If you want to visit Europe, the Schengen visa is one hurdle you probably can’t avoid—especially if you happen to hold a Chinese passport. How painful the process is depends a lot on your luck, and on which consulate you deal with. Another author on this blog has already written about the experience of applying for a German Schengen visa through the German Consulate in New York. This time, my trip was to Sweden and Switzerland, with the UK in between. Since Sweden was my first Schengen entry point, I needed to apply for a Swedish visa. So why does the title say Norway instead of Sweden? Is this clickbait? Not really. The reason is that in certain states in the western, central, and southeastern U.S., as well as Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, visa matters for Sweden and Iceland are handled by the Norwegian Consulate in New York. In other words, if you live in those regions and originally planned to apply for a Swedish or Icelandic visa, you instead need to apply through the Norwegian consulate for a Norway-issued travel visa. Norway and Sweden are neighboring countries and were once part of the Sweden–Norway union, which has long since dissolved. In many parts of the world, the two countries provide visa services on each other’s behalf to save resources. Today I’ll walk through my own experience applying for a Norwegian Schengen visa. One more important note: my itinerary was U.S. → Sweden → UK → Switzerland → China, and Schengen visa applications generally require entry permission (visa) for any country on your itinerary that you will enter after leaving the Schengen Area. Because of that, I applied for my UK visa first and only then applied for the Norwegian visa. Reversing that order could have caused major problems.

Stockholm Arlanda Airport

Which country should you apply to for a Schengen visa?

A Schengen tourist Category C visa is the most common type. With this visa, you can generally travel freely throughout the Schengen Area. However, you must apply through the country you plan to visit. If you are visiting multiple countries, apply through your main destination—that is, the country where you will spend the most time. If there is no main destination, then you need to apply through the first Schengen country you will enter. You can read the relevant rules here.

Application process

Fill out the application form online

You can start a Schengen visa application only within 90 days before departure, not earlier. The first step is to complete the application form online. Whether you are traveling to Norway, Sweden, or Iceland, the form you need to fill out is the Norwegian visa application form. You can register for an account and complete the form on this Norwegian Directorate of Immigration website. The form is long and somewhat tedious, but it is not difficult to complete. After you finish, you will be asked to pay the €60 visa application fee by credit card. Of course, don’t forget to use a credit card with no foreign transaction fee, so you can avoid paying roughly 3% extra. After payment, you need to print the Cover Letter, application form, and receipt for the next step. One important thing to note: do not try to book your visa appointment through the Norwegian immigration website. Norwegian visa applications are processed through VFS Global/Travisa, so you need to go to this VFS website and click "Schedule Appointment" to enter the VFS system and book your appointment. Based on my experience, the Norwegian visa office in San Francisco (outsourced to Travisa) did not seem especially busy, and I was even able to get an appointment for the following week.

Prepare your documents

The required documents for a Schengen visa are fairly standard and do not differ much from one country to another. After I booked my appointment, I received an email from Travisa with a checklist of all the documents I needed to bring. We’ve listed them below as well.

  • Your passport;
  • The visa application form, Cover Letter, and application fee receipt that you printed earlier;
  • One passport photo taken within the last six months (a U.S. visa photo is acceptable);
  • Your itinerary within the Schengen Area and hotel (or other accommodation) reservations (you can book hotels with free cancellation);
  • Proof of legal status in the U.S. (such as a green card or visa), valid for at least 3 months after the end of your Schengen trip;
  • Proof of employment or enrollment. If you are employed, you also need a letter signed by your supervisor stating that your leave during the trip has been approved and that you may return to work after your travel. These letters should be printed on company or school letterhead;
  • Proof of financial means (bank statements from the past three months, employer-issued salary statements, or tax forms);
  • Mandatory medical insurance with coverage of more than $50,000 and a $0 deductible;

Because the Norwegian visa’s travel insurance requirements were very specific—and explicitly required a $0 deductible—my employer-provided health insurance did not qualify. So I bought coverage through Insure My Trip, underwritten by Seven Corners. It was extremely affordable, at less than $10, and I highly recommend it.

Fingerprinting and submitting the application

Since I did not live in the Bay Area, I bought a ticket on low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines and flew from Los Angeles to the Bay Area for the visa appointment. Travisa’s visa application center is right next to San Francisco Chinatown. After I walked in and explained why I was there, I was taken into a small room. A staff member quickly sorted through all of my documents, took fingerprints for all ten fingers, and then charged my credit card a total of $64.89 for the visa processing fee and return postage for my passport. She also told me that I should receive my passport back within 15 business days, and that if I did not, I could email them to ask about the status. On the one hand, her efficiency was impressive. On the other hand, after paying more than sixty dollars in processing fees and then being sent right on my way, I still felt a little strangely underwhelmed.

Receiving the passport

I submitted my application on a Monday, and by that same week’s Friday, I had already received an email from Travisa saying that the application had been processed, along with a FedEx tracking number for the return shipment. It had already been mailed out from the Norwegian Consulate in New York that Friday, and two days later, on Monday, I received the package and my passport. The processing speed was very fast. Considering that shipping from San Francisco to New York also takes time, the Norwegian consulate basically completed adjudication of the visa application in about two days, which deserves real credit for efficiency. Inside my passport was a brand-new Schengen visa, though its validity was only the travel period I had listed plus 15 days. Efficient, yes—but still a bit stingy. Since I needed to enter the Schengen Area twice, the visa was valid for two entries.

After getting the visa, I started worrying again about which hotels to stay at—there were just too many choices. Finally, a reminder: don’t forget to cancel any throwaway hotel bookings you made just for the visa application. Feel free to share your own Schengen visa experience in the comments!