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.

In order to apply for a visa from the UAE you must have a valid stay/residency in the UAE.

In the UAE, applicants for visas submit their applications at visa application centres run by an external service provider, VFS Global

Please note that the Embassy cannot accommodate for withdrawals of passport while the application is being processed.

WARNING: Visa Agents

There are a number of visa agents in operation throughout The UAE and in the region.

Please note that the Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has no cooperation with any visa agents. The official partner of Norway in the region is VFS Global.

Applicants are strongly advised not to engage visa agents. They often charge high fees, offer false information, and in some cases have been found to compromise the overall credibility of an application by encouraging applicants to falsify information and documentation. Submitting fraudulent documentation to the Embassy may lead to expulsion from the Schengen area.

Please report any attempts at visa fraud from visa agents directly to the Embassy.

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

Please make sure that you submit a certified translation of all required documents into English or Norwegian. The list of required documents to be submitted by the different types of visa applicants is found below.

• Checklist - Business.pdf
• Checklist - Tourist.pdf
• Checklist - EUEEA-family-members.pdf
• Checklist - Family and Friends.pdf

We kindly ask that all documents are submitted in A4 format/paper size. Please do not staple the documents together.

Applying with children? Please note that the Embassy will not be able to process the visa application if the child's photo in the passport is outdated or does not correspond with the recent photo enclosed.

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.

Service fee at the Visa Application Centre

In the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) applications are received by the external service provider VFS Global, which charges a service fee. The service fee is payable online when you book an appointment.

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 in Dubai
Joint Visa Application Centre
Wafi Mall Level 2
Falcon Phase 2, Umm Hurair 2
DUBAI

VFS Global in Abu Dhabi
Joint Visa Application Centre
Level B2 (Lower Ground), The Mall, World Trade Center
Khalifa Bin Zayed the 1st Street (Airport Road)
ABU DHABI

You need to book an appointment.

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.

Note that the courier sending time between the VFS visa application centre and the Embassy in Abu Dhabi must be counted in addition and could be up to 7-10 days.

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abu Dhabi is committed to provide the best possible user service within our legal framework. This also means processing cases on time. In order to do this, we rely on applicants to submit all the mandatory documents on time when they meet for their appointments at the VFS Global offices. It also means that we are unable to accommodate for passport withdrawals while the application is under consideration.

If these conditions are not met, the processing time will increase, and sometimes this could lead to a refusal. Therefore, we strongly advise applicants to submit all mandatory documents as per the checklists. In some cases where more scrutiny is needed, or the case is transferred to the UDI, the processing time may be up to 45 calendar days.

On this page you will find the latest Visa Status Update.

You will be notified by email, SMS or telephone 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.

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

For feedback on service, you may contact us by regular post or email, visa.abudhabi@mfa.no

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.