Norway and Finland coordinate visa procedures in Murmansk

“The Government’s aim is for the Norwegian-Russian border to function as a bridge for cooperation between our two peoples. That is why we are now making it easier for Russians to apply for visas to Norway,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre.

The Norwegian authorities are working continuously to ensure that it is easy to obtain a visa and travel over the border to Norway from northwestern Russia. A number of measures have been introduced over the past few years to enhance cross-border cooperation and trade, as well as to increase the number of border crossings.   

“There has been criticism in the north that Norway has had stricter visa requirements in Murmansk than Finland, with the result that northern Finland appears more attractive as a destination than North Norway. The Government is taking this matter seriously,” said Mr Støre.

The Government has therefore decided to bring Norway’s visa procedures in Murmansk in line with those of Finland. New procedures will be introduced at the Norwegian Consulate General in Murmansk with immediate effect. For applicants resident in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk the greatest change will be that they will be able to obtain a one-year multi-entry visa the first time they apply for a visa to Norway. 

This entails a further simplification of visa procedures for Russian applicants and will remove the differences between Norwegian and Finnish visa procedures that have existed in the local Schengen cooperation in Murmansk.

So far this year there has been a 14 % increase in the number of visa applications received by the Norwegian Consulate General in Murmansk. Some 99.5 % of the visa applications processed by the Consulate General are successful. Most of the applications are processed in the course of 3–5 days. The ultimate aim is the establishment of a visa-free regime with Russia.