The government has decided that Russian citizens are to be refused entry to Norway if they travel to Norway as a tourist or for other non-essential purposes. Visas are therefore not issued to tourists and similar groups of visa applicants.

From 29 May 2024, you can still be granted a visitor visa if

• you are going to visit parents, spouse, cohabitant and children living in Norway
• you are a family member or an EEA citizen
• you are going to work or study in Norway and do not need a residence permit for this
• you own a holiday property in Norway and need to carry out necessary maintenance of it. You must have bought the property before 29 May 2024.
• you are going to travel through Norway to a country where you have a residence permit
• you are travelling to or from work or residence in Svalbard, you are permanent resident of Svalbard or you are in Svalbard and need to travel through the Norwegian mainland to get home
• you have been invited by the Norwegian authorities or are to participate in projects financed by the Norwegian authorities
• you have a special care responsibility for someone who lives in Norway or there are other strong welfare considerations
• you are diplomtic and consular staff, administrative and technical staff and support staff at a Russian diplomatic station or are travelling through Norway. This also applies to your family members (spouse, cohabitant and children) who belong to the household at the place of employment, as well as if you are a diplomatic courier.

If your purpose for applying for a visitor visa is mentioned above, you must also meet the usual requirements to be issed a visa to Norway.

You will not be granted a visitor visa if

• you are going for a visit as a tourist
• you are going to visit friends, girlfriend/boyfriend or more distant family members than parents, spouse, cohabitant and children
• you are travelling for purposes other than those mentioned above

The government has decided that as of 29 May 2024, Russian citizens with a visitor visa are to be refused entry to Norway if they travel to Norway as a tourist or for other non-essential purposes.

From 29 May 2024, you can still enter Norway with a visitor visa without being refused entry or stay if

• you have a visitor visa issued by Norway after 30 May 2022
• you are going to visit parents, spouse, cohabitant and children residing in Norway or other Schengen countries
• you are a family member of an EEA citizen and are going to travel together with or visit the EEA citizen in Norway
• you are going to work or study in Norway or other Schengen countries and do not need a residence permit for this
• you have a national visa issued by Norway
• you own a holiday property in Norway and need to carry out necessary maintenance of it. You must have bought the property before 29 May 2024.
• you are going to travel through Norway to another country where you have a residence permit
• you are travelling to or from work or residence in Svalbard, you are permanent resident of Svalbard or you are in Svalbard and need to travel through the Norwegian mainland to get home
• you have been invited by the Norwegian authorities or are to participate in projects financed by the Norwegian authorities
• you have a special care responsibility for someone who lives in Norway or there are other strong welfare considerations
• you are diplomtic and consular staff, administrative and technical staff and support staff at a Russian diplomatic station or are travelling through Norway. This also applies to your family members (spouse, cohabitant and children) who belong to the household at the place of employment, as well as if you are a diplomatic courier.

When you arrive at the border, you must bring documents that show that you are covered by one of the above points.

You will also not be refused entry or stay if you enter Norway from another Schengen country.

The government has decided that as of 29 May 2024, Russian citizens with a visitor visa are to be refused entry to Norway if they travel to Norway as a tourist or for other non-essential purposes.

From 29 May, you can still enter Norway without being refused entry or stay if

• you have an entry visa to or residence permit in Norway or another Schengen country
• you have a local border traffic permit

You cannot travel to another country to apply for a visa from there. You must submit a visa application in the country where you are a permanent resident. If you are already in a country other than where you live, you must clarify with the diplomatic mission whether you have strong and unforeseen reasons for still being able to apply.

As of 2 October 2023 at 24:00 it will no longer be possible to temporarily import Russian-registered passenger cars with nine or fewer seats into Norway, with some exceptions.

You can find more information about the rules on the government's website (external website).

Norway and the EU countries have already introduced bans on the import of, among other things, Russian-registered passenger cars with nine or fewer seats. From midnight on 2 October there will be stricter rules for temporary imports. This means that if you are going to drive to Norway and your car is Russian-registered, you will not be able to bring the car into Norway.

Exceptions

In Norway, four types of exceptions apply.

• Norwegian citizens or EEA citizens or their immediate family, who live in Russia and own a Russian-registered car, can travel to Norway with the car.
• Exceptions have also been made for vehicles that are necessary for humanitarian reasons, such as acute illness, death or a funeral in the family. You must be able to document at the border that you must bring the car into Norway for humanitarian reasons. If you can achieve the purpose of the visit by other means of transport, for example a bus, the use of your own Russian-registered car will not be considered "necessary".
• There are also exceptions for diplomatic vehicles or vehicles belonging to international organisations or a state's courier service.
• In addition, you can apply for an exception from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In special cases in which foreign policy considerations warrant it, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may grant an exception.

Please note that the ban does not apply to vehicles with ten or more seats. It will still be possible to cross the border with, for example, minibuses and buses via Storskog border station.

Who can I contact if I have further questions about these rules and exceptions?

UDI does not have the authority to answer questions about the rules for importing or temporarily importing Russian-registered passenger cars.

If you have questions about how to interpret the rules and exceptions, you can send an e-mail to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For more information, there is a Q&A available (in Norwegian only) (external website) on the government website.

How does this affect me?

The rules are related to the import of goods and does not change the conditions for entry that applies to individuals. Even if a vehicle is covered by an exception, this does not mean that the persons traveling in the vehicle are automatically allowed to enter Norway.