Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

FEATURE

What is harryhandel, and why do Norwegians love it so much? 

Norwegians are mad for their harrytur, but what are they and why are people in Norway so crazy about them? Here's what you need to know. 

Published: 14 July 2021 15:49 CEST
Updated: 7 April 2023 10:56 CEST
What is harryhandel, and why do Norwegians love it so much? 
A Norwegian and Swedish flag on either side of the border the two countries share. Photo: Petter Bernsten/AFP

What does harryhandel mean?

There’s no doubt that if you’ve spent any amount of time in Norway, you will have seen or heard the term before.

The term harryhandel started as slang for cross border shopping trips into Sweden. Most directly, it’s translated as “tacky shopping”.

The term was coined by former agriculture minister Lars Sponheim in 2002 when he said cross-border shopping trips to neighbouring Sweden was “harry“, tacky or tasteless.

These days the term has been adopted by the public and media in Norway and, for the majority, no longer carries any stigma, but if you prefer to be more proper, you can say Grensehandel instead. 

Harrytur, cross-border shopping trips, are incredibly popular in Eastern Norway, where Norwegians make regular trips into Sweden.

The majority of those who go shopping across borders in Norway will do so in Sweden. However, in the north, some will also venture into Finland or Russia if they wish to bag a bargain. 

Further south people will also travel to Germany or Denmark if they want to get a good deal.

Why do people do go border shopping? 

Simply put, this is because it is much cheaper to cross the border into another country and shop there than in Norway. 

Norway’s EEA agreement with the EU means that most foods, drinks, tobacco products, alcohol and other agricultural products are more expensive than they are within the EU as custom duties are required to import them into Norwegian supermarkets. 

Not just that, but there is a much wider selection of products than in Norway due to laws that protect Norwegian products.

What do Norwegians buy? 

What Norwegians buy will depend on where they are going. Generally, though, they will purchase all manner of things from candy to cognac. 

When Norwegians travel to Sweden or Denmark, they do so for meat, spirits, wine, sweets, chocolate, beer, and petrol. 

Norwegians will travel specifically to Sweden to satisfy their sweet tooth, pick up some cheap hooch or purchase cut-price snus or cigarettes.

READ ALSO: What is snus and why do so many Norwegians use it?

Those going to Russia do so for cheap alcohol and building materials but will need to spend at least 24 hours in Russia before bringing the goods back with them. 

Germany lures bargain-hunting Norwegians hoping to save a pretty penny on beer and wine to its shores due to its low alcohol prices. 

Are there any limits on what you can buy? 

Yes, there are quotas on specific products and the overall value of the purchases you make before paying taxes when bringing the products back into Norway. 

The quotas are up to 1 litre of liquor and 1.5 litres of wine or 3 litres of wine alone, and 2 litres of beer (or 5 litres of beer alone), as well as 10 kg of meat and 200 cigarettes or 250 grams of other tobacco products, and 200 sheets of cigarette paper. 

In addition to this, the maximum import value is 6,000 kroner for stays over 24 hours and 3,000 kroner for visits under 24 hours.

Why are these trips important? 

The trips aren’t just important to those in Norway looking to save a few kroner. The trips are critical to local economies in Sweden. 

In 2019, the last year where harryhandel was not disrupted by the pandemic, Norwegians spent 16.6 billion kroner during border shopping trips, according to Statistics Norway.

Coronavirus pandemic restrictions have left a black hole in some of these economies. For example, in Strömstad, a Swedish town close to the border where many travel to shop, unemployment rose by around 75 percent after Norway closed its borders with Sweden. 

Useful vocab 

Harryhandel – border shopping in Sweden

Jeg skal bare harryhandel i Sverige til helgen, vil du bli med? 

I am going border shopping in Sweden this weekend, would you like to come? 

En kompis sparte masse penger på harryhandel i Sverige.

A buddy of mine saved lots of money going border shopping in Sweden.

Harrytur – shopping trip to Sweden

Vi skal på harrytur til Strömstad for å kjøpe svensk smågodt!

We are going on a shopping trip to Strömstad to buy Swedish candy! 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

FEATURE

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. 

Published: 16 August 2021 13:55 CEST
Updated: 18 August 2021 12:19 CEST
UPDATE: What are the latest travel rules between Norway and the UK?
These are the rules for travelling between Norway and the UK. Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

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. 

SHOW COMMENTS