Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

WHAT CHANGES IN NORWAY

EXPLAINED: The big changes to travel in Norway this autumn

Cheaper public transport tickets, new flight routes, more details on the tourist tax and the introduction of the new EU EES system are among the changes to travel to Norway this autum.

Published: 2 September 2024 14:35 CEST
Updated: 9 September 2024 11:27 CEST
Pictured is a train in Gol, Norway.
There are a number of key changes in Norway this autumn that travellers will need to know about. Pictured is a train in Gol, Norway. Photo by: Frazer Norwell / The Local Norway

Cheaper train tickets for students and children

Train tickets for students and children will be made cheaper in Norway from October 1st as part of a government initiative.

The new discounts of 75 percent off the price of a standard ticket for a child and 50 percent off for students are already available for tickets for journeys on or after October 1st.

Students will also receive a discount on both single tickets and period tickets.

The new discount will apply to long-distance and regional trains on all journeys not covered by route, fare, or ticket cooperation. The Bergen-Arna, Oslo-Lillestrøm, Stavanger-Sandnes, and Trondheim-Værnes routes are examples of journeys where the new discounts won’t be available.

Price of monthly travel card in Oslo to be cut

For those who travel in Zone 1, the cost of a monthly travel ticket in Oslo has been cut by 150 kroner.

The cost of a monthly ticket was cut to 747 kroner, down from 897 kroner, on September 1st.

Tickets for students and seniors have also been reduced. Students will pay 448 kroner for a ticket, while the elderly will be charged 374 for a monthly pass.

More information on how the tourist tax will work                          

Norway’s government will submit two proposals that will impact the country’s tourism industry during the autumn.

The first will be a visitor’s contribution or tourist tax. A potential tourist tax has long been promised by the current government as part of the Hurdal Agreement it was formed on in 2021.

Some regions are keen for a tourist tax to be introduced as the upkeep of attractions, maintenance of key hiking trails and dealing with the pollution and litter caused by visitors typically come out of small municipal coffers.

Another proposal will see the guides require certification to use the job title. 

READ MORE: Norway’s government announces plans for tourist tax and guide certification

New flight routes to Norway

EasyJet will launch several new routes to and from Norway this autumn. Flights to Oslo from Manchester will begin on November 15th, and a new route between Liverpool and the Norwegian capital will take off on November 29th. There will be two flights per week between the two English cities and Oslo, one on Mondays and one on Fridays.

There will also be Easyjet flights between Milan Malpensa and Charles De Gaule this autumn.

The Oslo connections come in addition to seven new routes the airline has planned from the Arctic capital of Tromsø. The new Tromsø routes will connect northern Norway to London-Gatwick, Manchester, Paris-CDG, Milan-Malpensa, Bristol, Geneva, and Amsterdam.

There will also be a new British Airways flight between London Heathrow and Tromsø this winter.

EU’s EES system

The biggest travel change to those flying in and out of the country will be the EES system that will come into effect on Sunday, November 10th.

From that date, anyone entering or exiting the EU or Schengen zone (except exempt groups) will have to complete a pre-registration form, providing details such as a name and date of birth and also providing biometric data—specifically fingerprints and a facial scan.

These will be used for two things: tighter security checks on passports and automatic counting of the 90-days of visa-free travel that some non-EU citizens are allowed within the EU/Shengen zone.

Once EES is up and running and the main problems have (ideally) been ironed out, the EU plans to unroll the second change – ETIAS.

READ ALSO: Who in Norway will be exempt from Europe’s new EES passport checks?

Change to EVs in public transport lanes around Oslo

The decision to shunt electric vehicles out of the public transport lanes on the E18 west of Oslo has been partially reversed.

EVs are now able to use public transport lanes between Asker and Lysaker on weekends.

Norway’s government has also said it would open a stretch of the E6 from the north to the south of Oslo for electric cars.

Member comments

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

TRAVEL NEWS

Your questions answered on the UK’s new £10 entry fee for European travellers

From next year, European travellers visiting the UK will be required to pay a £10 Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in order to enter. The Local answers your questions on what that means for people living in the EU or EEA, including EU spouses and dual nationals.

Published: 13 September 2024 12:10 CEST
Your questions answered on the UK's new £10 entry fee for European travellers

The UK has introduced an electronic travel authorisation scheme known as ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) for people paying short visits such as tourists of those visiting family members.

The ETA – which costs £10, lasts for two years and must be applied for online in advance of your trip – is already in place for citizens of some countries, but in the spring of 2025 it will be expanded to include EU and EEA citizens such as French, German or Swiss nationals.

You can find full details of the scheme and how it works here.

The UK government information is largely geared towards tourists, and readers of The Local had questions – especially on how the changes affect people with residency in an EU or EEA country, on the position for EU spouses of a UK national and the changes for dual nationals.

Does this affect Brits who are resident in an EU/EEA country?

This system all depends on the passport you are travelling on, not where you live or whether you have a residency permit for another country.

So in short if you are travelling on your UK passport, you will be treated like every other Brit and won’t need an ETA. If you are a dual national, it depends on the passport you are travelling on (more on that below).

However Brits who have an EU partner or spouse (who don’t have a British passport) should be aware that the changes will apply to their spouse.

Does this limit stays in the UK for EU citizens who are married to a Brit?

ETA, like the EU’s new EES biometric passport checks and ETIAS visa waiver, does not change any of the existing rules around immigration or long-stay visas.

At present, citizens of a number of countries – including all EU/EEA countries and a number of non-EU countries such as the USA and Canada – benefit from visa-free travel to the UK for short visits. Those people can stay in the UK for up to 180 days per year without needing a visa, although they cannot work in the UK.

This category would cover tourists and people making short visits to family. Anyone who wants to stay longer than 180 days in a year, or who wants to work in the UK, would need a visa or to apply for residency through other routes such as the EU Settled Status scheme. This includes EU nationals who have a British spouse.

What changes under ETA is that the people making short stays will no longer benefit from visa-free travel – instead they must apply online for the ETA visa before travel.

Those who wish to stay longer or to work in the UK must apply for the relevant visa or residency permit type, exactly as they do now.

What about Irish passport holders?

The exception to these rules is for people travelling on an Irish passport. Because of the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland, those travelling on an Irish passport will not be required to get an ETA, and in fact nothing changes for them.

The exemption only applies if you are using your Irish passport to travel – if you have an Irish passport but are using another non-UK passport to travel you will be treated according to the passport you present. 

Likewise, UK nationals are also exempt from the requirement – but only if they are using their UK passport to travel.

Do children need an ETA?

Yes, everyone entering the UK will need an ETA, including children and babies. The travel authorisation costs £10 for everyone – unlike the EU’s ETIAS, there is no cost exemption for over 70s or under 18s.

Do I need an ETA as an airline transit passenger? That seems mad if I’m only passing through the airport?

Yes, an ETA is required for everyone, even if you’re only passing through a UK airport as part of a connecting flight. This has sparked fury from the UK’s ‘hub’ airports such as Heathrow, where bosses say the change could cost them up to 4 million passengers a year.

The government says: “Requiring transit passengers to obtain an ETA stops people who may use connecting flights to avoid gaining permission to travel to the UK.”

What about dual nationals?

The key thing for dual nationals to remember is that your passports are not ‘linked’ – so the immigration official that you present your passport to has no way of knowing that you also have the passport of another country.

Dual nationals are therefore treated according to the passport they present. So let’s say you have a UK passport and an Italian one – if you travel to the UK on the UK passport, you will not need an ETA. However if you travel on the Italian passport you will need an ETA.

It is perfectly legal to use two passports while making a trip, so that you can enter the UK showing your UK passport and then on your return to Italy show the Italian passport – this allows you to avoid the formalities for foreigners in both countries. If you are doing this, you will just need to take care when supplying Advance Passenger Information (API) to your travel provider that you are supplying the right information for the passport that you will be using for each leg of the journey.

When does this start?

The ETA requirement is already in place for citizens of certain countries and then will continue the roll-out in two subsequent stages.

Citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates already need an ETA to enter the UK. From January 8th 2025 it will be extended to citizens of all non-EU/non-EEA countries and then from April 2nd it will be required for all EU/EEA citizens (with the exception of Ireland). Find the full list of countries here.

How do I get the ETA?

You apply and pay online before you travel – the UK government says that applications should be processed within three working days but that some could take longer. You cannot enter the UK until your application is processed.

Once issued, the ETA lasts for two years and allows multiple trips – although if your passport is renewed during that two-year period you will have to apply for a new ETA.

Find full details of how to apply here.

Why is the UK doing this?

It’s a security measure and is part of the UK’s plan to digitise its borders. The scheme is intended to reduce queues at the border, “helping to speed up legitimate journeys to the UK”, a government spokesman said.

It is very similar to the EU’s ETIAS visa waiver – due to come into effect in the spring of 2025 – and the US’s ESTA visa, which has been required for all visitors since 2009.

SHOW COMMENTS