Norway extends global travel advice and makes changes for the Nordic region and Europe

‘Given the current situation, we have decided to maintain our global travel advice against non-essential travel to all countries. The world is still in the midst of a pandemic. As I have said before, the situation remains far from normal because levels of infection are changing rapidly. We are seeing an increase in infection rates in many countries,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide.

Countries in the Schengen area/EEA that, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, satisfy Norway’s criteria for acceptable infection levels are excepted from the global travel advice.

‘However, exceptions to the travel advice are not intended to encourage travel abroad. Each individual must think carefully about whether it is necessary for them to travel,’ Ms Eriksen Søreide said.

The Government had previously stated that the global advice against non-essential travel would remain in effect until 20 August. In response to the global Covid-19 situation, the Government has decided to extend the travel advice until 1 October. The advice will remain in place until the situation improves sufficiently.

Based on the Institute of Public Health’s assessment of the Covid-19 situation, the Government has decided to change its travel advice for several countries and regions in Europe and the Nordic region. These are now ‘red’ on the map showing the status for quarantine on entry to Norway from Europe. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is therefore changing its advice against all non-essential travel to include the following countries and regions: Cyprus, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, and some regions in Sweden and Denmark. The advice against non-essential travel will also apply to the following six regions in Sweden: Östergötland, Örebro, Blekinge, Värmland, Uppsala and Dalarna. All of these areas have had more than 20 confirmed cases per 100 000 inhabitants over the past two weeks. The same applies to Zealand (excluding Greater Copenhagen) and Central Jutland in Denmark. See the website of the Institute of Public Health for more information.

From 15 August, the advice against all non-essential travel will apply to the following countries and regions in the Schengen area/EEA: Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. It will also apply to the Faroe Islands and certain regions in Sweden and Denmark.

The Institute of Public Health is updating the list of countries and regions that satisfy the criteria set for infection levels at least once every two weeks. Updates may be made more frequently if the infection situation in a country or a region in a Nordic country deteriorates.  

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute of Public Health are continuing to review the situation in the Schengen area/EEA to identify countries that may be excepted from the global travel advice. For an updated overview of these countries and regions, see the Institute of Public Health’s map showing the status for quarantine on entry to Norway from Europe and the Ministry’s travel information.