Svalbard and Jan Mayen Visa Policy

Svalbard and Jan Mayen are two remote jurisdictions and archipelagos of Norway, located in the North Arctic. Jan Mayen has no permanent population, while Svalbard has a small population and some visitors as tourists.

Svalbard and Jan Mayen is an entirely visa-free zone for all the nationalities from all the countries in the world. All foreigners can enter, live and stay in Svalbard without a visa for an unlimited period, regardless of their country of citizenship. You will need just your passport or National ID Card for entering Svalbard. Norway nationals can also enter Svalbard with any identification document with personal details and photo (such as a driving license).

In any case, travelers just need a visa for traveling to Norway or other countries where they can fly/travel to Svalbard and Jan Mayen. It means you will need just a Schengen visa issued by Norway or other Schengen countries if you are not a visa-exempted national, so you can visit Svalbard and Jan Mayen from there.

The most common routes and flights to Svalbard and Jan Mayen are running from Oslo, Norway. There is 3 hours flying time between Oslo and Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Sometimes there can be charter flights from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Paris, France to Svalbard directly. There is no common ship service to Svalbard, but there can be cruises to Svalbard from Iceland, Norway, and Denmark as expedition cruises.

As mentioned above, you don’t need any separate visa to travel to Svalbard and Jan Mayen as it is a visa-free zone. Depending on your nationality, you may be required a visa to travel to Norway or other countries where you will start your trip to Svalbard and Jan Mayen. If you are a visa-required national and you have obtained a Schengen/Long-stay visa or a Residence Permit to these countries, you will not need any further visas/permits to visit Svalbard and Jan Mayen.

You can check Norway Visa Policy for obtaining detailed information about Norway visas.