Historical archive

Changes to entry restrictions for several countries and areas

Historical archive

Published under: Støre's Government

Publisher: Ministry of Health and Care Services

The Ministry of Health and Care Services is introducing a requirement of travel quarantine for people arriving from the archipelagos of the Canary Islands (Spain) and Madeira (Portugal), the island of Corsica (France), the region of Länsi-Pohja (Finland), and the regions of Blekinge, Halland, and Värmland (Sweden). At the same time, the requirement to complete travel quarantine is being removed for the regions of East Savo (Finland) and Östergötland (Sweden). The changes will enter into effect on Monday 22 November at 12 am.

Travel quarantine will only apply to travellers arriving from red, dark red, purple, and grey countries who do not have a valid, verifiable COVID-19 certificate. Children and young people under the age of 18 are exempt from travel quarantine, regardless of the country they arrive from. In addition, travel quarantine may be shortened for all travellers if they present a negative result from a PCR test taken no sooner than 3 days after arrival.

The changes to the country list will appear in the COVID-19 Regulations and the interactive map on FHI.no from Monday 22 November.

Countries in Europe

The following countries will continue not to require travel quarantine (same requirements for green and orange countries):

No countries will be green from week 47.

Orange:
France, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, Spain (changed from green), and Vatican City.

The following countries will remain red or dark red and require travel quarantine (same requirements for red and dark red countries):

Red:
Cyprus, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania (changed from dark red), and Switzerland.

Dark red:
Andorra (changed from red), Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Iceland (changed from red), Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein (changed from red), Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, the UK, the Czech Republic, Germany (changed from red), Hungary, and Austria.

Regions and autonomous regions in the Nordic countries

Sweden

The following region will no longer require travel quarantine:
Östergötland (changed from red to orange).

The following regions will continue not to require travel quarantine (same requirements for green and orange regions):

Green:
Dalarna (changed from orange), Gotland, and Jämtland (changed from orange).

Orange:
Jönköping, Kronoberg, Västerbotten, and Västernorrland.

Travel quarantine is being introduced for the following regions:
Blekinge, Halland, and Värmland (all changed from orange to red).

The following regions will continue to be red and require travel quarantine: 
Gävleborg, Kalmar, Norrbotten, Skåne, Stockholm, Södermanland, Uppsala, Västmanland, Västra Götaland, and Örebro.

Denmark (including autonomous regions)

No regions in Denmark will be green or orange from week 46.

The following regions will remain red or dark red and require travel quarantine (same requirements for red and dark red regions): 

Red:
Central Denmark, North Jutland, and Southern Denmark.

Dark red:
The capital (including Copenhagen) and Zealand.

The Faeroe Islands will continue to be dark red, and will therefore continue to require travel quarantine.

Greenland will remain red, and will therefore continue to require travel quarantine.

Finland

The following region will no longer require travel quarantine:
East Savo (changed from red to orange).

The following regions will continue not to require travel quarantine (same requirements for green and orange regions):

Green:
Åland Islands.

Orange:
Kainuu, Lapland (changed from green), North Karelia, North Savo, Satakunta, South Savo, and Vaasa.

Travel quarantine is being introduced for the following region:
Länsi-Pohja (changed from orange to red).

The following regions will continue to be red and require travel quarantine:
Pirkanmaa, Central Tavastland, Southwest Finland, Helsinki-Uusimaa, Kymmenlaakso, Central Finland, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Päijat-Häme, South Ostrobothnia, and South Karelia.

Selected islands and archipelagos in Europe 

The following islands and archipelagos will continue not to require travel quarantine (same requirements for green and orange islands and archipelagos):

Green:
Sardinia (Italy) (changed from orange)

Orange:
The Azores (Portugal) and Sicily (Italy).

Travel quarantine is being introduced for the following islands and archipelagos:
The Canary Islands (Spain), Corsica (France), and Madeira (Portugal) (all changed from orange to red).

The following islands and archipelagos will continue to require travel quarantine (same requirements for red and dark red archipelagos):

Red:
The Balearic Islands (Spain), Crete (Greece), and the Southern Aegean Islands (Greece).

Dark red:
The Ionian Islands (Greece) and the Northern Aegean Islands (Greece) (changed from red).

Purple countries and areas
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health assesses the countries and areas on the EU’s list of third countries which have an infection rate that warrants slightly lighter entry restrictions. These countries and areas are known as ‘purple countries’. Travel quarantine, testing, and entry registration are required when arriving from purple countries.

The following countries and areas on the EU's list of third countries are or will become purple:
Argentina, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Qatar (changed from grey), Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan.

The following countries and areas on the EU's list of third countries are or will become grey:
Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Jordan, China, Macau, Rwanda, South Korea, and Uruguay.

The process for changes to country assessments
The changes are based on the weekly assessment by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health of areas in the Nordic region, countries, and selected archipelagos in Europe, in addition to selected countries on the EU's list of third countries. The assessments are based on the same threshold values as those applied in the EU.

The assessment this week (an even week) concerns whether the infection rate calls for stricter or lighter entry restrictions and quarantine requirements. The decision means that measures will be lifted for some countries, while travel restrictions and quarantine requirements are introduced for others.

If you travel from a green country but have a layover in a country with stricter quarantine requirements (for example orange, red, or dark red), the entry restrictions of the country you stop in will apply when you arrive in Norway. This means that if you are not a Norwegian citizen and have a layover in a country that is not green, you will not have the right to enter Norway. 

New updates every week
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health assesses relevant countries and areas every week. In even weeks, a broad-ranging assessment is made, based on the infection rate, of whether measures will be eased or tightened for the countries and areas. In odd weeks, the only assessment made is whether a country should have stricter rules (for example if it is changed from green to orange or red), based on the infection rate.

Updates to the country assessments are published on regjeringen.no every Friday at about 12 pm, and the changes enter into effect the following Monday at 12 am. The changes will appear in the COVID-19 Regulations and the interactive map on FHI.no.