The Norwegian Government announced new entry rules from 29 January 2021 – exemptions for seafarers

February 2, 2021

In a press release of 27 January 2021, the Norwegian Government announced stricter entry rules for foreign nationals who seek entry to Norway. In general, only foreign nationals who reside in Norway will be permitted to enter. Exemptions still apply for certain groups, including “seafarers” and “foreign nationals who work in critical public functions”.

In the Regulations relating to entry restrictions for foreign nationals out of concern for public health section 3 first paragraph (j), the term “seafarers” is defined as follows:

“Seafarers, en route to or from active service, with an identity card as specified in section 2-8 of the Immigration Regulations or a Philippine Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book or a Philippine national passport as specified in section 3-1 (j) of the Immigration Regulations”

For an overview of “critical public functions”, we refer to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security’s list on the Government’s website (only available in Norwegian). Please note that the Norwegian Maritime Authority does not determine “critical functions”.

The testing, travel registration and quarantine requirements will remain in force for travellers who are exempt from the entry restrictions.

To be clear, all Norwegian nationals may continue to travel into Norway.

The amendments will take effect at 00:01 on Friday 29 January 2021. Foreign nationals who have already started their journey to Norway when the restrictions take effect will be granted entry.