Where can I apply for a Schengen visa?
If you reside, or are entitled to reside in Eritrea, you may apply for a Schengen visa for Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Germany or the Netherlands at the Norwegian Embassy in Asmara. The application should be submitted for the country of your journey’s main destination or the Schengen country where you intend to stay the longest.
How do I apply for a Schengen visa?
To apply for a Schengen visa, you must complete a visa application form by using the electronic Application Portal. For more information on the Application Portal, please click here.
You must submit your visa application in person. When doing so, you must be able to produce a passport in original, issued less than 10 years ago, that will be valid for at least 90 days after your visa expires. Before coming to the embassy you must have an appointment – information on how to get an appointment can be found here.
What conditions must I meet?
The number and types of documents to be enclosed will partly depend on the country to which you are applying and the nature of the visa application. Before submitting the application the applicant must find out in advance what documents he/she needs in order to apply for the specific visa. List of documents for the different countries and visas can be found here. The mission will only provide information in English and Tigrinya.
Among the criterias for granting and/or denying a visa the embassy will establish whether your visit poses a danger to public order, national security or international relations, and whether you previously have been refused entry to the Schengen area. The embassy will consider the purpose of your visit and the risk of illegal immigration, the risk that you may remain in the country illegally for other reasons, and the applicant’s ties to Eritrea.
The most common purposes for visiting the Schengen area are:
- visiting close family/friends (parents/children)
- tourism
- business
Depending on the purpose of your visit, you may be asked to produce certain documentary evidence, such as:
- documents showing your ability to pay for your travel and accommodation expenses, hotel reservations, an invitation from private individuals or business connections, a letter of invitation, or a guarantor's declaration
- documents showing that you intend to return to your country of origin (such as an employer's declaration or the deeds to your home, transcripts from bank accounts)
- a medical travel insurance policy that will cover any costs of repatriation on medical grounds, urgent medical care, or emergency hospital treatment. The insurance policy must be valid for the entire Schengen Area, the entire duration of your stay and it must provide minimum cover of €30,000.
Be advised that the embassy only accepts original documents or certified copies. All documents must be collected by the applicant and presented with the application. References cannot send supporting documents to the embassy. Faxes and scanned copies are not accepted. If the requested documents cannot be obtained, this will be taken into consideration when the embassy makes its decision.
How long does it take to get a visa?
The embassy process and handle all application in the order they are received. The applicant should under normal circumstances have the result 15 calendar days after the application was submitted. Electronic applications will be given priority.
However, depending on the supporting documents, facts submitted by the applicants and the embassy’s own investigations it can take from a few days up to 60 days to process a visa application. In exceptional cases, an investigation will take longer than 60 days. If you are travelling to the Schengen area for the first time, you should apply for your visa a minimum of 15 calendar days before the intended date of travel to make sure that you can travel on the dates you planned.
There are three different outcomes of a visa application. The embassy can grant a visa, deny a visa or if in doubt the application and a cover letter will be forward to the respective country’s immigration authorities for a decision.
If the application is forwarded to the Immigration authorities the embassy will not be able to answer questions. Questions should be directed to the respective Schengen country.
What if my application is refused?
The Norwegian embassy is only authorized to deny application for a visa to Norway. If a visa for a represented country cannot be granted, the application will be forwarded to that country's immigration authorities. If your application is refused, you will receive a letter which contains the reason(s) for refusal. You may appeal a denied visa to Norway in writing (not e-mail) within three weeks of notification of the decision. The appeal must be submitted to the Norwegian embassy in Asmara. There are two possible outcomes of such an appeal. Either the embassy changes its decision based on new information provided by the applicant, or the application is forwarded to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) in Norway.
You may also authorize a person to appeal the decision on your behalf or to represent you in any hearing (“Power of Attorney”). This person must have a written authorization to do so (in Norwegian or English), signed by you.
The visa-granting authority will then assess your appeal. If it decides in your favor, it will authorize the embassy to issue a visa. If it decides against you, you or the person you have authorized to act on your behalf will receive this decision through the embassy or the immigration authorities, explaining why your appeal has been rejected.
How much does a visa cost?
When you submit a visa application, you must pay a fee to cover the administrative costs. If your application is refused, the fee will not be refunded. The Schengen countries have harmonized their visa fees. The visa fee is currently EUR 60.
No other authority, person or company are entitled to payment for assistance or support when an application is submitted. For more on this, please see here.
For how long is a visa valid?
Visas are normally issued for the duration you specify, with a maximum of 90 days per 180 days.
The ‘duration of stay’ box on the sticker shows how long you may remain in the Schengen area. In the ‘from’ box, you will find the date on which your visa becomes valid. You may enter the Schengen area on that date or later. In the ‘to’ box, you will find the date on which your visa expires. After that date, the visa will no longer be valid. Take into account any possible delays during your journey, and do not travel on the very last day that the visa is valid. Not leaving the Schengen area before the visa expires is regarded to be an offence, and legal action may be taken. The applicant can be expelled from the Schengen area and denied a visa when/if the next application is submitted.
Why have I been given information about return control?
Most applicants applying for a Schengen visa at the Norwegian embassy are given return control. This means that the applicants upon return to Eritrea are requested to present their passport showing an exit stamp from the Schengen area in accordance with the validity of their visa. Denying or failing to do so will be vital information for the next time the applicant applies for a Schengen visa and may lead to a denial of visa. If your visa has been extended during your stay in Norway or a represented country, you should inform the embassy about this in writing to avoid complications with your return control.
Who decides on my visa application?
The embassy’s diplomatic staff makes independent decisions on visa applications. Local staff is never involved in the decisions made.
Even if a mission is not obliged to do so, it may choose to refer a visa application to the authorities in Norway or the represented countries for advice or further investigation.
Travelling with a Schengen visa
What documents do I have to take with me when I travel on a Schengen visa?
When you travel to the Schengen area, make sure you take copies of all the documents and other items of evidence that you had to produce in order to obtain the visa. A Schengen visa does not give you the automatic right to enter the Schengen area, you may still be asked to provide information or produce documents relating to your financial resources and the duration and purpose of your visit. Failing to present such documentation on the border control may result in denied access to the Schengen area even if a valid visa can be presented.
Where can I get information about visas?
Depending on your questions, you can contact the following authorities:
Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI)
Postboks 8108 Dep.
0032 Oslo
Norway
Phone no.: +47 23 35 16 00
E-mail: ots@udi.no
Website: www.udi.no
Danish Immigration Service
Ryesgade 53
2100 Copenhagen Ø
Denmark
Phone no.: +45 35 36 66 00
E-mail: us@us.dk
Website: www.nyidanmark.dk
Swedish Migration Board
Division for Visas, Work permits and Residence permits,
Tegelängsgatan 19 A
601 70 NORRKÖPING,
Sweden
Phone no.: +46 10 485 74 95
E-mail: migrationsverket@migrationsverket.se
Website: www.migrationverket.se
Icelandic Directorate of Immigration
Skógarhlíð 6
105 Reykjavík
Iceland
Phone no.: +354 510 5400
E-mail: utl@utl.is
Website: www.utl.is
(Germany - to be announced)
(the Netherlands - to be announced)