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Colourful wooden houses in Longyearbyen

Living in
Longyearbyen

An Arctic adventure, with friends from around the globe. Everything you need to know before you arrive, and in your first weeks.

Getting to Longyearbyen

Once you have accepted a place, plan to arrive on the course start date or a few days before. SAS and Norwegian both fly to Svalbard, and both offer discounts for travellers under 26.

From Tromsø
About 1.5 hours
From Oslo, direct
About 3 hours
Airport to Elvesletta
Shuttle bus or taxi

Bring your passport or ID card

Everyone travelling to and from Svalbard has their identity checked on arrival and departure, Norwegians included. Bring a passport or a national ID card that meets Schengen requirements.

Visa

Svalbard needs no visa. If you travel via mainland Norway and your country needs a visa for Norway, you must get a transit visa. See the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration and the Governor of Svalbard.

Housing

Student housing is at Elvesletta in the centre of Longyearbyen, a 5–7 minute walk from UNIS. It is owned and run by the Arctic Student Welfare Organisation, Samskipnaden, and you apply to them directly.

  • Apply as soon as you are admitted. The link is in your admission letter.
  • UNIS does not reserve or offer housing itself.
  • Bring your house, floor and room number. Your door is unlocked on arrival, with the key inside.

Samskipnaden housing: svalbard.bolig@samskipnaden.no, +47 940 09 153 (09–15)

Timber student housing blocks at Elvesletta
Elvesletta has 220 units for 300 students, and is the first passive house in Svalbard. Photo: Ragnhild Utne / Samskipnaden

Fees and living costs

There is no tuition fee at UNIS. Students finance their own stay, and UNIS offers no financial aid or scholarships. Norwegian students can apply to Lånekassen.

Costs for UNIS students
TuitionNone
Semester feeInvoiced by your home institution, or by UNIS after arrivalNOK 710
Board and lodging on cruises and excursionsPaid at the UNIS reception before you leaveNOK 300 a day
Housing and food, estimatedAbout the same as the rest of NorwayNOK 15 000 a month
Travel to and from LongyearbyenYou pay

Students from an international institution without a Norwegian affiliation are registered at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Pay the semester fee promptly: you need it to sit exams and get your transcript.

Students in survival suits floating in a circle in the harbour

Safety training comes first

Fieldwork in Svalbard needs specific skills, so safety training is mandatory. If you are enrolled in a course, you are signed up automatically for the training you need.

Semester students starting in January take AS-101 Arctic Survival and Safety, a week-long course on the risks of the Svalbard winter. Every safety course includes polar bear safety with rifle shooting.

More about safety training

Campus and study spaces

At UNIS

UNIS is the core institution of the Svalbard Science Centre: modern labs, PC labs, Eduroam throughout the building, study rooms and a library. Each student gets a print and copy quota.

At Elvesletta

The ground floor of the student housing has a learning area for individual or group work. Your housing key opens it. Renting privately? Borrow a key at the UNIS reception.

Your lectures and safety training are in TimeEdit. Check it regularly, since times can change.

Help and student voice