Visa trouble for Norwegian delegation
10 of the participants from the Norwegian Housing Bank got into trouble on the Kola Peninsula because they took part in a conference; something Russian migration authorities say is illegal to do with a tourist visa.
The Norwegian Housing Bank has cooperated with local partners in several municipalities on the Kola Peninsula for years. They share Norwegian experiences in finding solutions for management and maintenance of housing estates, outside park areas and general living conditions.
Reports and results from earlier conferances are available at the website of the Housing Bank.
On Monday this week, a new conference started in the city of Monchegorsk, an industrial city south of Murmansk.
But after the first day of the conference the Norwegian participants were stopped outside the conference hall by a migration officer who said their visas did not allow them to participate at a conference, reports the newspaper Finnmarken.
Each of the ten Norwegians with tourist visa got a fine of 2000 rubles and a clear order not to participate at the conference’s second day. The conference had 130 Russian participants.
They refused to accept the fine and were taken in for questioning by the migration authorities. The questioning lasted for eight hour, according to TV2.
When the incident happened, the Norwegian General Consul in Murmansk went to Monchegorsk to assist the Norwegians. The General Consul claims there are no mistakes with the visas and said the Russian migration authorities were misreading the visa rules.
