Norway has introduced the strictest entry rules since March 2020. As a general rule, only foreigners residing in Norway can enter Norway and all Norwegian citizens (regardless of where they live). Some exceptions have been made to this main rule which we discuss below.

Most people cannot travel to Norway now without belonging to one of the exceptions. This applies to citizens of all countries, including citizens from the EU/EEA and Nordic citizens. This includes:

• Tourists
• family members not listed under the Exceptions: close family members section
• boyfriend/girlfriend or fiancé
• EU/EEA citizens (including Nordic citizens) who are going to work or study in Norway, and who do not belong to any of the exceptions listed below
• persons who have been granted a residence permit to work or study in Norway and who are not already resident here
• business travelers
• foreigners who have been granted a Schengen visa, but who do not belong to any of the exceptions below
• persons who have leisure property in Norway, but are not resident here

Below is a list of the exceptions. You can read more about each exception in the accordions below (we are still working on the details for the different exceptions.

List of exceptions:

• Norwegian citizens (regardless of which country you live in)
• foreigners residing in Norway
• foreigners who have been granted a family immigration permit
• foreigners who will visit or live with close family members in Norway
• those who can commute between Nordic countries, which includes
  • school / kindergarten children from Sweden and Finland
  • health personnel from Sweden Finland
  • day commuters from Sweden and Finland who commute to work in Norway
• foreigners who are going to have scheduled contact with their children
• foreigners who have special reasons that indicate that the person is given the right to enter, such as special care responsibilities for persons in Norway or other strong welfare considerations
• asylum seekers and resettlement refugees
• some occupational groups
  • journalists
  • sailors and aviation personnel
  • goods and passenger transport
  • diplomats and military personnel
  • Sami people during reindeer herding
  • researchers and crew on marine research cruises
• foreigners who have been granted an exemption from the entry restrictions through a decision in the Norwegian Maritime Directorate because they must carry out work that is strictly necessary to maintain the activity in a Norwegian company
• foreigners with an invitation from the Norwegian authorities and employees in international organizations
• foreigners who are going to stopover at an airport in Norway (both in international airport transit and within Schengen)
• foreigners working in critical societal functions
• foreigners who is a permanent resident of Svalbard, or who needs to travel through the Norwegian mainland on his way to or from work or residence on Svalbard

If you are a Norwegian citizen, you can enter Norway regardless of which country you live in. Norwegian citizens, like everyone else, are required to follow the current rules for corona testing and quarantine when they enter Norway.

To belong to this exception, you must meet two requirements.

1. The first requirement is that you must either

• have a temporary or permanent residence permit in Norway, or
• have the right of residence as an EU/EEA citizen or family member of an EU/EEA citizen in Norway

2. The second requirement is that you must be resident in Norway. To be considered a resident of Norway, you must be registered as resident in Norway in the National Register. 

You can document that you are resident in Norway by showing a residence certificate that you can order from the National Population Register (external website)

If you do not meet these two requirements, then you do not belong to this exception. It is not enough that you have stayed in Norway for a long time to belong to this exception.

If you are abroad, have a valid residence permit and are resident in Norway - but do not have a valid residence card

If you have a valid residence permit and are living in Norway, you may enter Norway.

If you do not have a valid residence card and need an entry visa, you must contact the nearest hub embassy first, and then submit an application for a visa on paper-form to the nearest VFS application center.

If you have a foreign passport or travel document that you cannot travel to Norway with because it is invalid or lost, you can contact the nearest responsible embassy to obtain a travel document for emergencies.

You must have a legal residence in Norway and an entry visa in order for the UDI to provide you with a travel document for emergencies.

If the embassy or VFS you currently need is closed for personal attendance, the UDI will wait to process your entry visa or passport application. You can check the Embassy / VFS website (external website) for updated information if personal attendance is possible. Keep in mind that information can change quickly.

You can travel to Norway if you have been granted a family immigration permit with a Norwegian citizen or a foreigner residing in Norway. It is not a requirement that you who have received a family immigration permit is already resident in Norway to travel to Norway now.

If you have been granted a residence permit to work or study in Norway, you cannot travel to Norway now if you are not already resident here. This applies even if it is stated in the decision you have received that you can travel to Norway.

Suppose you have received a family immigration permit for a foreigner who has been granted a residence permit to work or study in Norway, and that person is not already resident in Norway. In that case, you can not travel to Norway now.

You can travel to Norway if you are going to visit or live with the following family members who live in Norway:

• spouse or registered partner
• cohabitant you have lived with for at least two years, or with whom you are expecting or have children
• children or stepchildren under 18 years
• parents or stepparents if you are under 18 years

You must document the family relationship and follow the quarantine rules that apply to entry that you will find at helsenorge.no.

There are no fixed requirements for exactly which documents you must bring. Examples of documents that can be submitted are a marriage certificate for spouses and a birth certificate for children. Residence certificate or lease contract can document cohabitation. If you have a child in common, the child's birth certificate can be submitted, eventually documentation of pregnancy that shows both parents' names.

Even if you can now enter Norway, we cannot guarantee that you can stopover in other EU/EEA or Schengen countries.

Visa
If you are required to have a visa and do not have one, you must apply for a visa to be assessed by the embassy in the usual way. As before, not everyone will be granted a visa. In addition to the usual assessments we conduct for visa applications, we also consider the practical possibilities of leaving Schengen before the visa expires.

For countries where it is currently challenging to return due to a lack of commercial flights, it may result in a rejection of the visa application even if you meet the other visa requirements. You must first check whether the VFS application center closest to you have opened in order to receive applications for this. Then you need to contact the nearest responsible embassy to hear how to proceed.

As a result of the changed entry regulations due to the corona situation, Norway's representation agreements with other Schengen countries have been temporarily suspended. If you are in a country where another Schengen country normally processes visa applications on behalf of Norway, you must submit your application at a VFS Application Center that serves a Norwegian foreign service mission. See map of VFS application centers (external website) for more information about the nearest Norwegian application center. Remember that local conditions can mean that the VFS application center is closed or has reduced opening hours.

Most people cannot travel to Norway from other Nordic countries now.

Exceptions have been made for:

• Children and pupils who commute from Sweden or Finland to a day-care centre, primary or secondary school in Norway, and persons who are to carry out the necessary transport between home and day-care centre or school.
  
  
• Health personnel from Sweden and Finland who work in the Norwegian health and care service. If you live in Sweden or Finland, but work as a health professional in Norway, you can travel to Norway for work.

  The exceptions include a health professional residing in Sweden or Finland, both if you are a citizen of Sweden or Finland, or if you are a foreigner residing in Sweden or Finland.

  The exception does not apply to other foreigners who only travel through Sweden or Finland on their way to Norway. Health personnel from other countries can only enter Norway if they are considered strictly necessary to maintain sound operations of critical societal functions or take care of the population's basic needs. Read the list of exceptions for critical societal functions.

  You must document that you are an employed in the Norwegian health and care services. Such documentation can, e.g. be a contract of employment and access card.

• Day commuters from Sweden and Finland who commute to work in Norway
  Day commuting includes evening and night work, but you cannot spend the night in Norway between work sessions. You must travel in and out of Norway for each shift to be covered by the provision for day commuting.

  If you commute daily from Sweden and Finland, you must document residence in Sweden or Finland at the border control, and you must have a certificate from your Norwegian employer confirming that you are a commuter. The certificate must include information about the place of work, working hours and that the distance to your home does not prevent you from day commuting. You must also register in the entry registration system before each entry.

  If you commute to work, you are exempt from the entry quarantine requirement during working hours if tested for Covid-19 every seven days (external website).

You can travel to Norway if you are going to have scheduled contact with your minor Norwegian child or your child who lives in Norway.

You can travel to Norway if there are special reasons for entry that absolutely can not wait.

When we mention a close family member here, it includes spouse/cohabitant, children, siblings or parents.

Examples of reasons can be:

• You must be present at the birth of your child.
• You are a close family member of a seriously ill or dying person.
• You are a close family member of a person to be buried.
• You are a child or foster child under 18 years, and your parents are Norwegian citizens or foreigners who live or work in Norway.
• You have a special care responsibility for people with special care needs who live in Norway.
• You are a judge, a part or representative of a part in a court case, or must give an explanation in a court case in Norway.
• You have a valid fishing license for fishing from a boat in the Tanavassdraget. If you set out from the Finnish side, you can fish on the Norwegian side of the river, but not go ashore in Norway.

When you travel to Norway, you must document as best you can that you are in a situation that gives you a special reason to travel to Norway. The UDI cannot give you prior approval to enter Norway. It is the police at the border who consider whether you can enter.

If you seek protection (asylum) in Norway or have been granted entry permits as resettlement refugees, can enter Norway now.

Journalists
When you reach the border, you must show documentation that you are a journalist, such as an employment contract or press card, in addition to a description of the assignment you are going to do in Norway.

You can travel to Norway only if you are going to work with news journalism. By that we mean collecting and disseminating reports on actual events and current events, and interpretations of and opinions on this, published in a form that is available to the public.

If you are going to Norway for filming, where Norway is intended as the filming location, you are not covered by the exceptions that can enter now because your work is not regarded news journalism.

Sailors
If you are a sailor, you can travel to Norway if you are on your way to or from active service and have either

• an approved ID card for sailors, or
• Philippine “Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book”, or
• Philippine nationality passport, cf. shipping agreement 1999 between the Philippines and Norway.

Personnel in aviation
If you work in aviation, you can travel to Norway if you

• have a valid aviation certificate and
• your travel is related to assignments, or you are on your way to or from active service.

Goods and passenger transport
If you carry out freight or passenger transport for in a professional context or are on your way to or from such an assignment, you can travel to Norway if you:

• is employed in a company working with freight or passenger transport
• can present a consignment note or other confirmation that you are going to carry out transport assignments in Norway

Diplomats
You can travel to Norway if you are a diplomat. You must be able to present a diplomatic or service passport when you arrive at the border. You can also show a national passport in combination with a Norwegian ID card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or in combination with a residence card from Schengen for embassy staff.

Military personnel
You can travel to Norway if you are employed in the military. You must present an ID showing that you are employed (civilian or military) in the armed forces of the appointing state or NATO.

Spouse, cohabitant or child of a diplomat or military personnel
Suppose you are the spouse, cohabitant or child of a diplomat or someone who is employed in the military. In that case, you must be able to show a diplomatic passport, service passport, ID card or similar that documents your affiliation with your family member. An ordinary passport together with the NATO Travel Order will also be sufficient as documentation.

Sami people during reindeer herding
Sami people can travel into Norway during reindeer herding.

Researchers and crew members participating on marine research cruises
If you are a researcher or crew member who participates in marine research cruise and calls at a Norwegian port, you can travel to Norway.

Employers can apply for permission for foreign workers who are strictly necessary to maintain the activity to travel to Norway. You will find information about requirements and how companies can apply (external website) on the Norwegian Maritime Directorate website, which administers the scheme.

If you are a foreign worker wondering if this includes you, you must contact your Norwegian employer.

Visa
If you are required to have a visa and do not have one, you must apply for a visa to be assessed by the embassy in the usual way. As before, not everyone will be granted a visa. In addition to the usual assessments we conduct for visa applications, we also consider the practical possibilities of leaving Schengen before the visa expires.

You can make a stopover at a Norwegian airport for transit. You cannot leave the transit area at the airport and enter Norway.

You can travel via the Norwegian mainland if you are a permanent resident of Svalbard.

A "permanent resident" is a person who is validly entered in the population register for Svalbard. This can be documented by printing the record. For persons residing in Barentsburg, this is stated in the confirmation of employment.

Remember that you must follow the current quarantine regulations on the Norwegian mainland before travelling on to Svalbard. You cannot travel to Svalbard until after the end of the quarantine period. You can find information about the quarantine regulations at helsenorge.no (external website).

If you are travelling to Norway because it is strictly necessary to maintain a critical societal function or maintain the population's basic needs (external website), you can travel to Norway.

The exception only applies if:

• the work you are to perform is directly related to the ability to maintain a continuity of the critical societal function, and
• the work cannot be postponed without it leading to an unacceptable impairment in maintaining a continuity of the function.

The exception only applies if entry is strictly necessary, and it is a condition that the work you are to perform will take place soon.

The exception does not cover new establishments within companies with a critical social function unless the company can show that the work cannot be postponed without it leading to an unacceptable weakening of the ability to maintain the critical social function.

The company you work in must document that you are considered critical to ensure the maintenance of critical societal functions. The company must also prove that it is impossible to use labour in Norway and that the work cannot be performed digitally. You must bring this documentation with you when you enter Norway.

The following list from the Directorate for Civil Protection determine which functions that is considered critical societal functions:

• Administration and crisis management
• Defence
• Law and order
• Health and care services, including pharmacy and cleaning
• Rescue service
• Digital security in the civilian sector
• Nature and the environment
• Security of supply
• Water and wastewater
• Financial services
• Power supply
• Electronic communications
• Transportation
• Satellite-based services

If you are required to have a visa, you must still hold a valid visa to travel to Norway.

Invited by the Norwegian authorities
You can travel to Norway if you have been invited by the Norwegian authorities to participate in international negotiations or part of a delegation that arrives Norway according to Norway's international obligations.

Employed in an international or humanitarian organization
You can travel to Norway if they are employed by an international organization or an organization that conducts international humanitarian work, and you are on an assignment or on your way to or from an assignment.

Yes, the Government has introduced mandatory testing at the border for people who have resided in an area with a quarantine obligation (external website) (only available in Norwegian).

Persons who have resided in an area with a quarantine obligation during the last 14 days before arrival in Norway must test for Covid-19 at the border crossing point in Norway. The test must be antigen rapid test or PCR test.

Some exceptions to the requirement in the case have been mentioned on the Government's website.

This requirement applies in addition to the requirement for a negative test before entry to Norway for specific groups and the requirements for quarantine hotels and quarantine after entry.

Because of control considerations and test capacity, the government has closed some border crossing points. In the article on the government's page, you will find an overview of open border crossing points (external website).

The UDI does not know more than what is stated in the article on regjeringen.no. You will find updated information about the test requirement after entry on helsenorge.no (external website) when more details are ready.

Yes, you do. Everyone traveling to Norway must register information about, amongst other things, name, contact information, quarantine stay, and potential employer. The main rule is that everyone who crosses the border, including Norwegian citizens, must register.

Read more about entry registration here, and to proceed to the digital registration form (external website).

The UDI does not have more information than what is written on the government's website and cannot answer questions about it.

Travelers from countries with a quarantine duty (see the list of red countries here, external website) (external website) must present a negative Covid-19 test certificate when they arrive in Norway. The approved test method is PCR or Rapid antigen test. For people arriving by plane, the test can be taken within 24 hours before the first flight's scheduled departure time. The flight can be a direct flight to Norway or a continuous flight journey to Norway with stopovers at other airports. The certificate must be in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, English, French, or German.

The requirement for a negative test does not apply to:

• Norwegian citizens
• Persons residing in Norway with a residence permit or right of residence in Norway 
• Children under the age of 12 years
• Persons who are critical to society, which is necessary to be able to maintain proper operation of critical social functions or take care of the basic needs of the population
• Persons in transit
• Persons who regularly come to Norway from Sweden or Finland to work or study
• Persons who have permanent residency at Svalbard and who can document it with a transcript from Svalbard population register or show a confirmation/work contract for persons residing in Barentsburg
• Persons seeking protection (asylum) in Norway or have a residence permit as a resettlement refugee (quota refugee)
• Persons with a family immigration permit
• Spouse, cohabitant or relatives in direct ascending or descending line to EU/EEA citizens who will settle in Norway, presuming the EU/EEA citizen is also exempt from the requirement for testing
• Persons who can present a diplomatic or service passport
• Spouses, cohabitants or children of diplomats at Norwegian foreign service missions
• Persons who have been invited by the Norwegian authorities to participate in international negotiations, or who are part of delegations that come to Norway in accordance with Norway's international obligations
• Military personnel
• Persons who carry out freight and passenger transport as paid work, or who are on their way to or from such an assignment
• Persons with a valid aviation certificate
• Persons with a valid identity card for seafarers
• Persons who by approved laboratory method can document that they have had covid-19 during the last six months

The requirement applies even if you have been issued a visa before 8 November, if entry occurs after 8 November at 24:00.

Information from the health authorities is available in 16 languages here (external website).

From 23 February, the government has introduced stricter rules about where you can stay during the quarantine period. The practice of letting persons who come to Norway for purposes other than work can carry out quarantine at another suitable place of residence has been significantly narrowed down. The main rule now is that this group must stay in quarantine hotels. Persons who are granted an exemption from the entry restrictions for special reasons will still be able to obtain an exemption from a stay at a quarantine hotel if they can present confirmation that they have another suitable place to stay during the quarantine period.

The health authorities are responsible for quarantine rules and quarantine hotels. You must familiarize yourself with the current regulations for quarantine and quarantine hotels on helsenorge.no (external website).

Information from the health authorities is available in 16 languages here (external website).

No, we cannot. We understand that many people want such a confirmation, but neither the UDI, embassies, the police or anyone else can give you such a guarantee in advance. Nor can you submit an application to decide whether you can travel to Norway if you are visa-free or already have a valid visa.

When you enter, you must bring your passport. You should also document that you belong to one of the exceptions that can travel to Norway now. There are no fixed requirements for exactly which documents are required for the various groups.

We recommend that you contact the airline you will fly with to check what documentation they require for you to board the plane. If you have a stopover, we also recommend that you check with the country's authorities you will stopover if they allow it.

It is the police at the border who consider whether you can travel into Norway.

Suppose you are staying in Norway and are unable to return home before your visitor's visa or visa-free period expires, due to cancelled flights or other countries' entry rules. In that case, you cannot apply to extend your visa or visa-free stay.

If you have had problems leaving Norway, you must hold on to your documentation showing that you couldn't leave. You must present this documentation if a deportation- or expulsion case is opened when leaving Norway. If you do not show this documentation, you might be expelled. You will also need this documentation if you are applying for a visa to enter Norway later. Examples of such documentation may be a printout of cancelled flights, a printout from the web showing no flights available, or an e-mail exchange with an embassy regarding the possibilities for assistance in getting home. Do not submit documentation to the UDI now.

If it's impossible for you to obtain airline tickets, you should contact your country's embassy. The UDI has information that some embassies arrange flights to help their residents get home.

You do not need to contact the UDI. We cannot give you confirmation that you can stay in Norway after the visa or the visa-free period expires. UDI will consider whether it has been impossible to travel if an expulsion- or deportation case is opened.

It may still be challenging in some countries to receive applications for a residence permit or visitor's visa and issuing visas, due to closed or reduced opening hours in some foreign service missions and application centres. Unfortunately, the UDI cannot assist persons who are unable to submit their applications due to closed foreign service missions or application centres.

In countries where other Schengen countries' embassies normally accept visitor's visa applications on behalf of Norway, it will be challenging to submit visa applications now, due to a temporary suspended representation agreement. We advise you to contact the nearest Norwegian embassy that can issue visas to inquire if you can submit an application to them. Unfortunately, the UDI cannot assist you in submitting applications in countries with suspended agreements.

To get a permanent residence permit, it is usually a requirement that you have not stayed outside Norway for more than seven months in total during the last three years.

Please note! If the requirement of five years of residence applies to you, you cannot have stayed outside Norway for more than ten months in total during the last five years.