Norway

Before you apply

• No visa. No residence permit. No fee. Under the Svalbard Treaty, any nationality may live and work on Svalbard indefinitely — it sits outside Schengen and outside ordinary Norwegian immigration law.
• But you can only get there THROUGH mainland Norway, which IS Schengen. If your passport needs a Schengen visa you must obtain one with at least two entries just to transit. Ukrainians with biometric passports transit visa-free.
• HOUSING is the real barrier: most homes in Longyearbyen belong to employers and go to their staff. Without a local job, accommodation is very hard to find.
• You must support yourself. The Governor can refuse entry or require you to leave if you cannot show housing and means.
• Register with the Svalbard Population Register within 8 days if you stay longer than 6 months.
• Svalbard is not part of the Norwegian welfare system.

Before you apply

• This is NOT a remote-work visa. It requires a binding contract with at least one NORWEGIAN client, who must pay you at least the minimum skilled-worker rate (~NOK 230/hour). If you work remotely for a foreign employer, you do not qualify.
• The income test (about €35,719/year) must be met from NORWEGIAN work. Foreign income does not count toward it.
• You must be a skilled worker (degree or 3+ years of vocational training) and run a sole proprietorship — a limited company does not qualify.
• Serving one client, using their equipment, with no responsibility for the result, is classed as employment rather than self-employment and will be refused.
• If you want to live in Norway on foreign income, look at Svalbard instead — it needs no visa at all.