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.

To apply for a visa, your passport must be from a country that the embassy is responsible for. You must also have a valid stay or residence permit in the country where you are applying from.

Our visa process explained

Norway works with a global visa service provider called VFS Global. All applicants are normally required to appear in person to provide their fingerprints and have their photo taken. This biometric data is mandatory for processing your application. VFS Global collects and checks all visa applications before sending them, along with your documents and ID, to the responsible Norwegian embassy.

Norway has some embassies that are responsible for more than one country. This means one embassy may handle visa applications from several countries. When the embassy gets your application, their staff will look at it. They might approve it right away, or ask you for more information. This could include fingerprints, a DNA sample, an interview, or other details. If more information is needed to complete your applications, you will receive a request from either the embassy or VFS to continue the process.

When the embassy finishes your applications—whether your visa is approved or not—they send the result back to the same VFS office where you applied.

Family members of EU/EEA nationals

Family members of EU/EEA nationals may be entitled to an accelerated visa procedure free of charge if you meet the following criteria:

You are a family member of an European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) citizen;
- and that EU/EEA citizen is travelling to or is residing in a member state other than that of which he/she is a citizen;
- and you are accompanying the EU/EEA citizen or planning to join him/her in the Schengen State of destination.
If you think you are entitled to an accelerated visa procedure you will need to show proof that you meet these criteria when you submit your visa application. For more information, please click here.
Family members of EU citizens can submit their short-term Schengen visa application directly at the Embassy, after making an appointment. you can also submitt your visa application at a VFS application centre.

Multiple entry visas

A Schengen visa is generally issued for a single entry.

If you plan to travel outside the Schengen area and return within the period of the visa, the box for “Two entries” or “Multiple entries” must be ticked off in the visa application form.
You should also document why two or more entries are required. We will then assess if there is a genuine need for a multiple entry visa.
If only one entry is required, and this is your first trip to Norway and/or the Schengen area, we encourage you to apply for a "single entry" visa.

Multiple entry visas with a validity from 1 to 5 years

Frequent travellers with a positive visa history can be granted multiple-entry visa with a gradually increasing validity period from 1 year to a maximum of 5 years.
Your fulfilment of entry conditions will be thoroughly and repeatedly verified in all cases, and only persons with a positive visa track record will be issued multiple-entry visas with a long validity.
Provided that the applicant fulfils the entry conditions, multiple-entry visas with a long validity shall be issued for the following validity periods, unless the validity of the visa would exceed that of the travel document:

- for a validity period of one year, provided that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used three visas within the previous two years;
- for a validity period of two years, provided that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry visa valid for one year within the previous two years;
- for a validity period of five years, provided that the applicant has obtained and lawfully used a previous multiple-entry visa valid for two years within the previous three years.
Multiple-entry visas allow the holder to travel repeatedly to the Schengen area during the period of validity of the visa.
Even with a multiple-entry visa with a validity from 1 to 5 years, the applicant cannot stay in the Schengen area more than 90 days within any 180 day period.

Power of attorney

Sponsorship and invitation for visitors

When you are going to visit Norway, you must show that you have enough money to finance your stay here and for the return journey.

You must document that you have at least NOK 500 per day during your stay in Norway and the Schengen area. If you do not have enough money yourself, you must have a financial guarantee from the person you are visiting. In this connection, the person you will be visiting will have to provide a sponsorship form.

For more information, please visit the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration website.

Visa agents