- As expected, the number of visa applications rush in when the summer is approaching. We got 33 percent more applications in May this year compared with May 2010, says head of the visa-section at Norway’s Consulate General in Murmansk Lars Georg Fordal to BarentsObserver.
The consulate got a total of 1,695 visa applications in May, up from 1,276 last May. Over the first five months 2011 a total of 7,281 visa applications have been delivered to the visa-section, up 20 percent from the same five-month period 2010.
- Visas issued without invitation, so-called Pomor-visas, counts for more and more of the applications. 60 percent of all applications in May were Pomor-visas, says Lars Georg Fordal.
It is citizens from Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions that can apply for multi-entry visa to Norway without holding a prior invitation from a Norwegian partner. Norway introduced the special service last year in order to boost the cross-border contacts within the Barents Region.
From February this year, citizens in Arkhangelsk could deliver their visa applications to Norway’s new Honorary Consulate in the city. 404 visa applications have so far been delivered via Arkhangelsk.
Read also: Galina first in line for Norwegian visa
Despite a boom in number of visa applications there are no long queues at the Consulate General, according to the head of the visa section.
- The main reason for this is that almost half of the applicants make a pre-registration at the application portal www.norvegia.ru. Applicants that use the portal has the opportunity to make an appointment for their attendance to deliver the papers in the period from when we open in the morning until 15.30, says Lars Georg Fordal.
Yesterday, BarentsObserver reported on a 52 percent increase in border-crossings in May at the Norwegian, Russian border. More than 70,000 border-crossings are counted so far in 2011.
Read also: The Russians are coming!
