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.

UK passport holders do not need a visitor's visa to travel to Norway as a visitor. Holders of UK travel documents (issued to refugees and non-UK nationals) must apply for a visitor’s visa to Norway.

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.

To enter Norway, your UK passport must:

- have been issued less than 10 years before the date you enter Norway
- be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave

Do you need your passport during the processing time?

All applicants must submit their passport when handing in their application. If you need your passport during the processing time, the Embassy can return your passport once the necessary document controls has been done. To request your passport send an email to the embassy at emb.london.visa@mfa.no. Please note that this may prolong your processing time, and that you will be required to re-submit your passport if you are granted a permit or a visa, and are required to have a visa to enter Norway.

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

In most cases you will get the result of your application within 15 days after the embassy has received the application.

In order to apply for a visa from the UK you must legally reside here.

Gather the necessary documentation

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

You have to print out the checklist with the correct purpose for your trip and bring the checklist and the documents with you to the appointement at the VFS center.

Please check the box on the left hand side to show that you have the correct documents. Please note that if you do not submit all the required documents, your application may be refused. If there is a document you cannot provide, please provide a written explanation for why you can not submit the required documents.

See below for relevant checklists.

Sponsorship and invitation for visitors
If a sponsor (a private person or an inviting company) is covering your expenses to travel and stay in Norway read here Sponsor for visitors - UDI.

Your sponsor can, from 13.01.2025, fill out a digital sponsorship and invitation form with their electronic ID or use our paper form.

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 to use a sponsorship form. However, you may still use the form if you believe that will help your application.

UK checklist common

UK checklist other

UK checklist Family member of EU/EEA citizen

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

Begin your online registration

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.

Fees

In the UK, applications are made through the external service provider VFS Global. Information about VFS Global, how to book your appointment, fees and document requirements can be found here.

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.

Please note that everyone needs to book an appointment with the VFS center before handing in their documents. All appointments must be booked via the VFS website.

Joint Visa Application Centre in London

66 Wilson Street

London EC2A 2BT

Joint Visa Application Centre in Edinburgh

1 Rennie's Isle Leith

Edinburgh EH6 6QT

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.

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

The case handling time is counted 15 days from the application is received at the Norwegian Embassy in London, to it is picked up by the courier at the embassy.
Therefore, please take into account that due to courier between the locations, the amount of days until you receive your decision will often be more than 15 days.

The result of your application

VFS will notify you when your application has been processed.

The result can be picked up at the Visa Application Centre, where the application was submitted, or can be delivered by courier service. Please see the VFS website for more information.

If you have been granted a visa, a sticker will be placed in your passport. Please check the duration of stay and number of entries specified on the sticker. The duration of stay indicates how many days you are allowed to stay in the Schengen area.

If your application has been rejected, you will receive a written explanation as to why it was rejected. You can appeal the decision. For information on how to send the appeal, please see the informaiton in your decision letter. The processing time for appeals at the Embassy is up to 4 weeks.

For feedback on service, you may contact us by regular post or email.

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.