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 Malawi must apply for a visitor’s visa. The Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, is responsible for processing applications from Malawi.

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.

Malawian diplomatic passport holders travelling to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg do not need a visitor’s visa. However, if you are visiting or transiting through another Schengen country, a Schengen visa is required.
Malawian service passport holders travelling to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg do not need a visitor’s visa. However, if you are visiting or transiting through another Schengen country, a Schengen visa is required.
Norway has an agreement with Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine which states that citizens of these countries should have a simplified procedure for visitor’s visa applications. You can read more about the benefits here.

Norway is representing 17 out of the 26 countries in the Schengen area. This means that the Embassy in Pretoria is authorized to issue short stay Schengen visas on behalf of the following countries:

Countries

Information for minors travelling to Schengen

Minors travelling with their parents or without the parents (unaccompanied)
A minor is a child who is below the age of 18.

Both parents need to accompany the child to the Visa Application Center to submit the application

Both parents need to show their passport or National ID

Both parents need to fill out the Embassy’s consent form

Please find the consent form here

Both parents need to sign the cover letter for the application

An original birth certificate must be submitted

If one or both parent (s) is deceased, an original death certificate needs to be submitted

If one parent/legal guardian has sole custody, a court order including the judgement/ruling should be submitted.

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.

In order to apply for a visitor's visa from Malawi you must either be a citizen of Malawi or legally reside here. If you are not a resident of Malawi, a justification for lodging the application here must be provided in writing.

In Malawi applicants for visa or residence permits submit their application at a Visa Application Center run by the external service provider VFS Global.

NB: Groups: If two or more people of the same nationality are travelling together, for any kind of purpose, they should register as a group application, not individual application. This will guarantee that the applications will be handled in time. If groups are larger than 15 people, they should be divided into smaller subgroups.

Gather the necessary documentation

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

Please choose the check list most relevant for the purpose of your visit:

Please do not staple the documents together.

Invitation for for visit of family or friends

The invitation letter should come from the main person that you are going to visit. For example; biological family member, spouse/fiancée, boyfriend/girlfriend. For more information about invitation letters, click here.
If you are related to the person you wish to visit, please provide proof of relationship such as birth certificate, marriage certificate etc.

Financial guarantee

If you are visiting family or friends, the person you will be visiting can provide a financial guarantee if you do not have enough money to finance your travel and stay yourself. Read more about financial guarantee here.
The Schengen states have different forms for providing proof of sponsorship, you can find the different forms here. Note that Norway, Germany and France require the forms in original. If the inviting person provides a guarantee form, he/she is not required to provide bank statements or pay slips.
Finland and Iceland do not require guarantee forms, therefore the inviting person has to document their financial situation by providing a bank statement or pay slips from the last three months.

Power of attorney

If you want someone to act on your behalf in connection with your application, you must authorise this person to do so. You can give someone power of attorney by signing this form. For more information about authorisation, click here.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

All documents which are listed in the checklists will be electronically scanned. It is therefore very important that all original documents must be submitted with a perfect copy in A4 format. Please do not staple any documents together as this will delay the scanning process.
Please keep in mind that lack of any documents in the application may lead to longer processing time and in some cases a rejection of the application.

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 visa fee is EUR 60. 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 35. Please visit the UDI website for information about other groups exempted from the visa requirement.

Except for children, 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. The refund will be made to the same credit card used for the payment.

Service fee and courier fee at the Norway Visa Application Centre (VFS)

In Malawi applications are received by the external service provider VFS Global, which charges a service fee of 30 Euros.

The service fee should be paid by debit card at the Visa Application Centre. Please contact the Visa Application Centre for further information (VFS Global).

Please note that an additional courier fee of 23 Euros will also be added.

Optional additional services provided at the Visa Application Centre

VFS is entitled to offer some additional services against a fee. Please note that these services are optional. VFS information about additional services

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.

We will contact you if we need more information. The application process will start once all the required documents have been submitted.

Norway Visa Application Centre, Malawi

Address

Corporate Mall (Next to Road Traffic – Chilambula Road),
Wing A, Shop No. 14, Lilongwe, Malawi

Business hours

Monday to Friday, except on public holidays

Submission timings

08:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:00

Collection timings

9:30-12:30 & 13:30-15:30

Helpline

+47 23 96 04 79

Phone hours

08:00-12:30 & 13:30-15:00

To book an appointment with the Norway VISA Application Centre in Lilongwe, go to www.vfsglobal.com/norway/malawi.

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.

In Malawi, you will in most cases get the result of your application within 15 days after the Embassy in Pretoria has received the application. If we have to ask you for additional documents or information, it will take more time to process your application.

The result of your application

You will be notified by email, SMS, letter or telephone when your application has been processed.

The result can be picked up at the Visa Application Centre.

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 there is a mistake on your visa sticker, please contact the Embassy in Pretoria.

Appealing a decision:

If your application has been rejected by the Embassy in Pretoria, the appeal must be submitted to the Embassy by e-mail or letter/courier as stated in the rejection letter.

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

You can find more information about the appeal process and processing times on the UDI website.

UDI - appealing a 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.