The requirement to pass a negative coronavirus test on arrival in Norway changes from 72 hours to 24 hours before departure.
The requirement to submit a negative SARS-CoV-2 test before arriving in Norway is changed from 72 hours to 24 hours, and anyone who has been in the UK, South Africa, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Brazil must be PCR tested - the test for border.
Quarantine rules are tightened and the same for all countries, with fewer exceptions and increased testing requirements.
- Norway already has some of the strictest regulations in Europe regarding the prevention of import infections. The government is now introducing even stricter rules on entry tests and quarantine. We are doing this to stop and delay the spread of mutated and more contagious variants of the virus in Norway, says Minister of Health and Care Bent Høie.
The following rules are changing:
- There will be more stringent testing requirements for critical community personnel who have special exceptions to entry and infection quarantine. The rule of thumb now is that these people should test negative for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR testing before starting work. You must pass the test no sooner than three days after your arrival in Norway. In exceptional situations, when there is no time to wait for a PCR response, a person may start working after a negative test result, with a quick test on the same day the work is to be completed.
- Exceptions to the entry quarantine for business travelers during testing in connection with international sports competitions are being lifted until 31.01. Until then, the government will make a new assessment.
- For those who are to work on ships in a Norwegian port, PCR tests will be applied at the end of quarantine.
- Requirements for the entry quarantine for military personnel will be tightened. Quarantine can be carried out in groups of 5, but the Armed Forces of the Norwegian Armed Forces Sanitary may decide in some cases. That more people can join the group, still limited to 30 people.
- The current entry quarantine exemption for regular commuters to Norway from Sweden and Finland and undergoing seven-day tests has been changed. Now it will be done in such a way that the exemption cannot be applied to people who have been in the quarantine area outside Sweden and Finland 10 days before arrival.
- Exemption from the quarantine obligation for persons crossing the border. To establish contact between children and parents or persons invited by the Norwegian state authorities for foreign policy reasons is tightened. Tests are required 3 days after arrival in order to be released from quarantine during working hours or during school hours. Exceptions are no longer granted during leisure time. Visits with children may take place during the quarantine period.
The changes will take effect at midnight on Monday 25 January.
