From 25th March 2001 Norway became part of the Schengen co-operation. For visa purposes, this means that a visa for entry into any one of the countries in the Schengen area will normally also be valid for all the other Schengen countries within the period for which the visa is valid. However, over a period of six months you are not permitted to spend more than a total of 90 days inside the Schengen area.
The Embassy or Consulate-General of the country of your main destination is the competent authority to deal with the application. If the main destination cannot be determined, the application should be submitted to the embassy of the country in which the longest visit shall be. If the visits in different Schengen countries are of equal length, the first destination shall be the determining factor.
In December 2007, the Schengen area was enlarged and nine of the newest EU member states joined the Schengen area, which now includes 25 countries. Schengen visas are issued by and valid for the following member states: the 22 EU member states – Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden – plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Switzerland joined the Schengen-area in December 2008.
Visa should be applied from the member state of your main destination.
A visitor to the Schengen countries is issued on condition that the applicant leaves the Schengen area before the visa expires. If you remain in Norway for longer than the visa period, you may be expelled from the country. You may also encounter difficulties in connection with any future applications for visa or residence permit. A visitor does not entitle you to work in Norway.
All nationals who wish to enter Norway must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Before applying for a Schengen visa to Norway, you must make sure that you have a passport or official travel document which is valid for at least three months beyond your stay in the Schengen area. All passports must contain two blank visa-pages.
Visa application:
Holder of ordinary passports should apply in person. In addition to the passport or travel document, you should bring photos. A case processing fee is payable for visa applications, whatever the outcome. The fee must be paid when you submit your application.
Please note that when a visa has been granted applicants are required to show the below documents in original in order to obtain their passport and visa. When the blow documents are handed in to the Embassy, the visa will be ready for pick-up in two days:
1. A valid return airplane ticket (with fixed dates) in original and one photocopy.
2. A valid health insurance (including one photocopy) covering any costs that may arise in connection with acute medical assistance and/or urgent hospital treatment and repatriation for medical reasons before receiving the visa. The insurance must be valid and payable in all Schengen Member States, during the entire period of the person's stay and with a minimum coverage of 30.000 Euros.
If you want to have the passport sent back by EMS/DHL, please add a postage fee. The embassy will not be responsible for any loss.
Applicants holding official passports (diplomatic passports, service passports, passports for public affairs) apply for their visas through the competent Chinese Ministry or Commission.
Where to apply:
Addresses: Royal Norwegian Embassy No. 1 Dong Yi Jie, San Li Tun Beijing 100600 P.R. China Tel: (+8610) 85319610 Fax: (+8610) 65322140 E-mail: bejvisa@mfa.no Website: www.norway.cn
Residents of the provinces of Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Zhejiang should submit their applications to: Royal Norwegian Consulate General, Shanghai Room 317, 12 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road Shanghai 200002 P.R.China Tel: (+8621) 6321 1270 Fax: (+8621) 6321 5977 E-mail: shavisa@mfa.no Website: www.norway.cn
Residents of the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi and Hainan should submit their applications to: Royal Norwegian Consulate General Guangzhou Suite 1802, CITIC Plaza, No. 233 Tian He North Road 510613 Guangzhou P.R.China Tel: (+8620) 3811 3188 Fax: (+8620) 3811 3199 E-mail: visa.guangzhou@mfa.no Website: www.norway.cn
Hong Kong and Macau residents should submit their applications to: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing. Hong Kong residents applying for business visas should submit their applications to: Consulate General of Finland Rm. 2405-2408 24/F Dah Sing Financial Centre 108 Cloucester Road Wanchai Hong Kong
Applications for residence permit should be submitted to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing.
Regarding appeals:
The appeal has to be submitted to the Foreign Service Mission within three weeks of the receipt of the refusal letter. When sending an appeal to the embassy, please enclose the following:
• Dated cover letter with a list of contained documents and a description of your foreign mission's consideration.
• The application including all of the documents enclosed with it, such as:
- Letter of invitation.
- Letter of guarantee.
- Documents concerning work, income and property.
- Documents concerning the applicant's family in his/her home country.
- Documents stating the applicant's ties to his/her relations in Norway
• Power of attorney, if applicable.
• Your foreign mission's letter of refusal.
• The appeal
• All other associated documents.