The Norwegian has decided to extend the EU-wide entry ban on third-country citizens, imposed since mid-March, amid the Coronavirus second wave and warnings of a “hard, long winter” by epidemiologists across Europe.
The decision has been announced by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, according to which the entry ban will be extended until June 1, 2021, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“The Coronavirus is still a threat to public health and will remain so until a sufficient proportion of the population is immune from vaccination. In view of this, the duration of the rules must be extended. The rules applied in principle until November 1,” the decision reads.
The Ministry also notes that the relevant ministries in Norway in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) will assess the duration of entry restrictions continuously, in line with the development of the pandemic in Norway and further in Europe and the world.
According to the results of these assessments, Norway will then decide whether to cut the extension short or extend it beyond June 1, 2021.
“The government makes continuous assessments of how long the restrictions are needed,” the Minister of Justice Monica Mæland noted adding that the government is also considering relaxations of the entry restrictions continuously.
In mid-October, the same Minister had accounted that more family members of Norwegian citizens would be able to travel to Norway by Christmas and join their loved ones for the year-end celebrations after the government decided to exclude them from the entry ban.
The decision was taken in line with Norway’s bid to permit more people to enter the country without jeopardizing the health of its citizens, and triggering another increase of the cases.
“I hope this will be an early Christmas gift for all those who have missed their loved ones,” PM Erna Solberg said commenting the move, explaining that many children had contacted her and asked for their grandparents to be permitted to come to Norway.
All persons permitted to enter Norway remain subject to the general rules on entry in the Immigration Act as the requirements of travel documents and visas. They will also have to respect entry rules as testing and quarantine.
Norway’s decision to extend the entry ban follows that of its neighbouring country, Sweden, which has, however, extended the entry ban on third-country citizens for a shorter period of only two months.
On October 22, the Swedish Ministry of Justice announced that the temporary ban on entry to the EU via Sweden has been extended until December 22, 2020, and is extendable due to the spread of the virus in the recent weeks.
Other EU countries are also extending the entry ban which has been in place since mid-March when the EU Commission suggested to the Member States to close their borders as a way to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic in Europe.
So far, 7,162,575 cases have been reported in the EU/EEA and the UK. France leads the table with 1,331,984 cases marked followed by Spain (1,185,678), and the United Kingdom (989,745). In Norway, on the other hand, the number of cases is at 19,563 as of October 31.
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October 31, 2020 at 08:22PM
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Norway Extends Entry Ban for Third-Country Citizens Until June 2021 - SchengenVisaInfo.com
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