This summer visa applicants in Pristina, Sarajevo, Hanoi, Bangkok and Manila may also apply for visa online.
The Visa Portal Norway is already in use at the embassies in London, Kiev, Moscow and Baku, and the consulates in Murmansk and St. Petersburg.
The portal offers faster, simpler and more efficient case processing for applicants, says Head of Department Karl Erik Sjøholt in the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).
Applicants are guided completing the application, and may check the status of the application by logging on later. It is also possible to receive a text message to a mobile phone or an e-mail in the event of a status change.
The application fee is payable online before the case handling starts. Applicants can also book an appointment at the embassy or consulate in order to avoid queuing.
In the first five months of 2009, 39 590 visa application have been granted. 2 345 were granted at the embassy in Bangkok, 2 322 in Manila, 723 in Belgrade, 717 in Hanoi, 514 in Sarajevo and 513 in Skopje.
