated documents will risk longer processing time or a rejection of the application.
All applicants from countries under our responsibility must complete the checklist and bring the required contents listed in the file below when attending their appointment at the local VFS application centre.
- Checklist for Schengen visas
- Parental Consent
(for applicants under 18 travelling without parents or with one parent)
When you are going to visit Norway, you must show that you have enough money to finance your stay here and for the return journey.
You must document that you have at least NOK 500 per day during your stay in Norway and the Schengen area. If you do not have enough money yourself, you must have a financial guarantee from the person you are visiting. In this connection, the person you will be visiting will have to provide a sponsorship form.
For more information, please visit the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration website.
If you want someone to act on your behalf in connection with your application, you must authorise this person to do so. Please visit the UDI website for more information and the relevant form.
If you give a person Power of Attorney, all communication regarding your application will go to him/her and not to you, the applicant.
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
Application fee
The visa fee is EUR 90. 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 45. 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 payment of the visa fee is done online with VISA or MasterCard when you register your application in the UDI Forms application portal.
VFS Global charges an additional service fee of in local currency. This fee must be paid directly upon submission of the applications to VFS. Please note that the VFS service fee is non-refundable.
If you are excempt from paying the fee the Embassy will refund it to the card that was used to make the payment. When the refund is processed by the Embassy, it will take a while before the refund is processed by the bank and the money is available in your account.
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.
The application process will start once all the required documents have been submitted.
All visa and residence applications must be submitted at one of the listed VFS Global application centers. You must book an appointment first. Usually, you can get an appointment in less than three days, and always within two weeks.
- VFS Global Ghana
- VFS Global Cameroon
- VFS Global Côte d’Ivoire
- VFS Global Nigeria – Abuja and Lagos
- VFS Global Senegal
No VFS application office in your country?
If your country does not have a VFS office that works with Norway, you must contact the nearest VFS office before you book an appointment or travel.
Please also make sure that the VFS office you contact is working with Norway.
Waiting 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.
The processing time is counted from the day the application is received at the Embassy until the passport is picked up by the VFS courier in Accra.
For citizens of certain countries, we must consult other Schengen Member States before granting a visa. In the area of resposibility for the Norwegian Embassy in Accra, this applies to Niger, Nigeria and Mali. This process may take up to seven days and applies no matter where you currently live. For further information and to see which other countries such prior consultation applies to, please visit the UDI website.
Apply well in advance
If you submit your application in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria or Senegal, please allow extra time for shipping to and from the Embassy. This can take up to a week in each direction. It is recommended to apply at least 4 weeks before the intended departure.
The result of your application
After the visa application is processed, your application will be returned to the Visa Application Centre the you applied from, where you can pick up your passport. You can track the status of your application on the VFS website using the reference number indicated on the receipt issued at the Visa Application Centre. If the applicants choose to pay for cargo, VFS will send the passport by cargo to the applicant address.
Track your application
You can also track your visa application status on the VFS Global website. Use the Reference Number present on the invoice/receipt issued by the Visa Application Centre along with your last name to access this service.
If you have been granted a visa:
A sticker will be placed in your passport. Please check the duration of stay specified on the sticker. The duration of stay indicates how many days you are allowed to stay in the Schengen area. When you are granted a single-entry visa, an extra 15 days will be added to the visa period.
For example, if you are granted a visa for 90 days from 01.01.2017, an extra 15 days are added, so that the period you can travel is from 01.01.2017 - 16.04.2017 (105 days). This does not imply that you can enter 01.01.2017 and stay until 16.04.2017, as this involve an overstay of 15 days.
If your application has been rejected:
You will receive a written explanation as to why it was rejected and how you can appeal the decision.
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.
Holding a visa does not give you an automatic right of entry to the Schengen area. It is therefore recommended that you carry with you copies of the documents which you presented when you applied for the visa.