How to apply for a Norway Schengen visa from the UK

Where you apply

Apply to Norway if it is your main destination, by length of stay or purpose; if that cannot be determined, apply to your first point of entry to the Schengen Area. To apply from the UK you must live here legally.

The embassy in London is the hub for applications to Norway from the UK, as well as from Russia and Belarus. It says you cannot hand in an application at the embassy or by post, only at VFS Global:

• London: Joint Visa Application Centre, 66 Wilson Street, EC2A 2BT.
• Edinburgh: Joint Visa Application Centre, 1 Rennie's Isle, Leith, EH6 6QT. VFS asks you to allow additional days for processing from here.

Since 1 January 2024 everyone needs an appointment booked in advance; walk-ins are accepted only from people travelling to Norway on a cruise from the UK. Book under the right category, since VFS says that with the wrong one you will not be able to hand in your documents, and pay the VFS service fee online to confirm the slot.

Step by step

1. 1

   Register and pay in the UDI portal

   Create an account in UDI's application portal, fill in the form and pay the visa fee. You receive an email with the form (schengen.pdf), a summary and the receipt; print and sign the form.
2. 2

   Book at VFS Global

   Choose London or Edinburgh and the category for your trip, and pay the VFS service fee by card.
3. 3

   Gather the documents

   Print the UK checklist, tick each document and sign it. If you cannot provide a document, the embassy asks for a written explanation.
4. 4

   Attend the appointment

   Hand in the passport, form and documents, and give fingerprints unless they were taken in the last 59 months.
5. 5

   Plan to be without your passport

   It stays at the embassy until the decision. VFS said in August 2026 that a Schengen visa applicant's passport may not be returned while the application is processed, and advises applying later if you need it within three weeks of your appointment. The embassy's page still says you can ask it by email to return the passport once its document checks are done, but that this may prolong processing.
6. 6

   Wait for the decision

   Normally up to 15 calendar days after the embassy receives the file, or up to 45 if it goes to UDI, plus courier time. Apply no later than 15 days before you travel, and up to six months ahead.

Documents

The country's own checklist is the one that counts. The core of it:

• Passport issued within the last ten years, valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages.
• Proof of your UK immigration status, such as your eVisa and a share code, valid beyond your return.
• The signed application form and a photo to the ICAO passport standard.
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
• Recent bank statements, and a letter from your employer or proof of studies or self-employment.
• A flight reservation, and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.

On top of that, the VFS Global checklist for Norway asks for:

• A Home Office share code showing your UK status valid at least one month beyond your departure from the Schengen Area (the checklist still also mentions a BRP, which eVisas have replaced).
• UK bank statements in your name for at least the last three months, showing the current balance, and credit card statements.
• A recent signed letter from your employer plus three months' payslips; the self-employed bring a letter from an accountant, banker or solicitor and a self-assessment form; students a letter from their UK school, college or university.
• For tourism, a confirmed hotel booking for the whole stay in Norway, or a tour booking. VFS warns that a missing travel or hotel booking to Norway will likely lead to a refusal.

VFS asks for documents no older than one month, as A4 copies without staples; bring the originals to show. If someone in Norway pays for your trip, they use UDI's sponsorship form, digital since 13 January 2025. You do not need one if you can show at least NOK 1,300 a day, for example with bank statements or payslips for the past six months, the embassy says.

Fees and processing time

Visa fee, adults

€90, paid online in the UDI portal when you register

Children aged 6 to 11

€45

VFS service fee

€27 including VAT, paid online when you book (VFS Global, November 2026)

Processing

Normally up to 15 calendar days, up to 45 if sent to UDI (Royal Norwegian Embassy)

If you take your passport back during processing and later hand it in again for the visa, VFS charges €18.90 in Edinburgh; London, the hub, does not charge. VFS fees are not refundable.

Applications and refusals

In 2025, the consulates of Norway in the UK received 10,599 short-stay Schengen visa applications: 2.1% of all those lodged in the UK, and the 12th most of any Schengen country. They refused 18.8% of the applications they decided; across every Schengen country in the UK the rate was 10.5%, according to the European Commission's visa statistics.

Applications, 2025

10,599

Rank in the UK

12th of 28 Schengen countries

Refused

18.8%

All Schengen countries in the UK

10.5% refused

The Commission counts applications where they are lodged, not by nationality, so these are residents of the UK of many nationalities. A refusal rate is an average over every applicant and says little about any one file; and the country you apply to is set by your main destination, not by its refusal rate.

What applicants reported

20 applicants in the United Kingdom have reported their Norway visa to Visa Catcher's statistics. The median time from appointment to passport back was 14 days.

Reports

20

Appointment to passport back (median)

14 days; typically 10–17 days

Approved

95% of 20 with a known outcome

Validity granted (median)

1 year

Multiple entry

58%

See every Norway report from the United Kingdom · how the statistics work

How often new dates appear

London. Our monitors saw new Norway appointments appear in London 95 times in the last 90 days, on 49 different days; the typical gap between two releases was about 11 hours. The latest release we saw was on 9 November at 15:01 UK time. Over the past year (307 releases), 42% came on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 27% between 15:00 and 18:00 UK time.

Getting the appointment

The form is the easy part. The hard part is a free date with VFS Global: when demand is high the calendar can stay empty, and new dates go quickly when they appear. In the last 90 days our monitors saw new dates appear in London 95 times, typically about 11 hours apart.

These are the ways to get a date, including ours:

Each Norway route we track has its own page, and every route is on the UK appointment board page. For how the booking systems work, see how to book a Schengen visa appointment in the UK.

• Norway visa appointment, London
• Norway visa appointment, Edinburgh

Questions

Where do I apply for a Norway visa in the UK?

At VFS Global in London or Edinburgh, by appointment; the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London decides. The embassy says you cannot hand in an application at the embassy or by post.

Do I get my passport back while a Norwegian visa is processed?

Normally not: it stays at the embassy in London until the decision. VFS Global says a Schengen visa applicant’s passport may not be returned while the application is processed, and advises applying later if you need it within three weeks of your appointment. The embassy’s page says you can ask it by email to return the passport once its document checks are done, but that this may prolong processing.

How early should I apply for a Norway visa from the UK?

The Royal Norwegian Embassy recommends at least four weeks before you travel, and no later than 15 days before. You can apply up to six months ahead.

Do I pay the Norwegian visa fee at VFS Global?

No. You pay the visa fee online in UDI’s application portal when you register. The VFS Global service fee is separate and is paid online when you book the appointment.

What is the refusal rate for Norway Schengen visas in the UK?

In 2025, the consulates of Norway in the UK refused 18.8% of the short-stay visa applications they decided, against 10.5% across all Schengen countries in the UK, according to the European Commission’s visa statistics. They received 10,599 applications, the 12th most of any Schengen country.

Sources

• Royal Norwegian Embassy in London: visitor’s visa
• Royal Norwegian Embassy in London: visitor’s visa and residence permit
• UDI (Norwegian Directorate of Immigration): visit and holiday applications
• VFS Global: Norway visa application centres in the UK
• VFS Global Norway, UK: book an appointment
• VFS Global Norway, UK: visa fees, documents and processing time
• VFS Global Norway, UK: Schengen visa document checklist (PDF)
• VFS Global Norway, UK: your passport stays at the embassy (3 August 2026)
• VFS Global Norway, UK: embassy renovation and July 2026 closure (22 June 2026)
• EU Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (consolidated text of 28 June 2024)
• European Commission: visa policy and the short-stay visa fee
• European Commission: Schengen visa statistics for consulates, 2025 (2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx)

Rules and fees are set by the consulates and their visa centres and can change; check the official pages above before you apply. Our coverage, prices and release statistics on this page are live. Visa Catcher is an independent appointment-tracking service, not affiliated with any visa centre, embassy, consulate or government.