Norway visa guideThe Norway tourist visa is a Schengen visitor's visa (type C) for holidays and sightseeing, allowing up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area. You register the application and pay the €90 fee on the UDI portal, then hand in your documents and give fingerprints at a VFS Global centre such as Chandigarh or New Delhi. The Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi decides, normally within 15 days of receiving the file, plus courier days.
Norway issues the visa to the dates on your flight booking, asks for multiple entries only when you can show a need, and wants every document in English or Norwegian.
Do Indians need a visa for Norway, and which one?
Yes. Indian passport holders need a visitor's visa for Norway, which is a Schengen short-stay visa, type C. It allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period in Norway and the rest of the Schengen area. It is not an e-visa. You register the application and pay the fee online on the UDI application portal (UDI is the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration), then hand in your documents and give biometrics in person at a VFS Global centre.
The Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi processes the file, and every case is assessed on its own facts. Some cases are sent on to UDI in Norway, which takes longer. The same Embassy handles applicants who live in Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Bhutan. If you are in India but are not an Indian national or resident, you must show that you are in India legally and explain why you are applying in New Delhi.
Apply to Norway only if it is your only stop or your main one: the Schengen country where you spend the most days, or where the main purpose of the trip lies. With an equal split between countries, apply to the one where you first enter the Schengen area.
Norway visitor visa at a glance
- VisaRegister and pay on the UDI portal first
- Schengen visitor's visa, type C
- Longest stayShared across all Schengen countries
- 90 days in any 180-day period
- Who decidesSome cases go to UDI in Norway
- Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi
- Where you hand it inChandigarh and New Delhi are both Norway centres
- VFS Global
- Visa feeUnder 6 free
- €90 adult, €45 child aged 6 to 11
- Normal decision timeUp to 45 in some cases, plus courier days
- 15 days
Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi and VFS Global, checked 14 Oct 2026
Two Norway habits to know before you start. The Embassy asks you not to request multiple entries unless you can document a need: you do not need one to move between Schengen countries on a single trip. And Norway adds 15 days to the visa's validity for flexibility on entry and exit, without adding a single day to the stay you are allowed.
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
At VFS Global, the official partner of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in India. Norway's centres in India are in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune, all open Monday to Friday. For Patiala and the rest of Punjab, and for Haryana and Chandigarh, the nearest is Chandigarh. Delhi residents use the New Delhi centre.
All files go to the Embassy in New Delhi, so there is no state-wise jurisdiction. Distance shows up in the time instead. The Embassy counts its 15 days from the day the file reaches it, and tells applicants to add 2 days for Delhi and 4 to 6 days for Chandigarh and the other cities, for the courier.
Before the appointment:
- Register on the UDI portal. Create an account, fill in the form and pay the fee. You then get an email with the form (schengen.pdf), an application summary and the payment receipt. Print the form and sign it.
- Book at VFS. Booking an appointment is mandatory. VFS says you will be given an appointment within two weeks.
- Card trouble? The Embassy has seen payments fail on the portal. Check with your bank that the card meets EU payment-security rules, try a card from another bank, or ask your contact in Norway to pay for you.
At the centre, a first-time applicant must appear in person and give a photograph and all 10 fingerprints. If your fingerprints went into the Schengen Visa Information System less than 59 months ago, they are copied across. Travelling as a family or with friends? The Embassy strongly recommends a group application for two or more people: you register up to 16 at a time under "Visa group", share one itinerary, pay the fees together and attend the same centre. To see how dates are opening up, check our Norway appointment availability page.
Which documents depend on your situation?
The common checklist is further down this page. Norway's own checklist for India sets two rules that apply to every paper in the file. Documents must be in English or Norwegian, with any other language translated by an authorised translator who is named. And you hand in originals with A4 copies, no staples or pins, in the order the checklist gives.
Then the proof of your situation:
Salaried
- What to show
- Documents of employment and permission for leave, plus three months of bank statements
Student
- What to show
- Documents of your school or studies and the institution's permission for leave
Business owner or self-employed
- What to show
- Proof of your business and income, with three months of bank statements
Retired
- What to show
- Pension and other income proof, with three months of bank statements
Someone else pays
- What to show
- The sponsor's sponsorship and invitation form, digital or paper
A child (minor)
- What to show
- A legalised letter of consent from both parents if travelling alone, or from the parent who is not travelling; or the certificate of single custody
When is a sponsorship form needed? The Embassy's line is NOK 500 per day per person. If you can document that much yourself, through a bank statement or a wage specification for the past six months, you do not need a sponsorship form, though you may still add one. Below that, the person paying fills in the form. Since January 2025 a Norwegian sponsor can do it digitally with their electronic ID, or use the paper form.
Your bookings. Norway wants a confirmed booking of a round-trip itinerary with fixed dates, but not a bought ticket. Read this line on the checklist twice: the visa will be issued according to the dates on the flight bookings. On a package tour or cruise, add the travel agent's payment confirmation; if you travel on your own, a detailed day plan.
Photo. The checklist line says 35 to 40 mm on a white background, not older than six months. Norway's photo specification is more exact: 35 × 45 mm, with the face 32 to 36 mm tall (70 to 80% of the photo), a light neutral background, sharp focus and a print of at least 600 dpi. Give the studio the full specification, not the checklist line.
Visiting relatives or friends needs a different set of papers. The Norway family visit visa guide covers that route.
How much is the Norway visa fee for Indians?
The visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11; children under 6 pay nothing. You pay it online when you register the application on the UDI portal. VFS then charges a service fee at the counter, and here the official pages disagree: VFS's own Norway page lists €8 per applicant, while the Embassy's visitor-visa page says €20. Both were live when we checked on 14 October 2026, so carry enough for the higher figure. Optional VFS extras such as courier or SMS cost more. The visa fee and service charges are not refunded if the Embassy refuses the visa, or if you withdraw the application. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
The normal processing time is 15 days from the day the Embassy receives your application. When a case needs closer scrutiny it can run to 45 calendar days, and cases sent to UDI may take up to 45 days too. Then add the courier: about 2 days for Delhi, 4 to 6 days for Chandigarh.
When to apply:
- Latest: no later than 15 calendar days before the trip starts. Treat that as the legal floor, not a plan.
- Recommended: at least 4 weeks before departure, says the Embassy, because of the courier between centres and New Delhi.
- Earliest: the official pages disagree. The Embassy's and VFS's rules allow six months before the trip, but the Embassy's processing section says you may register three months before your planned trip. Plan within the three months, which satisfies both.
Do not chase the file early. If 15 days have not passed since the Embassy received it, the application is still being processed, and follow-ups only slow things down. As long as your passport has not gone back to VFS, no decision has been made. When it has, the Embassy sends it in a sealed envelope to the centre where you applied, and VFS tells you by SMS (if you paid for it) or through online tracking.
Why do Norway visas get refused for Indian applicants?
Norway applies the EU Visa Code, so the refusal grounds are the Schengen ones. These four sink most holiday files from India, and each can be dealt with before you apply.
A trip that does not hang together
Refusals for an unjustified purpose, or for unreliable information, usually come from documents that disagree. Your flight booking, day plan, hotel confirmations and leave letter must show the same dates. In Norway this matters twice over, because the visa itself is issued to the dates on the flight booking.
Money that does not cover the stay
The officer needs to see sufficient means for the whole stay and the return. Use the Embassy's own yardstick of NOK 500 per day per person, show it on three months of bank statements, and explain any large recent deposit. If someone else pays, the sponsorship form must be in the file.
Doubts that you will go home
The Visa Code lets an officer refuse when your intention to leave before the visa expires cannot be ascertained. Answer it with your life in India: the employer's leave letter, your business or pension papers, property, and the family who stay behind. Keep the trip length in proportion to your leave.
An incomplete or untranslated file
Norway's checklist warns that the application may be rejected if the necessary documents are not all submitted. A Punjabi-language document without an authorised translation does not meet the checklist. Translate, copy on A4, tick and sign the checklist, and hand everything in on the day.
Every standard Schengen refusal ground is explained on our Schengen refusal reasons page.
Tips for a stronger file
- Book dates you will keep. Reserve, do not buy, but make the reserved dates the real ones. The visa follows them, so a shortened booking gives you a shorter visa.
- Ask for one entry unless you need more. Norway will not issue multiple entries without a documented need. A trip to the UK, or to Svalbard, in the middle of your holiday is such a need: say so and show the booking.
- Write a cover letter that matches the bookings. Purpose, dates, cities, where you sleep, who travels with you, and who pays.
- Use the money yardstick. NOK 500 a day per person, documented through six months of bank statements or wage slips, removes the need for a sponsorship form.
- Buy insurance at home. It must be valid in all Schengen countries for the whole stay, with cover of at least €30,000 including repatriation for medical reasons, emergency hospital treatment and death. The Embassy says it should as a rule be bought in your home country. See our Schengen travel insurance explainer.
- Do not fear a typo in the form. The Embassy can correct mistakes in the application form itself; you do not need to file a new application.
- Give a working phone number and email. The Embassy or VFS contacts you when the case is decided.
- Plan the collection. Someone else can collect the passport at VFS with the original government photo ID of both of you, the original receipt (ICR) with a photocopy, and an authorisation letter you have signed. One person collecting for a group needs a letter from each applicant.
- Carry proof at the border too. A visa is not an automatic right of entry. Have cash or a credit card, the sponsorship form copy if you have one, and papers showing the purpose of the visit.
Can I visit Svalbard on a Norway visa?
Yes, but plan for it in the application. Svalbard, like Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is not part of the Schengen area. Flying from mainland Norway to Svalbard and back takes you out of Schengen and in again, so the Embassy says travel to Svalbard requires a visa for two or more entries. Mention Svalbard in your cover letter, include the bookings, and ask for the right number of entries on the form. The same logic applies to a side trip to the UK.
Inside the Schengen area itself, one entry is enough to travel freely between the 29 countries, as long as you stay within your allowed days. Arrivals and departures at Schengen external borders are now logged electronically by the Entry/Exit System (EES), which began on 12 October 2025 and replaces manual passport stamps.
What can you do if Norway refuses your visa?
You will get a written explanation of the reasons, based on the Schengen Visa Code, with details of how and where to appeal. Appeals go to UDI through the Embassy. The deadline is three weeks from the date you were told of the decision, or from the date you should have known about it, so check the date on the letter the day it arrives. Our refusal deadline tool helps. Be prepared to wait: the Embassy says appeals take more than 3 months to handle.
For many refusals a fresh application with a stronger file is faster than an appeal, especially when the problem was a missing paper, thin funds or mismatched dates. If the officer did not accept a document you had already given, an appeal argues that point. Read more about reapplying after a refusal, and for other trip types start at the Norway country page.
Official sources
- Visitor's visa, Norway in India (Royal Norwegian Embassy)
- VFS Global Norway India: Schengen visitor visa information
- VFS Global Norway India: visa application centres
- VFS Global Norway India: digital sponsorship and invitation form
- VFS Global Norway India: Entry Exit System
- Visa Code, consolidated text (EUR-Lex)
