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VISAS

Who can move to Norway on a working holiday visa in 2024?

Norway offers several working holiday visa types, allowing foreigners to come to the country and earn a wage while travelling.

Published: 16 January 2024 16:09 CET
Pictured is a person on top of the
Nationals from a number of countries are able to come to Norway on a working holiday visa. Pictured is a person on top of the "sugartop" in Ålesund. Photo by Robert Noreiko on Unsplash

Norway’s residence permit rules can make it quite challenging to be granted a skilled worker permit, as the conditions on the type of job, how it relates to your specific skill and factors such as working hours and pay are pretty stringent.

Additionally, Norway’s holiday visas do not give those coming to the country the right to work, nor do those visiting under the non-visa-free rules have the right to undertake work.

Luckily, Norway has a working holiday visa, which allows young adults from certain nations to travel to Norway to earn a wage during their visit.

These permits allow some nationals to come to Norway and live there for between one and two years while working.

They do require applicants to either have some form of savings to sustain themselves for their first free months in Norway or have a job offer on the table.

Depending on where one is from, they will need to be under a certain age, hold health insurance, not be likely to fall sick in Norway, and not work for the same employer for too long.

Who is eligible for a working holiday visa?

Young adults from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Argentina can obtain a working holiday visa to come to Norway.

The rules differ slightly for nationals from different countries.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many other options for other nationals from outside the EEA.

Those who are from EEA/EU don’t have a working holiday visa available to them. However, the Freedom of Movement rules are flexible and do allow nationals from these countries to work and live in Norway fairly freely.

Can anyone else get an extended visa to come to Norway?

Some people will be able to obtain a permit to come to Norway for nine months to visit a child. Furthermore, there are specific visas for employees of humanitarian and nonprofit organisations, artists and performers, people travelling under the Norec scheme, journalists on assignment, media personnel on assignment and those visiting for other cultural purposes.

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) keeps an overview of all the non-holiday visas it offers on its website.

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VISAS

Cost for getting a short-stay Schengen visa to rise on June 11th

The fee for getting a Schengen visa will rise by 12 percent in June, the European Commission has confirmed.

Published: 4 June 2024 14:52 CEST
Cost for getting a short-stay Schengen visa to rise on June 11th

The hike means the basic fee for a Schengen visa will rise from €80 to €90 for adults and from €40 to €45 for children. The reason for the price hike has been blamed on inflation in member states.

Schengen visas can be obtained by non-EU citizens from countries that do not benefit from the EU / Schengen area’s 90-day rule such as such as nationals of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China.

Schengen visas are not required for citizens of countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia who are paying short visits to the EU, since they are entitled to 90 days of visa-free travel in every 180.

Anyone who wants to spend longer in an EU country will need to apply for a long-stay visa – but these are issued by individual countries, not the EU. The cost of these visas vary depending on the country and the type of visa (eg study visa, work visa).

In addition to raising the basic fee to €90, the EU has also proposed hiking the fee even higher for those countries who are deemed not be cooperative with receiving expelled citizens back from member states.

In this case the Schengen visa fee for citizens from that country will rise from €120/€160 to €135 /€180.

In addition, the revision of visa fees impacts the maximum amount that external service providers collecting visa applications on behalf of member states can charge, which is usually set at up to half the standard fee.

This charge would increase from €40 to €45.

The fee for a Schengen visa extension will remain at €30.

Revised every three years

Every three years the EU Commission is tasked to assess whether new fees are needed, considering “objective criteria”, such as the EU inflation rate and the average of civil servants’ salaries in EU member states.

The Commission published its proposal on February 2nd, following a meeting with experts from EU member states in December, when an “overwhelming majority” supported the revision.

The Commission says that even with the increase, the visa fees for the Schengen area are “still relatively low” compared to other countries. For instance, a visa for the USA costs €185, or €172; for the UK it starts from £115 (€134); for Canada it is $100 plus $85 for biometrics, or €130; for Australia $190, the equivalent of €117.

Digital-only visa

The EU is also planning to introduce a digital-only Schengen visa. This will allow to apply online, regardless of the Schengen country applicants intend to visit, and will replace the current sticker in passports with a digital visa.

According to the European Commission website, the digital platform will start operating in 2028.

Who needs a Schengen visa

The Schengen visa allows a stay for tourism or family visits (but not for work) in 28 European countries for up to 90 days in any 6-month period. People travelling for business trips, conferences or meetings apply for a Schengen business visa.

Anyone who wants to stay longer, or to work, needs a visa from the country they intend to visit.

The Schengen visa is required for citizens of countries who do not benefit from the ‘90-day rule’, such as nationals of South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China.

It is not needed for other non-EU nationals such as Brits, Americans, Canadians or Australians who can spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the Schengen area without needing a visa. You can see the full list of countries who need a visa here.

Schengen countries include EU member states, excluding Ireland (which opted out), Cyprus, and Bulgaria and Romania for land borders. Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland are not EU members but have also joined the Schengen Convention.

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