Oslo customs experience of 9/24/2021

Americans, unless exempt, cannot currently enter Norway. You can change planes at the airport but not leave "airside." Regular tourism is not allowed. By attempting to enter and stay at the Radisson you were breaking Norwegian immigration rules. So, apparently, you weren't aware of current Covid rules.

Since you were breaking current immigration laws, the immigration agents had the right to hold you.

You also said you worked for Pan Am after 9/11. Interesting since Pan Am ceased operations in 1991.

Frank has explained exactly right.

Frank II is correct. And it seems like a gesture of goodwill that they where willing to drive you to another hotel for you to spend the night there. They could simply have said no, you are not allowed to enter Norway and forced you to sleep in the terminal.

You also mention customs, but from what you described you where dealing with immigration. And yes, the Best Western at Oslo airport is boring, but you can't blame the immigration officers for that. And your experience sounds very pleasant compared to what a friend of mine encountered when he was trying to enter the US a few years ago.

Neither the IATA site nor the Norwegian consulate indicated that travel to Norway was forbidden; in fact, the latter confirmed that we had completely complied with Covid requirements just a few days prior to our flight to Oslo.

I left out a brief exchange I'd had with the agent who escorted us for the poorly-administered Covid test that paled in comparison to the one administered by the French pharmacist just hours earlier--and, I'd be very interested to learn from one of my learned respondents the scientific justification for mandating that we submit to another Covid test at that time. When I told the agent that someone in France had said that Americans were allowed to visit them, but that our president had denied them access to the U. S. and asked if that had anything to do with our treatment in Oslo. She said evenly that yes, that was part of it and that the Norwegian restrictions would be less stringent as of the next day.

It is certainly an unpleasant sensation to feel that you are being manipulated even partially due to U. S. policy. And as for defending the austerity of the Best Western and our bus ride, it was not the actual physical characteristics but the fact that we were coerced. And we most assuredly did not feel fortunate in the slightest. Had we been able to find a Norwegian authority to advise us properly, we certainly would not have set foot in Norway.

https://no.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

This language seems pretty clear, and the website is quite accessible for those seeking info. I assume you are a US citizen, correct?

"Are U.S. citizens permitted to enter?  No, unless the traveler qualifies for a travel exception such as close family members and persons in an established relationship with a resident of Norway."

Your post does not say if you met those criteria or not, but they appear to be definitive.

We were on our 2nd honeymoon, obviously not meeting the criteria. I would restate that my husband received an email from the Norwegian consulate just a few days prior to our return to Oslo airport with no mention of forbidden entry into Norway. Thank you very much for sending a link that, in retrospect, would have given us the succinct and accurate information we had tried so hard to get. Perhaps it will aid others who travel far more than we.

I would always look to official (written) government sources for any rules, and they take less than 1 minute to Google ("Norway COVID entry requirements"). I would not put faith in travel/tourism websites or blogs or individual emails, even if from embassy staff. They may not be giving all the "small print", or they may assume you already knew something when giving you select information. It's best to read all the fine print on an official government website so that you're 100% covered. That is really all you can point to, an email will not cut it.

The first tip off should have been the "angry" immigration officer on the first leg to France via Norway - that was a sign that something was wrong.

Your post is one of the more unusual I've seen, and I hope it helps someone. It's not often that we get first hand accounts like these. It sounds like the immigration agents were put in a very bad position and had to make a workaround to accommodate something that should not have happened. It doesn't sound like a comfortable experience (especially after your 2nd honeymoon), but please put yourself in their shoes. They have to follow the law and have constraints. It could have been worse - they could have made you stay at the airport and not a hotel.

With things changing so often these days, I suspect that a lot of employees at consulates and other official govt agencies don't really know what's going on.

I think it's a good point that even embassy staff might get things muddled given the confusion and rapid policy changes that have erupted over the past several months. However, the week prior to our trip, I'd been in contact with the French consulate concerning their requirements, and the advice given was accurate. That perhaps is why we trusted what the Norwegian official wrote to my husband.
Thank you for your empathic comment. It certainly was a hard landing from an idyllic honeymoon--a trip that was financed after my husband had worked every single day last year for the St. Luke's hospital chain transporting Covid-related supplies and tests.

And to those who wrote we were lucky not to have spent the night in the airport, I would vigorously disagree. Being escorted to a bus without knowing our destination after the lengthy, unpleasant experience at the airport is a circumstance I am loathe to repeat.

I have been looking at the Norway requirements for months— I went as a tourist in August; I was eligible because I am a legal European resident with a digital EU Covid certificate.

The thing is, as Agnes says, that you can find the official Norwegian government rules about entry on about two or three different government sites (the Interior Ministry, the MFA, and the tourist arm), and they all publish the info *in perfect English * to make it easy for foreigners to read and understand the rules.

I am sorry you went through this; it’s part of what I have been saying for months that during this time of Covid restrictions, for most people, figuring out the rules for ONE country — and keeping up with them as they change as your departure date arrives — is plenty to keep one occupied. Adding in additional countries makes it exponentially harder to get each one of them right, which is why I recommended early that people stick to ONE country if they decide to visit Europe this year.

I became curious about the Pan Am reference. According to Wikipedia, Pan Am (in name only) has been resurrected six times since 1991. It is a lengthy article and I admit I did not read it all. But does add some clarity.

I should have started my previous post with...I am sorry, petit19.ange that you experienced this. I cannot judge you for not knowing the new rule. It is nearly impossible to keep up with the ever changing regulations. Please do not let this final experience on your homeward journey spoil the memories of your second honeymoon journey. Hopefully, someday this event will become a less emotional story to tell. And thank you, too, for sharing it. When I travel internationally again, I will be sure to frequently check the covid rules for each place.

And the Norwegian consulate where? (in which city/country)

And as travelergirl said, I hope that your 2nd honeymoon memories take precedence over this unpleasant end to your trip — may these memories of your airport experience recede into the background allowing you to focus on what I hope was a lovely trip otherwise.

Thank you, travelgirl and Kim, for your kind wishes. Our time in the Côte d'Azur was magical and unforgettable. And the friendliness of everyone we met (perhaps in part because I finally got to use my schoolgirl French, 20 years after tutoring in college, too!) made each experience even more fun.

As for Pan Am, it was in the last throes of its glorious name when I worked at a small regional airport (that's designated international because you can fly to Canada!). The Pan Am name was purchased, along with three Air Jamaica aircraft (at least that's all I knew about), and we had mechanicals every other day. After 9/11, dismayed by some of the conduct of others around me, I felt it was time to go. It wasn't enjoyable as I'd expected, and I soon realized it's much more fun getting on the plane as a passenger, eagerly waiting her next adventure!

Thank you for your relating your experience, no matter how painful, and for answering questions.

Thank you also for taking us back 20 and more years ago, and relating that story too...

Pan Am was a big part of my later childhood. Thanks for taking me back, even though through an airline Pan Am in name only. Thanks.

I just want to add my sympathies as well petit19.ange. We leave for Egypt tmrw and while we fully know what the entry requirements are, we have been unable to find a covid testing site in our hometown which will provide us with a QR code on our PCR covid test! It has caused us much stress. We are just crossing our fingers we get in!

I'm sorry you had this experience and certainly understand the emotions you have related to it. Thanks for sharing it, so that others may learn from it.