A British holidaymaker was mistakenly deported from Norway after border police at Oslo Airport incorrectly interpreted EU passport validity rules despite the traveller having a document that complied with Schengen regulations. The passenger had flown with a Norwegian airline from Edinburgh to Oslo on February 22 for a planned week-long holiday with their partner and friends.
Upon arrival, however, they were stopped by Norwegian border officials who determined that their passport lacked sufficient validity — a conclusion now known to be inaccurate. According to The Independent, the border police informed the traveller: “Your passport is issued 26 March 2015 and is therefore considered valid only until the 26 March 2025."
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The incident has shed light on inconsistencies in Europe's differing interpretation of UK passports (Image: Getty)
They added: "Your planned departure from Norway and the Schengen area is 1 March 2025, and the passport is not valid for three months after the date of departure as the border regulation demands. You are therefore expelled from Norway.”
The passenger was subsequently detained and returned to the UK, handed a formal notice stating they had been "expelled from Norway."
However, this action appears to contradict the actual requirements of the Schengen Borders Code, which governs entry into countries within the Schengen Area, including Norway. Under the rules, a traveller’s passport must meet two main criteria:
- It must have been issued within the last 10 years at the time of entry.
- It must be valid for at least three months after the traveller’s intended date of departure from the Schengen Area.
In this case, the traveller’s passport had an issue date of 26 March 2015 and an expiry date of 26 November 2025. That means it remained within the 10-year issue limit for entry up to 25 March 2025, and it was valid well beyond the planned departure date of March 1, 2025, by nearly nine months.
The passenger's visit fell within the standard 90-day allowance for UK nationals visiting the Schengen Area without a visa.
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The letter from Norwegian police informed the passport holder that they were formally 'expelled' (Image: Norwegian Police)
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The incident sheds light on apparent inconsistencies in the interpretation and enforcement of passport validity rules among Nordic border authorities.
A spokesperson for Norwegian airline told The Independent: “We regret the disruption to our passengers due to inconsistent interpretation of Schengen passport rules by the Nordic countries.
"As an airline, we must comply with local border control directives, which are currently unclear. We have urged the authorities to provide clear, unified guidance to airlines, in order to prevent further passenger issues and avoid penalties for our company.”
