Visitor’s visa (type C)
A visitor’s visa may be granted if you intend to travel to Norway as a tourist, on a family visit, on public business or a business trip, a study visit or other business. A visa for Norway and the Schengen area may be granted for up to 90 days. However, you may not stay in the Schengen area for more than 90 days in the course of the past six months. This means that any stay in the Schengen area in the past six months must be taken into consideration when calculating the duration of a visa. The duration of the visa is stated on the visa sticker. The visa sticker also states the first permitted entry date and last permitted exit date.
The Directorate of Immigration has developed a visa calculator which can calculate the maximum duration of your visa
A visa is generally issued for a single entry. If the applicant plans 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 on the visa application form.
The application must be accompanied by an explanation of why two or more entries are required.
If the need arises for an extra entry after arrival in Norway, this must be applied for via the police in the same way as an application to extend a visa. The applicant must be able to document his/her need for an extra entry (e.g. for a business meeting, or to visit family outside the Schengen area).
A visa does not entitle the holder to work or carry out any commercial enterprise during their visit. Persons who wish to work or stay for an extended period in Norway must apply for a specific permit for this. Persons with short-term work in Norway (not exceeding three months) do not require a work permit. See more information about who is covered by this rule in the section “Who needs a work permit?”.
Application form for a visitor’s visa
Visa for applying for/waiting for a decision on an application for family immigration (type D)
If you wish to obtain a permit for family immigration, as a rule you must have obtained your permit before you enter Norway. However, in certain circumstances you may enter Norway before a permit has been granted. In this case, you must obtain an entry visa if you are subject to a visa requirement. Such a visa will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.
The following persons may apply for an entry visa:
- Spouse of a Norwegian citizen who is living in Norway or plans to settle here
- Spouse of a Nordic citizen who has lived in Norway for the past three years, and the spouses have been married for at least three years
- Spouse of a foreign national who has a settlement permit, and the spouses have been married for at least three years
- Spouse of a foreign national who has an individual permit to work in a group, and the spouses have been married for at least three years
Children which you and your spouse have had together, and who are not Norwegian citizens, must also apply for an entry visa.
Children of the applicant by a previous partner who wish to seek family immigration must apply from their country of origin.
Please be aware that you will not be entitled to schooling, Norwegian language tuition or any other benefits while you are waiting for a first-issue application for a family immigration permit to be processed. You are also not permitted to take on work while your application is being processed, unless you have been granted a temporary work permit.
Being granted an entry visa has no bearing on the outcome of an application for a family immigration permit.
More information on entry visas can be found in circular 2003-15 or by contacting your nearest foreign service mission.
Residence permit to marry in Norway
If you wish to marry and live with a person who already lives in Norway, you may apply for your own permit. Such a permit is not a visa, but a residence permit. The rules for this type of permit are described in more detail under family immigration.
Residence permit for up to nine months to visit children in Norway
If you have children in Norway and wish to visit them, you can choose whether to apply for a visitor’s visa (see above) or a residence permit that will last for up to nine months. The rules for this type of residence permit are described in more detail under family immigration.
Read about this residence permit here
Resident for medical treatment
If the intention of the visit is to have medical treatment in Norway, then an application for a resident permit shall be submitted even if the visit is shorter than 90 days. The regulations for such a permit is based on the Immigration Regulation § 5 second paragraph letter b
Visa for persons who obtain a residence or work permit
If you are granted a residence or work permit for Norway, you automatically also receive an entry permit which entitles you to stay in Norway for seven days. You therefore do not need to apply for a visa. Within the seven-day period, you must contact the police in order to obtain a sticker in your passport or a travel document showing that you have a work or residence permit for Norway.
Information about work and residence permits for Norway
Visa for seeking work in Norway (skilled worker/specialist)
If you qualify as a skilled worker/specialist, you may obtain a visa if you have an offer of employment in Norway, or wish to seek work here. The requirements for such a visa depend on whether or not you have an offer of employment.
If you don't have an offer of employment, you may obtain a visa if you have training equivalent to at least the level of further education.
If there is an offer of employment in Norway, the following expertise may be taken into consideration instead of formal training:
- Course or other training in a company abroad. In order to obtain a visa, the training must provide the same level of expertise as formal vocational training, and the expertise must be relevant to the work you will be taking on
- Specialist qualifications based on practical experience in a particular field. In order to obtain a visa, the practical experience must be at least as long as any formal vocational training which gives the same expertise, and the expertise must be relevant to the work you will be taking on
Application on behalf of a performing musician, entertainer or artist
Some organisations may apply for a visa on behalf of individual performing musicians, entertainers or artists:
- Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
- The Norwegian National Opera
- The Bergen International Festival
- Førde Folk Music Festival
- Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Rikskonsertene
In this situation, a visitor’s visa (type C) must be applied for and the same conditions must be met (see above). For more information on the application procedure for this type of visa, see Circular 2001-41: Visa for performing musicians, entertainers and artists.
Application form for a Schengen visa
National visitor’s visa
In the event that you cannot obtain a visitor’s visa for the whole Schengen area, it may be possible, in certain specific circumstances, to issue a national visitor’s visa. An applicant may only be granted a visa that is valid for Norway alone when such a visa is required for humanitarian reasons, national considerations or international obligations. In such cases, the UDI decides on the application, which should be submitted to the nearest foreign service mission, as when applying for any other kind of visa.
VLTV visa (Visa with Limited Territorial Validity)
A visa with limited territorial validity can be given to applicants holding a travel document that is not valid for entry into certain Schengen countries. The visa granted is valid only for the countries in which the travel document is valid.
Application form for a Schengen visa
Emergency visa
Persons subject to the visa requirement who arrive in Norway without a visa may be granted an emergency visa if unforeseen and imperative reasons so indicate. Persons subject to the visa requirement who arrive in Norway without a valid visa must contact the police at the border to apply for an emergency visa. Emergency visas can only be granted in exceptional cases, subject to strict criteria. Consequently, many persons arriving in Norway without a visa are sent out of the country immediately.
Examples of reasonable grounds:
- When you are notified that a close family member in Norway has suffered a serious accident, but the Norwegian foreign service mission is closed that day, and you must leave for Norway immediately
- You are to participate in events organised in Norway on short notice, but the Norwegian foreign service mission is closed that day, and you must leave for Norway immediately
- You are a seaman signing on or off a vessel in Norwegian waters, but the Norwegian foreign service mission is closed that day, and you must leave immediately
It is the UDI which decides on applications for emergency visas, after being contacted by the police. Emergency visas are issued as ordinary visitor’s visas if the requirements for the latter are fulfilled. If the requirements for an ordinary visitor’s visa are not fulfilled, an emergency visa may be issued as a national visitor’s visa, if particular reasonable grounds so indicate.
Application form for a Schengen visa
Airport transit visa (type A)
Persons from certain countries who are to make an intermediate landing in Norway en route to a country not a party to the Schengen Agreement need a special airport transit visa. This visa only allows the holder to stay in the airport’s international transit area, not to enter Norway.
Transit visa (type B)
Persons subject to the visa requirement intending to travel through one or more of the Schengen countries may be granted a transit visa that is valid for up to five days. This only applies when the person enters from a country that is not a party to the Schengen Agreement and is to exit to another country that is not a party to the agreement.
- Applicants who apply for transit visas for Norway include foreign nationals subject to the visa requirement intending to travel from Svalbard to a country outside the Schengen area. As with other visa applications, transit visa applications are to be made using the appropriate application form and submitted to the nearest foreign service mission
- Other applicants who may need a transit visa include seamen who will be signing on or off a vessel in a Norwegian port, or seamen who will be travelling through Norway to a country outside the Schengen area
Application form for a Schengen visa
Visa for pleasure sailing in Norwegian waters
Persons subject to the visa requirement who want to take a pleasure cruise in Norwegian waters need a visa and a special sailing permit. These visas and sailing permits are issued by the UDI.
Such sailing permits are granted in the period from 1 May to 15 September, but only once per year. All those participating in the trip must submit a visa application to the nearest Norwegian foreign service mission no later than two months prior to departure from their country of origin. The application must be accompanied by:
- A list of all those taking part in the trip
- Information about the vessel and the sailing schedule This information should be given on a special form available from the foreign service mission. All participants must hold a valid passport or other travel document.
The sailing permit indicates:
- Time period for the sailing
- Name of vessel
- Ports of call
It is prohibited to call at other ports unless there is an emergency. In the case of an emergency, the police must be contacted.
Application form
Any questions?
If you are still unsure about how to apply for a visa for Norway, you can contact your nearest Norwegian foreign service mission, or The Information Service (OTS).
