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Norway opens up to Swedish tourists… so long as they’re from Gotland

Norway will allow travel to and from all regions of Finland, Sweden and Iceland that have an 'acceptable' infection level – a criterion that rules out every region in Sweden apart from the island of Gotland.

Published: 12 June 2020 15:21 CEST
Norway opens up to Swedish tourists... so long as they're from Gotland
Just one small island region of Sweden meets the criteria. Photo: FHI/The Local
At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Bjørn Guldvog, the head of Norway's directorate of health, said that the guidelines drawn up meant that the whole of mainland Sweden would remain off limits until infection rates declined.
 
“In Sweden, the epidemic situation is unfortunately such that we can only now open up for leisure travel to and from Gotland,” he said, according to a report by state broadcaster NRK. 
 
All regions of Denmark, Iceland, and Finland currently meet the criteria. 
 
Prime Minister Erna Solberg conceded that the results of the new assessments would be unwelcome to those wishing to travel to and from Sweden.
 
“I realise this is a big disappointment for some people. But the restrictions are based on objective criteria that are the same for everyone,” she said at the press conference. 
 
READ ALSO: 
Solberg said the new guidelines would allow Norway to now open up for leisure travel to and from every country in the Nordic region, including Finland, Sweden and Iceland. It opened up to Danish citizens at the end of last month. 
 
“But this only applies to regions with an acceptable reproduction number,” she added.
 
 
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has assessed each region in the Nordics on the basis of their incidence rate over the past 14 days, and based on the percentage of positive samples over the past 14 days. 
 
But it has also applied 'qualitative criteria', judging regions on the extent to which those with even mild symptoms are tested, on how good their contract tracing system is, and on the quality of information given out to travellers. 
 
It has produced a new set of advice for international travel and a map, showing which regions in the Nordic countries meet the criteria and which do not.  
 
 
 
 
Solberg said that the criteria will allow Norway in future to open up for and shut down to different regions as the level of infection in them fluctuates, with the NIPH publishing new regional assessments every fortnight. 
 
“Let me emphasise – this is not just about where to spend the holidays this summer. We must plan for travel restrictions to last over time,” she said.  
 
In a small ray of good news for those wishing to travel to and from Sweden, Bent Høie, Norway's health minister, said that several regions bordering Norway were currently close to meeting the criteria, meaning that they could see controls lifted when the situation is reevaluated in two weeks' time. 
 
 
Solberg warned that the new system could mean a region of another Nordic country is ruled off limits at short notice, forcing Norwegians to cancel planned trips or to unexpectedly have to spend ten days in quarantine on their return. 
 
“If you are planning a holiday outside Norway, you must also be aware that quarantine can be reintroduced at short notice if the infection situation changes while abroad,” she said. 
 
The announcement came a day after Finland opened its borders to all of the Baltic and Nordic states except Sweden. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens.

Published: 1 May 2024 07:18 CEST
Reader question: How do the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

From the start date to the situation for dual nationals and non-EU residents living in the EU, it’s fair to say that readers of The Local have a lot of questions about the EU’s new biometric passport check system known as EES.

You can find our full Q&A on how the new system will work HERE, or leave us your questions HERE.

And one of the most commonly-asked questions was what the new system changes with regards to the 90-day rule – the rule that allows citizens of certain non-EU countries (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without needing a visa.

And the short answer is – nothing. The key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any rules on immigration, visas etc.

Therefore the 90-day rule continues as it is – but what EES does change is the enforcement of the rule.

90 days 

The 90-day rule applies to citizens of a select group of non-EU countries;

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.

Citizens of these countries can spend up to 90 days in every 180 within the EU or Schengen zone without needing a visa or residency permit.

People who are citizens of neither the EU/Schengen zone nor the above listed countries need a visa even for short trips into the EU – eg an Indian or Chinese tourist coming for a two-week holiday would require a visa. 

In total, beneficiaries of the 90-day rule can spend up to six months in the EU, but not all in one go. They must limit their visits so that in any 180-day (six month) period they have spent less than 90 days (three months) in the Bloc.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90 days are calculated according to a rolling calendar so that at any point in the year you must be able to count backwards to the last 180 days, and show that you have spent less than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen zone.

You can find full details on how to count your days HERE.

If you wish to spend more than 90 days at a time you will have to leave the EU and apply for a visa for a longer stay. Applications must be done from your home country, or via the consulate of your home country if you are living abroad.

Under EES 90-day rule beneficiaries will still be able to travel visa free (although ETIAS will introduce extra changes, more on that below).

EES does not change either the rule or how the days are calculated, but what it does change is the enforcement.

Enforcement

One of the stated aims of the new system is to tighten up enforcement of ‘over-stayers’ – that is people who have either overstayed the time allowed on their visa or over-stayed their visa-free 90 day period.

At present border officials keep track of your time within the Bloc via manually stamping passports with the date of each entry and exit to the Bloc. These stamps can then be examined and the days counted up to ensure that you have not over-stayed.

The system works up to a point – stamps are frequently not checked, sometimes border guards incorrectly stamp a passport or forget to stamp it as you leave the EU, and the stamps themselves are not always easy to read.

What EES does is computerise this, so that each time your passport is scanned as you enter or leave the EU/Schengen zone, the number of days you have spent in the Bloc is automatically tallied – and over-stayers will be flagged.

For people who stick to the limits the system should – if it works correctly – actually be better, as it will replace the sometimes haphazard manual stamping system.

But it will make it virtually impossible to over-stay your 90-day limit without being detected.

The penalties for overstaying remain as they are now – a fine, a warning or a ban on re-entering the EU for a specified period. The penalties are at the discretion of each EU member state and will vary depending on your personal circumstances (eg how long you over-stayed for and whether you were working or claiming benefits during that time).

ETIAS 

It’s worth mentioning ETIAS at this point, even though it is a completely separate system to EES, because it will have a bigger impact on travel for many people.

ETIAS is a different EU rule change, due to be introduced some time after EES has gone live (probably in 2025, but the timetable for ETIAS is still somewhat unclear).

It will have a big impact on beneficiaries of the 90-day rule, effectively ending the days of paperwork-free travel for them.

Under ETIAS, beneficiaries of the 90-rule will need to apply online for a visa waiver before they travel. Technically this is a visa waiver rather than a visa, but it still spells the end of an era when 90-day beneficiaries can travel without doing any kind of immigration paperwork.

If you have travelled to the US in recent years you will find the ETIAS system very similar to the ESTA visa waiver – you apply online in advance, fill in a form and answer some questions and are sent your visa waiver within a couple of days.

ETIAS will cost €7 (with an exemption for under 18s and over 70s) and will last for three years.

Find full details HERE. 

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