Changes in the travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 25 July

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is maintaining its global advice against non-essential travel to all countries apart from those for which an exception has been made. This travel advice currently applies until 20 August.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to make these changes to the travel advice on the basis of the latest information, see the updated map showing the status for quarantine on entry to Norway from different countries and regions that was published by the Government today. The global travel advice against non-essential travel no longer applies to Hungary and the regions of Kalmar, Östergötland, Örebro and Värmland in Sweden (now shown as green on the map), but it does now apply to Spain and Andorra (which are now shown as red). The Ministry therefore now advises against non-essential travel to Spain and Andorra. People returning to Norway from these countries will be required to go into quarantine for 10 days on their return. This will apply to anyone arriving in Norway from these countries after midnight on Friday 24 July.  For more information about this, see the website of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

People who have returned to Norway from a country or region that becomes ‘red’ shortly after their return will not be required to go into quarantine, but they must monitor their health for symptoms of COVID-19, get themselves tested if necessary, and make sure that they maintain a distance of at least one metre from other people. People who have been in these areas will be given priority for testing. 

From 25 July, the following countries and regions and in the Nordic region and the Schengen area/EEA will be ‘green’, and the Ministry’s travel advice against non-essential travel will not apply to them:

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Færoe Islands, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and the UK, and the regions of Blekinge, Kalmar, Kronoberg Skåne, Örebro, Östergötland and Värmland in Sweden. The ‘green’ countries and regions are those that satisfy the criteria for infection levels set by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.  

From 25 July, the following countries and regions in the Schengen area/EEA will be ‘red’, meaning that the global travel advice against all non-essential travel does apply to them: Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, Spain and regions of Sweden for which no exception has been made.

The Institute of Public Health will update the list of countries and regions that satisfy the criteria set for infection levels at least once every two weeks, but updates may be made more frequently, and countries/regions changed from ‘green’ to ‘red’, if the infection situation in a country or region deteriorates. More information is available on the website of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

The exceptions to the travel advice should not be taken as encouragement to travel. Everyone should consider all the potential ramifications before they travel. Those planning to travel abroad must make sure they know what restrictions and infection control rules apply in the country they are visiting. The spread of infection in Europe is still very difficult to predict and can change very quickly. The measures and restrictions in each country may differ widely and may be more comprehensive than Norwegian infection control rules.

Those who choose to travel abroad should have a valid passport and travel insurance. As always, the Ministry encourages all Norwegian citizens travelling abroad to register their trips on the travel information portal reiseregistrering.no (in Norwegian only).

More information is available on the government website.