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 Kenya need to apply for a visitor's visa to enter Norway. If you plan to stay longer than 90 days, you need to apply for a residence permit to enter Norway.

Regional handling of applications

The Norwegian Embassy in Nairobi is the regional hub for East Africa in migration cases, and is responsible for handling visa and residence permit cases from the following countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea, Djibouti, South Sudan and Comoros.

In addition to the above-mentioned countries, the Embassy receives residence permit applications from Ethiopia, Sudan, the Seychelles, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen.

Please follow the step-by-step process as described in the "Visitor's visa" and "Residence permit" section below depending on what type of permit you would like to apply for.

Where and how to hand in my application

Applications must be submitted in person at one of the VFS Global application centres in either Nairobi, Kampala, Addis Ababa or Dar es Salaam, which works in partnership with the Norwegian Embassy in Nairobi.

EU/EEA family members can apply directly at the Embassy in Nairobi and pay no visa fee. Please check the UDI website to see if you fall under these specific rules.

For information about the application procedures and requirements for applicants outside of Kenya, please select your country of residence from the list on www.norway.no

Booking an appointment

You are required to meet in person at a VFS Global Application Center to submit your documents and to capture your biometrics (photo and fingerprints).

You must bring all the documents listed in the relevant checklist with you when submitting your application. The Embassy will contact you if we need more information.

Please visit the VFS Global website to book an appointment online.

You should be able to book an appointment within 3 working days on the VFS online booking system.

If there are no available appointments slots within the next 3 working days, please contact VFS.

Please note that it is also possible to submit your application at a VFS application center on walk-in basis from 08 am till 11 am from Monday to Friday.

Kindly note that applications sent by mail/courier service are not accepted and will be returned without processing.

If you are several people applying together and cannot get an appointment at the same time, kindly contact VFS to arrange this.

Who to contact if you have questions

If you have general questions regarding Schengen visas, family immigration, work or study permits, you can find further information about the application procedure, documentation requirements and case processing times on the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration's (UDI) website.

If you have applied for a residence permit and your application has been forwarded to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), kindly contact UDI if you have questions about the status of your case.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway has a global agreement with VFS Global regarding receiving applications for visa and residence permits, as well as answering phone calls and e-mails on behalf of Norwegian embassies. Therefore, if you have any visa or migration related questions, you can contact VFS Global via email or telephone.

VFS Global in Nairobi
Email: info.nrke@vfshelpline.com
Telephone: +254 205 147 907

VFS Global in Kampala
Email: info.nrug@vfsglobal.com
Telephone: +256 (0) 205 000 617

VFS Global in Addis Ababa
Email: info.nret@vfshelpline.com
Telephone: +251 960 437 204

VFS Global in Dar es Salaam
Email: info.norwaytz@vfshelpline.com
Telephone: +255 222 221 913

If you have further queries that VFS is unable to answer, you can contact the Norwegian Embassy in Nairobi by sending an email to visum.nairobi@mfa.no Kindly note that the Embassy in Nairobi does not answer visa and migration related queries by telephone.

In your request, you must mention your full name as written in your passport, your date of birth, and passport number. If you have already applied, please also submit your reference number (DUF number), or application receipt number from UDI's application portal. Kindly note that if this information is not included in your request, you will not receive an answer from us.

Emails will be replied to within 1-3 working days.

Changing information regarding an application

It is not necessary to register a new application in the UDI application portal if you discover that a mistake has been made after an application has been registered. Just correct it on the printed form and inform VFS, and the Visa and Migration Section at the Embassy will update the information after the application has been submitted.

For Schengen visas (visitor's visas): If your plans change after the decision has been made and a visa issued, you have to submit a new application with new documentation on order to be issued a new visa.

Schengen visas are issued with a 15 days 'period of grace', which makes it possible to postpone the visit up to 2 weeks and still travel the same number of days, without applying for a new visa. However, it is not possible to stay more than the number of days as stated in the visa sticker.

Information regarding the submission of passports

The passport that will be used for travelling must always be submitted to VFS together with the application.

Applications will not be processed without a passport.

After submitting your application at VFS, they will send your passport to the Embassy in Nairobi together with the application.

If you cannot wait for your passport to be checked by the Embassy because of upcoming travel plans, you should make a new appointment with VFS after you have returned from your travels so that you can submit your passport along with the application.

If a visa to enter the Schengen area and Norway is required, the Embassy will keep your passport until the application has been processed.

You may request that your passport be returned during the processing, but in such cases, you must pay a second courier fee via VFS to return the passport to the Embassy in Nairobi when a visa is to be issued.

If you know at the time of submission that you need your passport back sooner than the visa or residence permit processing time, you should notify VFS staff about this.

If you require a visa to travel to Schengen, but need your passport to return to your country of residence, if different from the country where the VFS application center is located, you should inform VFS about this when handing over your passport together with the application. Your passport will then be returned to VFS for collection after the Embassy in Nairobi has carried out the necessary checks. You should in such cases organise for a return courier through VFS so that the Embassy can receive your passport to in order for a visa to be issued.

Important information notice from Schengen Member States

According to Article 12 (a) of the Regulation (EC) No. 810/2009, commonly known as “Visa Code”, the validity of a travel document shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Schengen Member States.

According to an official notification from the Kenyan authorities issued to all diplomatic missions, all Kenyan passports – except the new East African Community biometric e-Passport – will be rendered invalid from 1^st of March 2020. The Schengen Member States therefore wish to inform the Kenyan public that from 1^st of December 2019 ONLY the new East African Community biometric e-Passport can be accepted for Schengen visa applications.

Visitor's visa

Holidays, visits to family and friends, business

Residence permit

Work, studies, au pair, family immigration