Norway visa guideThe Norway family visit visa is a Schengen visitor's visa (type C) for staying with relatives or friends who live in Norway, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. You register and pay on the UDI portal, hand in the file at VFS Global, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi decides, normally within 15 days of receiving it, plus courier days.
The heart of the file is the host: an invitation that states the relationship, copies of the host's passport, and proof of the family link. If the host pays, add Norway's sponsorship and invitation form, unless you can show NOK 500 a day yourself.
Do Indians need a visa to visit family in Norway, and which one?
Yes. Visiting children, siblings, a spouse or friends who live in Norway uses the Schengen visitor's visa, type C. It is the visa most Punjabi families use to see relatives settled in Norway. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area, and it is for visits only: anyone who wants to live with family in Norway for longer than 90 days needs a family reunification permit, which is a residence permit, not a visa.
You register the application and pay the fee on the UDI portal (UDI is the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration), hand in the file and give fingerprints at VFS Global, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi decides. Family visits are judged on whether you will go home more than on money: your job, business, property and dependants in India are what show the officer you will leave when the visit ends.
Visiting family in Norway: the basics
- VisaUp to 90 days in any 180
- Schengen visitor's visa, type C
- Host's partPlus the sponsorship form if the host pays
- Invitation letter and passport pages
- Money yardstickIf you show it, no sponsorship form is needed
- NOK 500 per day per person
- Decided by
- Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi
- Visa feeUnder 6 free
- €90; €45 for ages 6 to 11
Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi and VFS Global, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
At a VFS Global centre for Norway. Families in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh use the Chandigarh centre, and Delhi families use New Delhi. Norway's other centres are in Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, all open Monday to Friday. Every application goes to the Embassy in New Delhi, which tells Chandigarh applicants to allow 4 to 6 extra courier days, and Delhi applicants about 2.
Before the centre:
- Register on the UDI portal for each traveller, fill in the form and pay. Print and sign the schengen.pdf form that arrives by email.
- Apply together if you travel together. Parents or a whole family can register 2 to 16 people at a time under "Visa group", pay together, and ask VFS for a group appointment. Everyone in the group must share one itinerary and use the same centre.
- If the card payment fails, the Embassy suggests checking with your bank, trying a card from another bank, or asking your relative in Norway to pay the fee on your behalf.
At the centre, each first-time applicant appears in person for a photograph and 10 fingerprints; prints taken for a Schengen visa less than 59 months earlier are reused. To see when dates open up, check our Norway appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The standard list is printed further down. A family visit adds the host's papers, proof of the relationship, and your own side of the money.
From your relative or friend in Norway:
- An invitation letter stating the purpose of the visit and how you are related.
- Copies of their passport. Norway's family checklist asks for the first and last pages of the host's passport, and only the last page if the host holds an Indian passport. If the host is not Norwegian, add a copy of their Norwegian residence card as proof of legal residence.
- The sponsorship and invitation form, if the host is paying for your travel and stay.
Proof of the relationship:
Son or daughter
- What proves it
- Your child's birth certificate naming you as parent
Spouse
- What proves it
- The marriage certificate
Brother or sister
- What proves it
- Birth certificates showing the same parents
Grandchildren, nieces, nephews
- What proves it
- The chain of birth certificates that links you
A friend
- What proves it
- The invitation, explaining how you know each other
From you: documents of your employment, school or studies, with permission for leave, and your income if you have any, plus copies of your bank account for the last three months.
Retired parent
- What to add
- Pension papers and the bank account the pension is paid into
Salaried
- What to add
- Employment papers and leave approval for the travel dates
Self-employed or farmer
- What to add
- Business or land records and the income they produce
Student
- What to add
- Proof of studies and the institution's permission for leave
Child
- What to add
- Legalised consent from both parents if travelling alone, or from the parent who is not travelling
Every document must be in English or Norwegian; Punjabi or Hindi papers need an authorised translation. Hand in originals with A4 copies, without staples or pins.
How much is the Norway family visit visa fee for Indians?
The visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11, and children under 6 pay nothing. You pay it on the UDI portal when you register. VFS adds a service fee at the counter, where the two official pages disagree: VFS's Norway page lists €8 per applicant, the Embassy's page €20, both on 14 October 2026, so carry enough for €20. Family members of EU or EEA citizens who fall under the EU/EEA rules pay no visa fee, and can hand in their application directly at the Embassy instead of at VFS. Fees are not refunded after a refusal. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
The Embassy normally decides within 15 days of receiving the file. Some cases go to UDI in Norway, and those can take up to 45 calendar days. The courier between Chandigarh and New Delhi adds 4 to 6 days.
Plan family trips like this:
- Apply at least 4 weeks before you fly, as the Embassy recommends, and never later than 15 calendar days before.
- Do not apply too early. Applications are accepted up to six months ahead, but the Embassy also says you may register three months before the trip; stay within three months.
- Big family group? The Embassy suggests three to four months ahead for larger groups.
- Do not chase the file inside 15 days. Until the passport returns to VFS, no decision has been made.
Why do Norway family visit visas get refused for Indian applicants?
Norway applies the Schengen Visa Code. Family files usually fail on these points.
A relationship the papers do not prove
If the invitation says "my mother" but no birth certificate links you, or the names are spelt differently across documents, the purpose of the visit is not shown. Give the certificates that make the link, and explain any spelling difference or name change in your cover letter.
No clear reason to come back
The officer must be satisfied that you will leave before the visa expires. A parent whose children all live abroad needs to show what holds them in India: property, a pension, land, other family, a fixed return date. A visit planned right up to the 90-day limit needs a stronger answer.
The host pays, but nothing proves it
If your relative covers the trip and the file has no sponsorship and invitation form, and your own account does not show NOK 500 a day, the officer sees no means for the stay. Include one or the other, and preferably both.
Dates that do not match
Norway issues the visa to the dates on your flight booking. An invitation for six weeks, a booking for eight and insurance for four tells the officer the plan is unclear. Fix one set of dates and use it everywhere.
Each standard Schengen refusal ground is explained on our Schengen refusal reasons page.
Tips for a stronger file
- Ask the host to write the relationship into the invitation. The checklist wants the purpose of the visit and the relation between you, in the host's own letter.
- Show your own money. Even if the host pays, three months of your statements show a real life in India. Six months of statements or wage slips at NOK 500 a day remove the need for the sponsorship form.
- Keep the stay sensible. Ninety days is a ceiling, not a target. A clear return date, tied to something in India, reads well.
- Insure older parents properly. The policy must cover the whole Schengen area for the entire stay, at least €30,000, including medical repatriation and emergency hospital care. Buy it in India. Our Schengen travel insurance explainer covers the details.
- Book dates you will keep. Reserve a round-trip itinerary, do not buy it, and remember the visa follows those dates.
- Plan the passport's return. Someone else can collect it at VFS with both your original government photo IDs, the original receipt with a photocopy, and your signed authorisation letter.
Can my family in Norway pay for the trip?
Yes. When a private person in Norway covers your travel and stay, they complete Norway's sponsorship and invitation form. Since 13 January 2025 individuals can fill it in digitally, signing in through ID-porten with their Norwegian electronic ID, and the paper form is still accepted. The form goes in your file, and you carry a copy when you travel, because Norway tells sponsored visitors to bring one to the border.
The form is not always needed. If you can document at least NOK 500 per day per person yourself, through a bank statement or wage specification for the past six months, the Embassy says you do not need it, although you may still use it if it helps. A retired parent with a modest pension should include it.
If the Embassy refuses, the letter explains why and how to appeal. The deadline is three weeks, and the appeal goes through the Embassy to UDI. For a holiday without a host, see the Norway tourist visa guide; for work trips, the Norway business visa guide.
