Human Rights Measure
Revised Circular Relating to Entry into Force of the Regulations Relating to Rejection etc. of Foreign Nationals Out of Concern for Public Health
Date Enacted: June 2020
Country: Norway
Region: Europe and Central Asia
While Norway’s regulations “stipulate that foreign nationals without a residence permit may be rejected for reasons of public health, due to the outbreak of the hazardous and widely infectious disease COVID-19,” exemptions are in place for “[m]embers of the Sami community in the exercise of reindeer herding.” In August 2021, “Sami people engaged in reindeer husbandry” were listed under the category of “exemptions” to “entry restrictions.” The significance of this, according to the Sámi Parliament of Sweden, is that “border closing between Norway, Sweden and Finland has had severe negative consequences for the Sámi people” given that “reindeer herding is based on free range movement between grazing lands in Norway, Sweden and Finland.”
