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Entry quarantine and rules upon arrival in Norway
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The government advises against all international travel that is not strictly necessary. Everyone who comes to Norway from abroad, excluding green countries / areas in Europe, must be in quarantine although there are some exceptions.
The government advises against all international travel that is not strictly necessary. Everyone who comes to Norway from abroad, excluding green countries / areas in Europe, must be in quarantine although there are some exceptions.
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Entry quarantine upon arrival in Norway
Everyone arriving in Norway from abroad shall be in entry quarantine, with the exception of specified countries in Europe/Nordic region with sufficiently low transmission (green areas and countries), unless they are mentioned in the exemption provisions in the COVID-19 regulations.
Entry quarantine lasts for 10 days. People who are fully vaccinated or who have had COVID-19 during the past six months are exempt from entry quarantine. Protected people who have had their first vaccine dose between 3 and 15 weeks ago, and children under 18 years must go into entry quarantine, but can end quarantine if they test negative by a PCR test no earlier than three days after arrival.
Currently, only a certificate (Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or EU digital COVID-19 certificate) with a QR code that can be verified by Norwegian authorities is considered to be a secure and verifiable way to document vaccination or having had COVID-19 (the Swedish COVID-19 certificate is not yet ready for this use).
- See your COVID-19 certificate (helsenorge.no)
Other people in entry quarantine must be tested with a PCR test seven days after arrival. If they test negative for COVID-19 with PCR (not rapid antigen test) they can come out of quarantine.
People who shall be in quarantine after entering Norway shall stay at a quarantine hotel. There are some exceptions. Protected people who have had their first vaccine dose between 3 and 15 weeks ago and minors (under 18 years) do not need to live in a quarantine hotel.
Travellers from countries outside EEA/ Schengen / UK shall be in a quarantine hotel until a negative test results after 3 days at the earliest. The remainder of quarantine can take place at home or in a suitable location.
Travellers from countries within the EEA / Schengen / UK with more than or equal to 500 new cases of infection per 100,000 in the last two weeks, or where special infection control professional considerations apply, must be in quarantine hotels for 3 days.
There are special requirements for places of quarantine when it is not carried out in a quarantine hotel.
- Information about entry to Norway and quarantine hotels (helsenorge.no)
Map of red, dark red and green countries/ regions in Europe
The map below shows the areas with quarantine duty that apply for travellers arriving in Norway from, and including, 21 June 2021 (map will be updated every week on Mondays at 00:00 am:
If you arrive in Norway from a "green area" you are exempt from quarantine, from a "red area"you must go into quarantine for 10 days. From a "dark red area" or a "striped area" you must go into quarantine for 10 days and quarantine hotel. If you arrive in Norway via a region without quarantine duty, your quarantine time is shortened by the time spent in the quarantine-free region.
- Verifiable COVID-19 certificate (government.no)
Supporting data for the map
Every Thursday, the NIPH prepares a report to assess which countries and regions in Europe require quarantine upon entry. The figures in the report are mainly obtained from the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC). The report is in accordance with Assignment number 116, sub-assignment 3, from the Government. In even-numbered weeks, countries and regions where it is relevant to change from green to red and from red to green are assessed. In odd-numbered weeks, countries and regions where it is relevant to change from green to red are assessed.
Based on this report, the Government decides which countries and regions require entry quarantine. Once the decision has been made, the report is published on www.fhi.no (in Norwegian):
Updated travel advice will apply no earlier than the day after a new decision is made by the Government, but it can also take several days from the decision is made until the travel advice is actually valid. NIPH updates information for Norway on the page for entry quarantine from the time the advice becomes valid.
The figures on ECDC's website, some countries' own overviews and NIPH's pages can therefore sometimes differ.
Rules and requirements when you arrive in Norway
In general, only Norwegian citizens and foreign nationals who live in Norway can enter the country, with certain exceptions. Foreign nationals living in countries / regions that are not subject to quarantine ("green countries/ regions") can travel to Norway. Foreigners who have been fully vaccinated or who have had COVID-19 in the last 6 months can also enter if they can document this with a COVID-19 certificate with a QR code that can be verified by the Norwegian authorities,
In addition, foreigners residing in the EEA area or the United Kingdom, who are a close relation (children, parents and grandparents) with a person residing in Norway can enter. Romantic partners can enter provided that they have received prior consent for such a visit through an application to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). Other travellers from areas with quarantine duty ("red countries/regions") can still not come to visit.
There is still mandatory testing, travel registration, quarantine (with some exceptions) and quarantine hotels for most people who can travel to Norway.
| Who? |
Requirements upon entry |
Quarantine or not? |
|
Fully vaccinated* |
No requirements for registration or testing before entry |
No quarantine |
|
Had COVID-19* |
||
|
3-15 weeks after first vaccine dose* |
Registration before entry for those over 16 years Test before and upon arrival (separate rules for children under 12 years) |
Home quarantine, can exit quarantine with a negative PCR test result after 3 days. |
|
Children under 18 years |
||
|
Other arrivals over 18 years |
Registration before entry Test before and upon arrival
|
Quarantine hotel the first 3 days, with some exceptions, then the next 4 days in home quarantine until negative PCR test on day 7 |
|
*Requires a valid COVID-19 certificate. Currently, only a certificate (Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or EU COVID-19 certificate) with a QR code that can be verified by Norwegian authorities is considered to be a secure and verifiable way to document vaccination or having had COVID-19 (the Swedish COVID-19 certificate is not yet ready for this use). |
||
- Entry into Norway (Directorate of Immigration)
- Verifiable COVID-19 certificate (government.no)
Registration duty for arrivals in Norway
Everyone, with the exception of the fully vaccinated and those who have had COVID-19 for the last 6 months, have a duty to register when they enter Norway by filling out a travel registration form before they arrive in the country. This also applies to travellers from green countries and regions.
- Registration of arrivals in Norway (government.no)
Requirement for a negative test before arrival in Norway
People who arrive in Norway from areas with a quarantine duty must present a certificate of negative COVID-19 test (cf. COVID-19 regulations §4a). Approved test methods are PCR (i.e. PCR or other nucleic acid amplification test) or rapid antigen test. The test is to be taken within the 24 hours prior to arrival in Norway. For people arriving by plane, 24 hours apply before the scheduled departure time of the first flight. The certificate must be in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, English, French or German. People who cannot present such a certificate may be refused entry.
The requirement also applies to Norwegian citizens and people residing in Norway as long as it has not been impossible or unreasonably demanding to obtain such a certificate.
The requirement for a negative test does not apply to people who can document that they have undergone COVID-19 during the last six months or can document that they are fully vaccinated by the Norwegian COVID-19 certificate.
The requirement also does not apply to certain other groups mentioned in §4a, c-r, although it is still recommended that they are tested before entry.
Test upon arrival
Everyone has a duty to be tested at the border crossing point upon arrival in Norway. There are some exemptions from the requirement, including for fully vaccinated people and those who have had COVID-19 in the last 6 months (cf. COVID-19 regulations §4d).
The test must be a rapid antigen test. PCR testing can only be used as an exception. People who have been tested with a rapid antigen test must wait at the test station until the test result is available, as long as this is practical based on the conditions on site. In the case of a positive result from a rapid antigen test, those who have stayed outside the EEA and Schengen area or the UK during the last 10 days must take a PCR test at the border crossing point. Other people with a positive result from a rapid antigen test must take a PCR test within 24 hours of arrival.
In the border control, instructions can be given as to which test station the traveller should be tested at immediately after entry.
Quarantine hotel
The main rule is that people arriving in Norway (also those who are resident in Norway) are required to carry out part of their quarantine period in a quarantine hotel.
Minors (under 18 years) and people who are protected against COVID-19 (fully vaccinated, 3-15 weeks after the first vaccine dose or have had the disease in the last 6 months) are exempt from quarantine hotels and can complete the quarantine period at another suitable location.
Currently, the only secure and verifiable way to document vaccination or having had COVID-19 is to show a Norwegian, Danish or Swedish COVID-19 certificate with a QR code that can be verified by Norwegian authorities (the Swedish COVID-19 certificate is not yet ready for this use).
- See your COVID-19 certificate (helsenorge.no)
From 19 June at 12 pm, travellers from countries within the EEA and Schengen with fewer than 500 new cases of infection per 100,000 in the last two weeks, are exempt from the requirement for quarantine hotels. Travellers from countries outside the EEA / Schengen and the UK must be in a quarantine hotel until a negative test is available after three days. The remainder of the entry quarantine can be carried out at home or another suitable location.
Travellers from countries within the EEA and Schengen with more than 500 new cases of infection per 100,000 in the last two weeks, are required to carry out 3 days of quarantine in a quarantine hotel.
| Country | Region (blank=whole country) |
| United Kingdom |
In addition, the Government recommends the following:
Household members who live with a person who is in entry quarantine are also encouraged to be in quarantine if they do not have separate bedrooms and bathrooms, or it is difficult to keep a distance of two metres.
Household members who live with a person who is in entry quarantine are encouraged to test themselves on day seven after their arrival day, even if they have not been in quarantine themselves.
- Stricter rules upon arrival (Government.no)
Additional information about entry rules:
- Information about entry to Norway (helsenorge.no)
- Information for travellers arriving in Norway - several languages (Directorate of Health)
Overseas regions and countries outside EU/ EEA/ Schengen
If you arrive in Norway from overseas regions and countries outside EU / EEA / Schengen (so-called third countries), you must go in quarantine. You must be in a quarantine hotel until a negative test taken at the earliest after three days. The rest of the entry quarantine can be carried out at home or another suitable location.
The overseas regions, including Gibraltar, are not covered by the travel advice linked to countries in the EU / EEA / Schengen area. These overseas regions are subject to the same entry restrictions and quarantine rules as the other third countries (countries outside the EU / EEA / Schengen area). Examples of overseas regions are land areas in the Caribbean and North Africa that are governed by a Schengen country, but are not included in the Schengen area.
Countries and areas with sufficiently low transmission
There is no quarantine duty from countries in the EU/EEA/Schengen, and Nordic regions with sufficiently low transmission. These areas are marked in green in the map below and will be updated once a week.
NIPH makes a weekly assessment of the infection situation in the EU/EEA/Schengen.
- In even-numbered weeks, countries and regions where it is relevant to change from green to red and from red to green are assessed.
- In odd-numbered weeks, countries and regions where it is relevant to change from green to red are assessed.
The Government decides which countries require entry quarantine after travel and which countries shall be considered. At the earliest, any updated travel advice will apply the day after the new decision is made.
- COVID-19 regulations (Lovdata).
In "green countries/regions," transmission is considered to be so low that there are no requirements for quarantine, even though these areas also have an increased risk. In "red countries/regions" transmission is higher. "Striped areas" are not evaluated or there are insufficient data about transmission.
When you arrive in Norway from a "red country/region" or "striped area", you should travel directly to an appropriate place or quarantine hotel to stay during quarantine, preferably by private transport. If you must be in a public place or use public transport, you must use a face mask throughout the journey until you arrive at your destination. Try to avoid departures where you cannot maintain a distance of 1 metre from others.
Criteria for evaluating transmission
Countries in EU/EEA/Schengen and areas in the Nordic region with fewer than 25 confirmed cases per 100 000 inhabitants during the last two weeks (evaluated on a national level), and fewer than 4 per cent positive tests on average per week over the last two weeks, can be considered to be areas with sufficiently low transmission.
In addition there is a comprehensive assessment of the countries, based on trends in infection rate and other relevant information.
Assessments are made on a regional level when it is possible for health authorities to make assessments based on evaluations of the infection burden in each region. Currently, this only applies for Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Exemption from quarantine duty
Other sources of information about entry quarantine
- Find chat for personal questions: Travel advice - helsenorge.no/ Ministry of Health
- Service telephone for the public - (Norway) 815 55 015, open 08:00-15:30 workdays
- Travel to Norway - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The coronavirus situation: Questions and answers about entry to Norway - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Infection control advice for travel
Information for the general public
For general advice about coronavirus: our topic page and helsenorge.no
Information helpline for questions about coronavirus: 815 55 015 (weekdays 08-15.30)
The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has answers to many frequently asked questions about travelling to Norway, and a helpline 23351600 that is open on weekdays from 10:00-14:00.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has answers to many frequently asked questions.
If you need acute medical attention, contact your doctor. If you cannot reach your doctor, contact the emergency out-of-hours clinic on 116117. If life is in danger, call 113.