Perched on the northwestern corner of Europe and partially positioned within the Arctic circle, Norway is definitely not the easiest country to reach: unless you’re travelling from within Scandinavia (or from Northern England), the only way to do so is by plane. Furthermore, Norway is not a member of the EU. But since it is a member of both the Schengen area and the European Economic Area, those with an EU passport or a Schengen visa can enter the country fairly easily.
Do you need a visa to travel to Norway?
You can travel to Norway with a valid passport and/or identity card if you're a citizen of the EU, the EUA area, or one of the non-EU countries that have signed and implemented the Schengen treaty (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland). Norway also has agreements in place with several countries in Latin America and Asia, as well as with Australia, New Zealand and the US: if you're a passport holder (in some cases, biometric passport holder) from these places, you won't need a visa to enter Norway. Check the full list of countries here.
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Even if your country of citizenship is not in that list, you can still enter Norway without a visa, as long as you have a residence permit in a Schengen country (in which case you must present your residence card and passport).
Furthermore, if you're a holder of a diplomatic passport from one of the countries that have diplomatic relationships with Norway, you won't need a visa. To find more detailed information on diplomatic passports, click here.
If you do need a visa to enter Norway, and you plan to visit for less than 90 days, you can apply for a visitor's visa -- which will also be valid for any other of the Schengen countries. The best way to go about it is to visit the official website of the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, specify the country of your citizenship and read the personalised information and guidelines for your case.
Planning your trip to Norway
Norway has eight international airports, but your point of entry will most likely be Oslo, where you can fly directly from 119 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the US (to name a few). The Oslo airport, situated at Gardermoen a 20-minute train ride away from Oslo city, features the world's greenest terminal (snow from the runways is collected and stored during wintertime, to be used as coolant during the summer) as well as a mini Edvard Munch museum.
Norway also has an extensive coastline and a seafaring history, so if you're travelling from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, or the UK, ferries are also an option. You can also enter Norway by train from several European cities (note that most journeys are overnight), by bus from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Russia, or you can drive through the border from Sweden, Finland, or Russia.
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