(Feb. 1, 2021) On January 27, 2021, the Norwegian government announced that, as of January 29, 2021, only Norwegian citizens and residents would be allowed to enter Norway from abroad. The rules apply until further notice, although the Norwegian government has promised to review them by February 10, 2021.
Specifically, the new rules prevent the following foreign nationals from entering the country:
- foreign nationals residing in the EEA [European Economic Area] and EEA nationals residing in third countries (unless covered by exemptions that also apply to third-country nationals);
- family members apart from nuclear families in which the children are minors, for both EEA nationals and others, meaning that grandparents, adult children, parents of adult children and romantic partners may no longer visit;
- foreign nationals from countries outside the EEA who are granted a residence permit in connection with work or study, including as a seasonal worker or student;
- a foreign national who is to work with film or series production or as a researcher who is exempt from the requirement of a residence permit.
Groups that are exempted from the entrance prohibitions include the following:
- foreign nationals who reside in Norway;
- foreign nationals for whom special reasons indicate they should be granted the right to enter, such as specific care responsibilities for persons in Norway or other compelling welfare considerations;
- foreign nationals who are to carry out agreed or formalised parent-child contact;
- close family members of persons residing in Norway, i.e. spouses/registered partners/cohabitants, minor children or stepchildren, parents or stepparents of minor children or stepchildren;
- journalists and other personnel on assignment for a foreign media institution;
- foreign nationals who plan an airport stopover in Norway (both in international airport transit and within Schengen);
- seafarers and aviation personnel;
- foreign nationals who perform commercial transport of goods and passengers;
- foreign nationals who work in critical public functions;
- health personnel from Sweden and Finland who work in the Norwegian health and care services.
The travel restrictions come on the heels of the announcement on January 23, 2021, that all travelers to Norway must test negative for COVID-19 no more than 24 hours before arrival. In addition, travelers are now required to quarantine for 10 days after arriving in Norway.
The heightened travel restrictions were made in response to local outbreaks in Oslo of the mutated COVID-19 virus (501Y.V1 (VOC 202012/01 (B.1.1.7)), often known as the United Kingdom (U.K.) strain of the virus.
Quarantine
Persons arriving in Norway may quarantine in their own home, their vacation home, or in a specially designated quarantine hotel. While persons in quarantine may not socialize with others, persons in quarantine may still, as a last resort, visit grocery stores and pharmacies provided they follow the rules on physical distancing. A number of categories of individuals are also exempt from the quarantine requirement, including the following:
- Persons who within the last six months have had COVID-19
- Persons arriving in Norway to complete scheduled visitations between parents and children, and those returning to Norway after completing such scheduled visitations abroad, except for those arriving from the U.K. or South Africa
- Persons whom Norwegian state agencies have invited because of important foreign affairs concerns
Prior Travel Restrictions
As of December 21, 2020, Norway required that everyone arriving in Norway register their arrival, name, place of quarantine, etc., with the Norwegian authorities or be subject to monetary fines or six months’ imprisonment. On December 22, 2020, Norway banned all direct flights from the U.K., and required all travelers from the U.K. to test for COVID-19 prior to traveling and to quarantine upon arrival in the country. Similar travel restrictions for persons arriving from South Africa were put in place on January 15, 2021.
All current COVID-19 restrictions can be found in the Norwegian COVID 19-Regulation (FOR-2020-03-23-470 Forskrift om smitteverntiltak mv. ved koronautbruddet (covid-19-forskriften)).
As of January 26, 2021, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health had sequenced 1,147 COVID-19 positive results for the U.K. and South African strains, finding 148 confirmed U.K. strain cases and two cases of the South African strain.
As of February 1, 2021, 62,966 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Norway, including 55 confirmed as the mutated version found in the U.K. and 567 fatalities. Also as of February 1, 2021, 105,301 persons have received vaccinations in Norway, of whom 19,025 have received both doses.