UPDATE: What are the latest travel rules between Norway and the UK?
Here's everything you need to know about the latest Covid rules and restrictions for travelling between Norway and the UK.
Recently, there have been several significant changes to the travel rules between the UK and Norway, with changes to the quarantine rules when travelling to Britain from Norway and for NHS and Northern Irish Covid pass users travelling the other way. Here's everything you need to know about travel between the two countries.
Travel to the UK
Currently, Norway is on the UK's green travel list, meaning travellers arriving into England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will not be required to quarantine on their arrival, regardless of their vaccination status.
However, travellers will still need to take two tests when planning a trip to the UK from Norway. One within 72 hours of your departure flight and the second two days after arriving in the UK; the day you land in the UK counts as day zero.
In most cases, the test that's taken within three days of your flight will probably have to be from a private provider as not all municipalities offer travel testing and even less offer fit-to-fly certificates.
The test from Norway can be either a PCR or rapid antigen test and will cost around £100 depending on the provider and how quickly you need the result.
You can take the test at most major airports, but we recommend booking one in advance to be on the safe side.
The day two test must be booked before travelling, and prices start as low as £20. However, it's worth forking out a bit more for a day two test, as many have reported problems with some of the cheaper day two tests.
If you're travelling with children, kids over ten have to take the pre-departure test and kids over four are obliged to take the day two test.
Before you leave, you'll also need to fill out the passenger locator form and the day two test will need to have been booked to complete the paperwork.
You can click here to look at the passenger locator form and here to look at day two test providers.
Once you've landed in the UK you will not need to quarantine or isolate unless you test positive for Covid-19.
As Norway is currently on the UK's green list, the travel rules are the same whether you have a vaccine pass or not. If you make a stopover in an amber country such as the Netherlands or Denmark then you will need to undergo a ten-day quarantine and pay for an additional test on day eight if you are not fully vaccinated. If you've had all your jabs then the rules are the same as if you are coming from a green country.
One last caveat is the UK doesn't class people who have mixed vaccine doses as fully vaccinated so bear this in mind if making a stopover.
While broadly similar, Covid-19 travel, quarantine and testing rules are slightly different if you’re heading to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: What does Norway being on the UK’s green list mean for travellers?
Travel to Norway
This is where things can get a bit more confusing as the entry rules and requirements are very different depending on whether you are vaccinated or not.
Firstly, we'll cover the rules for if you are not vaccinated.
Rules for unvaccinated
Entry from the UK for unvaccinated arrivals into Norway is currently restricted to residents and citizens and the close family and partners of those living in Norway.
There are some exceptions that you can read about here.
Partners will need to complete a free application with the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and have it accepted before they travel. You can look at the application here.
Close family in Norway is classed as children and stepchildren (regardless of age), parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Family members coming to Norway are asked to provide proof of relation, such as a birth certificate and evidence the person they're visiting lives in Norway.
Residents will need to provide proof they live in Norway also. A residence card or certificate is sufficient
You will need to provide a negative PCR or antigen test taken within 24 hours of your arrival in Norway for those who can enter. In most cases, an antigen test, sometimes called a lateral flow test, is the most practical solution.
You will also need to complete the Norwegian entry registration form before you travel and get tested for Covid at the border after you've landed.
After that, you'll need to enter quarantine. Unfortunately, the UK is currently dark red on the Norwegian Institute of Public Health's travel map, so if you haven't had a jab of any sort or Covid, you will need to enter a quarantine hotel for a minimum of three days.
On day three of quarantine, you'll be tested for Covid, and if the test comes back negative, you will be able to complete the rest of quarantine at home or somewhere else with a private bedroom and bathroom. After that you can end quarantine after returning another negative test taken on day seven.
The hotel costs 500 kroner per night for adults and 250 for children between 10 and 17.
If you have received one jab between three and fifteen weeks since arriving in Norway, then you can quarantine at home or somewhere with your own room and toilet for three days before taking a PCR test.
You will need to be able to prove you've received a jab with either a Norwegian, EU, NHS or Northern Irish Covid certificate.
Rules for fully vaccinated
Norway has begun accepting Covid passes from travellers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland as proof of vaccination, meaning quarantine-free and unrestricted entry for fully jabbed arrivals.
Travellers will coming from England and Wales can use the NHS Covid app, and the CovidCertNI App if they are arriving from Northern Ireland.
Vaccine certificates from Scotland are not currently accepted.Covid-19 certificates from Scotland will not be accepted until it has a digital and verifiable solution for documenting vaccination status.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government has said that it expects to get a digital Covid pass up and running within the next month.
“We are developing an app to make it easier to show Covid status for international travel. This will include vaccinations records, and we aim to release this next month,” the spokesperson told the BBC.
To be classed as fully vaccinated when travelling to Norway, a week will need to have passed since your second jab, or three if you received the single-use Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Furthermore, if you have recovered from Covid-19 in the previous six months and can prove so via a valid Covid-19 certificate, then you fall under the same rules as being fully vaccinated.
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving, or those who have had Covid in the past six months, from the UK with an EU or Norwegian Covid certificate aren't subject to any entry restrictions provided a week has passed since their final shot.
This means any vaccine pass holders can travel for whatever reason they wish but won't need to undergo quarantine, testing or entry registration. In addition, the children of vaccine pass holders are exempt from the same rules as their parents, too, meaning quarantine-free entry for them too.
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Recently, there have been several significant changes to the travel rules between the UK and Norway, with changes to the quarantine rules when travelling to Britain from Norway and for NHS and Northern Irish Covid pass users travelling the other way. Here's everything you need to know about travel between the two countries.
Travel to the UK
Currently, Norway is on the UK's green travel list, meaning travellers arriving into England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will not be required to quarantine on their arrival, regardless of their vaccination status.
However, travellers will still need to take two tests when planning a trip to the UK from Norway. One within 72 hours of your departure flight and the second two days after arriving in the UK; the day you land in the UK counts as day zero.
In most cases, the test that's taken within three days of your flight will probably have to be from a private provider as not all municipalities offer travel testing and even less offer fit-to-fly certificates.
The test from Norway can be either a PCR or rapid antigen test and will cost around £100 depending on the provider and how quickly you need the result.
You can take the test at most major airports, but we recommend booking one in advance to be on the safe side.
The day two test must be booked before travelling, and prices start as low as £20. However, it's worth forking out a bit more for a day two test, as many have reported problems with some of the cheaper day two tests.
If you're travelling with children, kids over ten have to take the pre-departure test and kids over four are obliged to take the day two test.
Before you leave, you'll also need to fill out the passenger locator form and the day two test will need to have been booked to complete the paperwork.
You can click here to look at the passenger locator form and here to look at day two test providers.
Once you've landed in the UK you will not need to quarantine or isolate unless you test positive for Covid-19.
As Norway is currently on the UK's green list, the travel rules are the same whether you have a vaccine pass or not. If you make a stopover in an amber country such as the Netherlands or Denmark then you will need to undergo a ten-day quarantine and pay for an additional test on day eight if you are not fully vaccinated. If you've had all your jabs then the rules are the same as if you are coming from a green country.
One last caveat is the UK doesn't class people who have mixed vaccine doses as fully vaccinated so bear this in mind if making a stopover.
While broadly similar, Covid-19 travel, quarantine and testing rules are slightly different if you’re heading to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: What does Norway being on the UK’s green list mean for travellers?
Travel to Norway
This is where things can get a bit more confusing as the entry rules and requirements are very different depending on whether you are vaccinated or not.
Firstly, we'll cover the rules for if you are not vaccinated.
Rules for unvaccinated
Entry from the UK for unvaccinated arrivals into Norway is currently restricted to residents and citizens and the close family and partners of those living in Norway.
There are some exceptions that you can read about here.
Partners will need to complete a free application with the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and have it accepted before they travel. You can look at the application here.
Close family in Norway is classed as children and stepchildren (regardless of age), parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Family members coming to Norway are asked to provide proof of relation, such as a birth certificate and evidence the person they're visiting lives in Norway.
Residents will need to provide proof they live in Norway also. A residence card or certificate is sufficient
You will need to provide a negative PCR or antigen test taken within 24 hours of your arrival in Norway for those who can enter. In most cases, an antigen test, sometimes called a lateral flow test, is the most practical solution.
You will also need to complete the Norwegian entry registration form before you travel and get tested for Covid at the border after you've landed.
After that, you'll need to enter quarantine. Unfortunately, the UK is currently dark red on the Norwegian Institute of Public Health's travel map, so if you haven't had a jab of any sort or Covid, you will need to enter a quarantine hotel for a minimum of three days.
On day three of quarantine, you'll be tested for Covid, and if the test comes back negative, you will be able to complete the rest of quarantine at home or somewhere else with a private bedroom and bathroom. After that you can end quarantine after returning another negative test taken on day seven.
The hotel costs 500 kroner per night for adults and 250 for children between 10 and 17.
If you have received one jab between three and fifteen weeks since arriving in Norway, then you can quarantine at home or somewhere with your own room and toilet for three days before taking a PCR test.
You will need to be able to prove you've received a jab with either a Norwegian, EU, NHS or Northern Irish Covid certificate.
Rules for fully vaccinated
Norway has begun accepting Covid passes from travellers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland as proof of vaccination, meaning quarantine-free and unrestricted entry for fully jabbed arrivals.
Travellers will coming from England and Wales can use the NHS Covid app, and the CovidCertNI App if they are arriving from Northern Ireland.
Vaccine certificates from Scotland are not currently accepted.Covid-19 certificates from Scotland will not be accepted until it has a digital and verifiable solution for documenting vaccination status.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government has said that it expects to get a digital Covid pass up and running within the next month.
“We are developing an app to make it easier to show Covid status for international travel. This will include vaccinations records, and we aim to release this next month,” the spokesperson told the BBC.
To be classed as fully vaccinated when travelling to Norway, a week will need to have passed since your second jab, or three if you received the single-use Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Furthermore, if you have recovered from Covid-19 in the previous six months and can prove so via a valid Covid-19 certificate, then you fall under the same rules as being fully vaccinated.
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving, or those who have had Covid in the past six months, from the UK with an EU or Norwegian Covid certificate aren't subject to any entry restrictions provided a week has passed since their final shot.
This means any vaccine pass holders can travel for whatever reason they wish but won't need to undergo quarantine, testing or entry registration. In addition, the children of vaccine pass holders are exempt from the same rules as their parents, too, meaning quarantine-free entry for them too.
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