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Entry quarantine upon arrival in Norway from red and yellow countries/regions
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The government advises against all international travel that is not strictly necessary. There are also restrictions about entry to Norway.

The government advises against all international travel that is not strictly necessary. There are also restrictions about entry to Norway.
Rules and requirements
In general, only foreign nationals who reside in Norway can enter the country, with certain exceptions.
Guest workers and family members such as grandparents, adult children, parents of adult children or a boyfriend/girlfriend can therefore no longer visit.
There is mandatory testing, travel registration, quarantine and quarantine hotels for those who can travel to Norway.
Quarantine hotel: From Friday 19th March new rules about who must go to a quarantine hotel upon arrival in Norway came into effect. 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. Certain groups may be exempt from the requirement. For example, people who are resident, or have a fixed residential address in Norway, and have been on an essential journey (nødvendig reise) can be in quarantine at home.
- Nødvendig reise (helsenorge.no)
The following requirements apply upon entry:
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Registration duty for arrivals in Norway: Everyone who crosses the border into Norway from areas with a quarantine duty ("red countries / areas"), including Norwegian citizens, must complete a travel registration form before arrival.
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Registration of arrivals in Norway - (government.no)
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Requirement for a negative test before arrival in Norway (cf. COVID-19 regulations §4a): People who arrive in Norway from areas with a quarantine duty must present a certificate of negative COVID-19 test. Approved test methods are PCR 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 do not present such a certificate may be refused entry. The requirement does not apply to people who can document that they have undergone COVID-19 during the last six months with an approved laboratory method. 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. From 1 April 2021, 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.
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Test upon arrival: Anyone who has stayed in an area with a quarantine duty during the last 10 days before arrival has a duty to be tested at the border crossing point upon arrival in Norway. 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 rapid antigen test result, the person must take a PCR test within 24 hours of arrival.
In addition, the Government recommends the following (see Stricter rules upon arrival (Government.no)):
- 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.
Familiarise yourself with the rules that apply when entering Norway. Additional information about entry rules:
- Information about entry to Norway (helsenorge.no)
- Information for travellers arriving in Norway - several languages (Directorate of Health)
Entry quarantine upon arrival in Norway
Everyone arriving in Norway from abroad shall be in quarantine for 10 days, with the exception of specified countries in Europe with sufficiently low transmission (yellow areas and countries), unless they are mentioned in the exemption provisions in the COVID-19 regulations.
People who come to Norway from abroad can be released from quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19 with PCR (not rapid antigen test) no earlier than seven days after arrival. From 23 February, there is also a requirement that people in entry quarantine, who are not staying in a quarantine hotel, must be tested with a PCR test seven days after the arrival day.
Currently, vaccination does not affect quarantine requirements or test recommendations, with the exception of healthcare workers who are critical to society (COVID-19 regulations §6e).
People who shall be in quarantine after entering Norway shall stay at a quarantine hotel. There are some exceptions to the rules for quarantine hotels. There are special requirements for places of quarantine when it is not carried out in a quarantine hotel.
- More people must go into hotel quarantine and entry restrictions to be extended (government.no)
- Information about entry to Norway and quarantine hotels (helsenorge.no)
Map of Nordic region/ Europe with status for entry quarantine
The Government imposed stricter rules for foreign nationals who seek entry to Norway after 29 January 2021. In general, only foreign nationals who reside in Norway will be permitted to enter. Certain exceptions apply.
From 1 January 2021, the UK is no longer a member of the EU, and as a result will no longer be included in this assessment and will be required to have quarantine duty as for other countries outside EU/EEA/Schengen (known as third countries).
The map below shows the areas with quarantine duty that apply for travellers arriving in Norway from 19 April 2021:
To clarify the recommendation to avoid all non-essential travel abroad, the Government has decided that the countries and regions that were marked with green on the map should now be marked as yellow (regjeringen.no). Currently, no countries are classed as green.
If you arrive in Norway from:
- a "yellow area", you are exempt from quarantine.
- a "red area", you must go into quarantine for 10 days.
- a "striped area", you must go into quarantine for 10 days.
In "yellow areas," 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 areas" transmission is higher. "Striped areas" are not evaluated or there are insufficient data about transmission.
When you arrive in Norway from a "red" or "striped area", you should travel directly to an appropriate place 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.
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 yellow 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.
The Government decides which countries require ten days travel quarantine. At the earliest, any updated travel advice will apply the day after the new decision.
- COVID-19 regulations (Lovdata).
Criteria for evaluating transmission
From 10th November, the threshold values were changed. There are now exemptions from entry quarantine for travellers from EEA countries and Switzerland where there are 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.
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 the Nordic countries.
Overseas regions and countries outside EU/ EEA/ Schengen
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.
If you arrive in Norway from overseas regions and countries outside EU / EEA / Schengen (so-called third countries), you must go in quarantine for 10 days.
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 advice and entry rules by country - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Travel advice for EU/EEA citizens who are currently not in Norway - Norwegian Directorate of Immigration
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.
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Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that is causing the outbreak of COVID-19 disease.
The virus is related to another coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002/2003 but is not the same virus.