The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, situated in the High Arctic, is the only visa-free zone in the world. Travelers who need a visa to enter mainland Norway/the Schengen area must, however, have a Schengen visa if they travel through mainland Norway/the Schengen region. This must be a double-entry visa in order for them to return to mainland Norway/the Schengen region.
Passports or national identification cards are required for anyone traveling to and from Svalbard, since all are subject to identity verification. Passports or national identification cards meet the identity verification criteria of the Schengen Agreement. Due to a transitional agreement, Norwegian nationals may also establish their identification using a Norwegian document that includes at least their name, portrait, and date of birth, such as a Norwegian driving license obtained after 1998; the transitional period expires on 30 April 2022.
Everyone, regardless of citizenship, is free to live and work in Svalbard forever. Treaty nationals have the same right of residence as Norwegian nationals under the Svalbard Treaty. Non-treaty nationals may also reside and work in the country without a visa permanently. "It has been a deliberate policy so far that we haven't created any distinction between treaty residents and those from outside the treaty," remarked Per Sefland, then Governor of Svalbard. "Regulations regulating rejection and expulsion from Svalbard" are applied without discrimination. Exclusionary grounds include a lack of means of support and a breach of rules or regulations.
