Changes to entry restrictions for several countries and areas

This decision is based on an updated assessment of the infection rate by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The purpose of the restrictions is to reduce the risk of imported cases of COVID-19. All of the changes will enter into effect on Monday 30 August at 12 am.

The changes will appear in the COVID-19 Regulations and the interactive map on FHI.no from Monday 30 August.

Countries in Europe
No travel restrictions or quarantine requirements have been introduced for any countries in Europe, but the duty to stay at a quarantine hotel is being lifted for three countries.

The duty to stay at a quarantine hotel is being lifted for the following countries: 
Spain, Monaco, and Andorra (will change from dark red to red).

The following countries will remain green:
Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

The following countries will remain orange or red, or change from orange to red (the same rules apply to orange and red countries):
Orange: Italy, San Marino, Vatican City, Croatia, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Austria, Latvia, Malta (will change from red) and the Netherlands (will change from red).

Red: Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, France, Estonia, Belgium, Lithuania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Bulgaria (will change from orange), and Germany (will change from orange).

The following countries will remain dark red:
Cyprus and the UK.

Regions and autonomous regions in the Nordic countries:
The Nordic countries and areas will continue to be assessed by region. The main reason for this is that we have sufficient data to make such assessments.

Sweden:             
No changes are being made to the entry restrictions and quarantine requirements for regions in Sweden. There are still no green regions in Sweden.

The following regions will remain orange or red, or change from orange to red (the same rules apply to orange and red regions):

Orange: Norrbotten, Södermanland, Uppsala, Blekinge, Dalarna, Västernorrland, and Kronoberg.

Red: Gotland, Halland, Stockholm, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västmanland, Örebro, Västra Götaland, Skåne, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Jönkjöping (will change from orange), Kalmar (will change from orange), and Östergötland (will change from orange).

Denmark
No changes to entry restrictions or quarantine requirements. All regions in Denmark continue to be subject to entry restrictions and quarantine requirements.

As for autonomous regions, the Faeroe Islands will continue to be green, while Greenland will remain red.

The following regions will remain orange or red:
Orange: Zealand and Southern Denmark.

Red: The capital (including Copenhagen), Central Denmark, and North Jutland.

Finland:
Travel restrictions and quarantine requirements will be lifted for one region in Finland.

The following region will change from orange to green:
Åland Islands.

The following regions will remain green:
Länsi-Pohja.

The following regions will remain orange or red:
Orange: Kymmenlaakso, Kainuu, Central Finland, South Savo, Central Tavastland, Satakunta, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, Päijat-Häme, Vaasa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, East Savo, Lapland (will change from red), Pirkanmaa (will change from red), and South Karelia (will change from red).

Red: Helsinki, Uusimaa, and Southwest Finland.

Selected archipelagos in Europe: 
Selected archipelagos will be assessed separately in order to allow safe travel to islands that are popular holiday destinations for Norwegians. The duty to stay at a quarantine hotel is being lifted for one archipelago.

No other changes are being made to the travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for the relevant archipelagos.

The duty to stay at a quarantine hotel is being lifted for:
The Balearic Islands (Spain) will change from dark red to red.

The following archipelagos will remain red or change from orange to red: 
The Azores (Portugal), the Canary Islands (Spain), the Northern Aegean Islands (Greece), Sardinia (Italy), Sicily (Italy), and Madeira (Portugal, will change from orange to red).

The following archipelagos will remain dark red and trigger a duty to stay at a quarantine hotel:
Corsica (France), Crete (Greece), the Southern Aegean Islands (Greece), and the Ionian Islands (Greece).

Purple countries:
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health assesses the countries and areas on the EU’s list of third countries which have an infection rate that warrants slightly lighter entry restrictions when travelling to Norway, such as an exemption from the duty to stay at a quarantine hotel. These countries and areas are known as ‘purple countries’. See further information in the box below.

No changes will be made to the categorisation of purple countries.

These countries and areas will remain purple:
Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Travel outside the EEA/Schengen and the UK still not advised:
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs still advises against non-essential travel to countries outside the EEA/Schengen area and the UK. There are exemptions for a few areas and countries on the EU's list of third countries, known as purple countries. The travel advice for the rest of the world will apply until 1 October 2021.

A text message with be sent to people with a Norwegian mobile phone subscription who are staying in the countries that will be subject to changed entry restrictions upon arrival in Norway. 

This week's assessment:
The changes are based on the weekly assessment by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health of areas in the Nordic region, countries, and selected archipelagos in Europe, in addition to selected countries on the EU's list of third countries. The assessments are based on the same threshold values as those applied in the EU.

The assessment this week (an even week) concerns whether the infection rate calls for stricter or lighter entry restrictions and quarantine requirements. The decision means that measures will be lifted for some countries, while travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are introduced for others.

If you travel from a green country but have a layover in a country with stricter quarantine requirements (for example orange, red, or dark red), the entry restrictions of the country you stop in will apply when you arrive in Norway. This means that if you are not a Norwegian citizen and have a layover in a country that is not green, you will not have the right to enter Norway. 

New updates every week:
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health assesses relevant countries and areas on a weekly basis. In even weeks, a broad-ranging assessment is made, based on the infection rate, of whether measures will be eased or tightened for the countries and areas. In odd weeks, the only assessment made is whether a country should have stricter rules (for example if it is changed from green to orange or red), based on the infection rate.

Updates to the country assessments are published on regjeringen.no every Friday at about 12 pm, and the changes enter into effect the following Monday at 12 am. The changes will appear in the COVID-19 Regulations and the interactive map on FHI.no.