Visitor's visa

• 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.

Checklist

If the purpose of the visit is to accompany or visit/join a close family member who is an EU/EEA citizen exercising free movements rights, you can use this checklist.

Additional information about the supporting documents

If you are visiting family or friends, please be aware that the invitation letter should come from the main person that you are going to visit. Examples: Your biological family member, your spouse, your friend etc. For additional information about invitations, please click here.

If you are visiting family or friends in Norway, the person you will visit will normally have to provide a financial guarantee through the sponsorship form. For more information about the sponsorship form, please click here.

If you want someone to follow up on the application on your behalf, you must authorize this person to do so. This person can for example be the family member inviting you, or another person who you trust. You can authorize the person by filling out a power of attorney form, which you submit together with the application.

Minors travelling alone, with one parent, or other family memebers
The legal guardian(s) of the minor must give their written approval, which is to be signed either by the police or by a notary public.

The below form can also be used, but please note that it needs to be signed by either the police or by a notary public. 
Consent for International Travel

Return of original documents
The passport will be returned with the result of the application. If you need your passport before your case is finalized, please inform the VFS when submitting the application and your passport will be returned to VFS after two working days or more. 

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 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.

Informational about the Schengen visa processing fee can be found by visiting this website.

Additionally, applications in Lebanon are received by the external service provider VFS Global, which charges an additional service fee of 30 €. This fee must be paid in cash at the VFS when submitting your documents.

Optional services provided at the Visa Application Centre
Certain additional services offered by VFS are not included in the service fee. Please note that these services are optional. 

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.

VFS Global’s office, Hamra, Gefinor Center, Bloc A, 1st flr, Beirut, Lebanon. Contact: norleb@vfshelpline.com  Phone:+009611743643

https://www.vfsglobal.com/Norway/Lebanon/  

In Lebanon, applications are received by the external service provider VFS Global. When applying for a visitor’s visa, you do not need to book an appointment to submit your application papers. You can simply go to their application centre as soon as you have sent the application form online and gathered all the necessary documents.

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.

VFS Global Beirut will notify you when your application has been processed.

The result can be picked up at the Visa Application Centres, or it can be delivered by courier 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. 

If you are granted a single-entry, two-entries or a multiple shorter than 6 months, an additional 15 days will normally be added to the period you can make your travel (this 15-days is called Period of Grace). Still, you cannot stay longer than the number of days you are granted.

For example if you are granted a visa for 90 days, from 01.01.2020, an extra 15 days are added, so that the period you can travel is from 01.01.2020 to 15.04.2020. This does not mean that you can enter 01.01.2020 and stay until 15.04.2020, as this will result an overstay of 15 days.

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

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.