Norway strengthening Svalbard regulations
The Norwegian Ministry of Justice today announced that it from now on will demand passport control for all travellers going to Svalbard.
From now on, all travellers to Svalbard from Tromsø and Oslo will have to go through passport control before departure to Longyearbyen, the regional administrative centre, local newspaper Svalbardposten reports. The Governor of Svalbard, Per Sefland, highlights the importance of Norway fulfilling its international commitments.
The governor says it is important that Svalbard is not considered a free zone, with unrestricted and uncontrolled access for everyone.
Another change for Svalbard society presented this week is the adoption of business competition rules similar to the ones of the Norwegian mainland. The normalization of the Svalbard society has pushed forward the introduction of the same competition regulations as on continental Norway, the Norwegian Ministry of Administration and Reform reports.
