Norway asks EU countries to accept travellers with expired passports
EU countries will be asked to grant entry to Norwegian travellers with expired passports this summer due to long waiting times for new travel documents to be issued.
On Friday, Norwegian Minister of Justice, Emilie Enger Mehl, will ask representatives from EU countries to allow Norwegian citizens to cross their borders with expired passports.
"Norway has sent an inquiry to all the countries in Schengen and asked that Norwegians can travel with expired passports. We have also offered to find solutions because we know that a number of other countries are also struggling with passport production," Mehl told broadcaster TV2.
Mehl is in Luxembourg on Friday to attend a meeting of EU interior ministers and has said she will speak to representatives from a number of countries about allowing Norwegians to enter EU countries with expired passports.
A large backlog of passports left to expire during the pandemic and a shortage of the materials needed to produce the travel documents have led to long waiting times, and many have been left sweating over whether they will be able to leave the country this summer.
READ MORE: Norwegian police urge travellers not to book holidays without a valid passport
The current waiting time to have a passport produced is around ten weeks, according to TV2. This estimate doesn't take into account the time it takes to get an appointment either.
Previously Norwegians have been encouraged to apply for ID cards which allow travel within the Schengen area, as waiting times for these were shorter than for passports.
On Friday, newspaper VG that the police were mulling a u-turn which saw holidaymakers blocked from applying for an emergency passport.
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On Friday, Norwegian Minister of Justice, Emilie Enger Mehl, will ask representatives from EU countries to allow Norwegian citizens to cross their borders with expired passports.
"Norway has sent an inquiry to all the countries in Schengen and asked that Norwegians can travel with expired passports. We have also offered to find solutions because we know that a number of other countries are also struggling with passport production," Mehl told broadcaster TV2.
Mehl is in Luxembourg on Friday to attend a meeting of EU interior ministers and has said she will speak to representatives from a number of countries about allowing Norwegians to enter EU countries with expired passports.
A large backlog of passports left to expire during the pandemic and a shortage of the materials needed to produce the travel documents have led to long waiting times, and many have been left sweating over whether they will be able to leave the country this summer.
READ MORE: Norwegian police urge travellers not to book holidays without a valid passport
The current waiting time to have a passport produced is around ten weeks, according to TV2. This estimate doesn't take into account the time it takes to get an appointment either.
Previously Norwegians have been encouraged to apply for ID cards which allow travel within the Schengen area, as waiting times for these were shorter than for passports.
On Friday, newspaper VG that the police were mulling a u-turn which saw holidaymakers blocked from applying for an emergency passport.
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