Travel: Norway to ease entry and quarantine hotel restrictions 

The government also said it would scrap the distinction between 'necessary' and 'unnecessary' trips, meaning arrivals from the United Kingdom and EEA and Schengen countries will no longer need to enter quarantine hotels and can quarantine at home or another suitable location. 

“We are now changing the rules for quarantine hotels. We are removing the distinction between necessary and unnecessary travel when entering Norway, “ Justice Minister Monica Mæland said in a statement.

Previously those returning from unnecessary trips would have to enter quarantine hotels for a minimum of seven of Norway’s ten-day quarantine period. 

Those returning from essential trips were exempt. 

Essential trips included those taken to visit your children, go to a funeral, or to see a relative or close relation with a severe or terminal illness, as well as strictly necessary maintenance on a holiday home in Sweden or Finland. 

Now, Norway will assess whether arrivals enter quarantine hotels based on the infection situation in the country they are arriving from.

Travellers from European countries who have fewer than 150 new infections per 100,000 people in the previous 14 days will no longer be required to enter a quarantine hotel.

“This means that travellers from the United Kingdom and EEA or Schengen countries with low infection also avoid quarantine hotels,” Mæland said. 

Those coming from areas outside of the EEA, Schengen, and the UK will still have to enter the quarantine hotel. 

People will still be able to test themselves out of quarantine hotels after seven days. 

This also means that those arriving in Norway from necessary trips could be placed into quarantine hotels if there is a high level of infections in the country they returned from. 

The new rules on quarantine hotels will come into place on May 27th. 

READ ALSO: Norway to enter next stage of lifting Covid-19 restrictions next week 

Easing entry requirements 

Entry into Norway will also open to foreigners from “yellow countries”.

Yellow countries are countries deemed to have low level enough levels of infection to allow entry into Norway. Arrivals from yellow countries also do not need to quarantine, according to helsenorge.no.

Currently, this only applies to Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and parts of Finland. 

The list of yellow countries will grow in the future.

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, along with the Norwegian Directorate of Health, will make a weekly assessment of the infection situation in the EU/EEA/Schengen areas, as well as the UK, and update it once a week, according to the NIPH website.

The new rules come into place on May 27th. 

Entry into Norway will still be limited to a very small group of people outside of residents, citizens, those from yellow countries, and those considered exempt. 

You can view a complete list of those that are exempt here. 

In addition to this, current entry requirements will remain in place. 

Travellers will still need to complete the registration form prior to their departure, present a negative rapid antigen or PCR test and undergo testing when they arrive in Norway.

A reassessment of the restrictions on entry restrictions will be made when the government decides to take Norway’s reopening to step three. The easing of entry restrictions will be considered for business travel, family, partners, international students, and pupils. 

The government has extended its travel advice until July 1st, meaning advice against all non-essential foreign travel remains in place.