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.
• Travel to Svalbard requires you to apply for two or more entries.

In order to apply for a visa from South Africa you must either be a citizen of South Africa or legally reside here.

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.

Checklist for South Africa and Malawi

Checklist - visit family of EU/EEA national 

Sponsorship and invitation for visitors

Sponsorship and invitation form if a sponsor (private person) is covering your expenses to travel and stay in Norway (Sponsor for visitors - UDI). Your sponsor can fill out a digital sponsorship and invitation form with their electronic ID or use our paper form. In either case the applicant must submit a copy of the sponsorship form, alongside their other documents to the Embassy or application centre.

If you have a minimum of NOK 500 per day/person and can document this through e.g., a statement of account from your bank or a wage specification for the past six months, you do not need a sponsorship form.

Sponsorship and invitation form if a sponsor (company/organisation) is covering your expenses to travel and stay in Norway (Sponsor for visitors - UDI). Your sponsor can fill out a digital sponsorship and invitation form with their electronic ID or use our paper form. In either case the applicant must submit a copy of the sponsorship form, alongside their other documents to the Embassy or application centre.

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.

Service fee at VFS Global (the Norway Visa Application Centre)

Please note that the Norway Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) is entitled to offer some additional services against a fee. Please note that these services are optional. Information about the VFS and fees can be found here: VFS website.

Booking an appointment to hand in your application and supporting documents

Please note that you will be required to create a separate username and password for the Book an appointment | vfsglobal. If you encounter any difficulties with the online booking system, please contact VFS Visa Call Center on +27 012 425 3006

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: http://www.vfsglobal.com/norway/southafrica/

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.

For citizens of certain countries, we cannot grant a visa before we have consulted other Schengen member states. This process takes up to seven days. For information on which countries such prior consultation applies to, please click here.

Apply well in advance of your travel
We recommend that you apply at least 4 weeks prior to departure. You may register and submit your application 6 months before your planned trip.

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 Pretoria. Therefore, please also take the extra courier/transport time between VFS Pretoria and the Embassy into account.

Applicants will be notified by e-mail, and SMS if the applicant has opted for this service, when the application has been processed.

The applicant's passport can be picked up at the Norway Visa Application Centre (VFS) where the application was submitted, or can be delivered by a courier service, if the applicant has opted for this alternative.

If a visa has been granted, it will be affixed to the passport.

Please check the following information on the visa sticker:
- That name and surname is correctly spelled 
- The visa's period of validity
- Permitted number of entries
- Permitted duration of stay
- Passport number

If there is an error on the visa sticker, please contact the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria.

You can find more details on how to check the information on your visa sticker on the website of the UDI here-  Received an answer: Have been granted a visitor visa - UDI

Please note: South Africa require specific documents when travelling with minors in and out of South Africa. Information can be found here: Department of Home Affairs - UPDATED ADVISORY: Requirements for children travelling through South African Ports of Entry (dha.gov.za)

Appealing a decision

The appeal must be signed by you, your authorized representative or your lawyer, and should contain information about which decision you are appealing and why you believe the decision you have received is incorrect. The appeal must be written in Norwegian or English. If you have any new information or documentation, you must enclose this.

If your application is rejected by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, the appeal must be sent through the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration’s (UDI) document upload service Send documents to UDI - UDI.  Please do not send the appeal by email to the Embassy. See the refusal letter for more information.

Processing time for an appeal is currently approximately 2 to 4 weeks.

We will review your appeal. We can either overturn our decision or forward the appeal to the UDI for consideration. If your appeal is sent to the UDI, they will review your appeal again and either reject your appeal or overturn our decision. If the UDI also rejects your appeal, there are no further possibilities of appeal.

If your application is rejected by the UDI, the appeal must be sent to the UDI by uploading the documents on their website.

More information about the appeal process and processing times can be found on the UDI website.

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.