March 22, 2022

How to Apply for Norway Schengen Visa in the Philippines

This was my third time applying for Schengen Visa at VFS Global Norway but every time I apply for a visa, there are always minor changes so I always feel like a first-timer. The visa fee is now 80EURO compared to 55EURO and the Royal Norwegian Embassy is now located in Bangkok Thailand so visa processing takes time. 


I am applying for a Visitors Visa because my mom lives in Norway so if you have family or relatives in Norway, this post might be helpful. 


Steps in Applying for Schengen Visa 

1. Identify visa type 

Visitor's Visa 

A visitor's visa allows you to stay in Norway or other countries in the Schengen area for up to 90 days over a period of 180 days. 

Citizens of the Philippines must apply for a visitor’s visa. The Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok is responsible for processing applications from the Philippines. 

I downloaded the checklist here, this is the only checklist I used so I was shocked when I found this checklist while I’m writing this blog, I’m not sure if this is already available when I downloaded the checklist last January. Upon checking, I was not able to submit the C-Visa Questionaire, good thing that our visas are still approved. (Update: My brother informed me na yung first checklist ang tinatanggap ng VFS hindi yung may C-Visa Questionaire)

“Print and answer all questions in the questionnaire for C-visa and submit it with your visa application.”

I’m a full-time mom so I submitted the following documents 

Original passport + printed copy of bio pages and used pages of passport
Passport photo 
Cover letter from the Application Portal Norway
Travel medical insurance 
Reservation of a round-trip flight ticket 
Proof of funds (UDI forms) 
Proof of ties (PSA Marriage Cert, Birth Certificate of my son, and Bank Certificate) 
Invitation Letter 
Proof of relationship (PSA Birth Certificate) 
Copy of the reference’s passport 

For my son who is still a student, I added 

Copies of both parents’ IDS with signature 
Legalized letter of parental consent (traveling without parents or one parent only) 
Certificate of Enrollment 
Copy of School ID 
My PSA Birth Certificate 

2. Begin your application 

Go to UDI Application Portal to register and submit your application form. You can apply for individual or group applications. 

3. Book an appointment 

“If you are part of a family or group, you’ll have to book individual appointments for each member of the family or group.” 

After submitting our visa form online, we can already book an appointment. There is no group appointment so we have to book individually but we can submit our application together. I did not check the appointments before because, from my past experiences, lagi may available slots. Unfortunately, last month, I waited for more than two weeks before we were able to submit our documents and because of that, nadelay din visa namin. 


Create an account and choose your schedule. 
Download and print the Letter of Appointment from your registered email. 

4. Pay your fees 

Pay your visa application online (Visa and Mastercard) 

80EURO - Visitor’s Visa for adults and children over 12 years old 
40EURO - Visitor’s visa for children between 6 and 12 years old 
NO FEE - Visitor’s visa for all children under the age of 6 

Download and print the receipt. 

I paid 160EURO or PHP9,642.97 

5. Visit the Visa Application Center 

There are 2 Visa Application Centers for Norway, one in Makati and one in Cebu. Of course, I chose Makati. We arrived before 7AM, the office was still closed but the line was already long. From the time na tinawag kami, it took us more or less an hour sa pagsubmit ng documents and biometrics.

For my past applications, I only paid for VFS fee but now, ang dami na additional and the staff did not ask if for pick up or deliver, he just gave me LBC shipping form so I guess it is mandatory already because of COVID19. Pero Yung SMS, sinama pa rin niya sa babayaran ko, nakatotal na agad sa receipt. 

PHP1502 - VFS Service Fee 
PHP175 - Courier Fee (Bangkok) 
PHP140 - SMS 
PHP370 - LBC Courier 
Total is PHP4374 (2 persons) 

Visa processing is 15 calendar days starting from the time the embassy received the documents. 

6. Track your application 

For our previous two applications, we did not avail of the SMS but we received an email update that our visas are already approved and we can already pick up our passports. I can also track our visa application online.

On the day that we submitted our applications, we received an email stating “Your visa application ref no. 123 will be forwarded to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok on the next working day from ___." But after that, I no longer receive any updates. I paid PHP140 x 2 for the SMS but I’m not getting real-time updates and the online tracking is useless too. 

After 10 days of no SMS update, I finally emailed VFS regarding the status of our visa and after few hours, sunud-sunod dumating yung email update. Ang weird lang kasi pare-pareho yung date, kung anong date ako nag-email. 

Your visa application ref no. 123 has been forwarded to the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok on ___ 
Your processed application ref no. 123 has been dispatched from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok on ___ to VFS Norway Visa Application Center in Manila. 
Your processed application ref no. 123 is now ready for pickup at VFS Norway Visa Application Center in Manila. 

So lahat ng yan, nangyari sa loob ng isang araw. I was happy that our passports arrived in Manila but I was disappointed because we paid for SMS update but there was no real-time update. Kung hindi pa ako nag-email, hindi ko malalaman status. 

After a few hours, VFS replied “Please be informed that as per VFS Norway Visa Application Centre, Your passport arrives today at VFS Global Center and is handover to LBC Express. Please visit the LBC website for tracking.” 

7. Collect your passport 

I started tracking our package pero nakatulog na lang ako wala pa rin status sa LBC but when I woke up, I was surprised na nasa area na namin yung package and I received our package within the day. 

For our past two applications, we usually received an email regarding the visa decision, so alam na namin kung approve or hindi but this time, nalaman ko na lang nung natanggap namin passport. We got an approved visa and we got a MULTIPLE SCHENGEN VISA but when I checked the date, multiple lang siya within our travel dates (3 Months). Toinks. Akala ko pa naman makakatipid na ko sa pag-apply ng Schengen Visa. 

Processing time is 15 days, we got our passport after 11 days while my cousin received her passport after 14 days. So matagal siya compared sa dati nung nasa Philippines pa yung embassy ng Norway. 

4 comments:

  1. Hi! So did it take 26 (15+11) days for you to receive your passport? Nagwoworry lang ako sa application ng dad ko since we're supposed to leave na by the end of the month and mag 2 weeks na since we submitted his application.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, 15 days is the visa processing timeframe but we got our passports, 11 days after we submitted our documents at VFS Norway. Yung SMS kasi na binayaran natin, hindi naman nagsend talaga ng real-time update so what I did, nag-email ako sa VFS regarding the status of our visa. You can also try the online tracking.

      Delete
  2. Hi. Did it take 11 WORKING DAYS? Or did it include weekends? Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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