The gap between demand and delivery related to passports is ever increasing due to a shortage of raw materials and a large demand. Now the police are also tightening the requirements for emergency passports.
If, on the other hand, you have booked a trip to Spain, Greece or Croatia, but do not have a valid passport for you or the children, you can in theory get on the plane.
But it is not without risk, experts say.
– You can of course be lucky and bet that you avoid passport control, but should you meet someone on the road who requires valid identification, it can be challenging, says Arne Voll, communications manager at Gjensidige.
Risk sports
In all countries in the Schengen area, there is usually no passport control. You may still be asked to identify yourself, and then you must make sure that you have valid identification in place.
If you are going outside the Nordic region, you must have a valid passport or ID card. It does not hold a valid driver’s license or visa card with a photo if you meet the wrong people. Even if you do not always need a passport in the Schengen areas, passport checks can still occur, says Voll.
Voll is aware that you can not expect to get back on the insurance if there should be problems on the road.
– WARNING: Gjensidige’s communications manager, Arne Voll, encourages people to think twice before traveling on a holiday without a valid passport. Photo: Mats Stordal
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– We receive many inquiries regarding what we cover if there should be problems related to passports. Having valid identification is a personal responsibility. Although in some cases it will be possible to travel to some countries without a passport, the insurance does not cover anything if you have to show valid identification and you do not have it.
– Then there will be a case between you and the country you travel to, says Voll.
This is the Schengen area
The Schengen area consists of 26 European countries. There is usually no passport control between these countries.
If you have a valid visa or residence permit in one of these countries, you can also visit the other countries.
These countries are parties to the Schengen Agreement:
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Hellas
- Island
- Italia
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Hungary
- Austria
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Also applies in the Nordic countries
According to Roar Hanssen from the Norwegian Police Directorate, a passport and national ID card are the only valid IDs when you are traveling.
According to the Police’s website, the waiting time for a national ID card is four weeks, and seven weeks for a traditional passport. However, it can take months to get an appointment for a passport. The waiting time is expected to increase towards the summer.
– Even if you are only traveling in the Nordic countries, checks can occur. Then we recommend that you have a passport, national ID card or valid driver’s license. Children who travel with their parents do not need their own ID. This applies as long as parents can show identification, says Hanssen.
Are you considering traveling without a valid passport? Then we want to hear from you.
– Search out of town
Bjørn Vandvik, director of the police directorate, also advises against booking travel if the documents are not in order – but he also recommends using an ID card if the passport queue becomes too long.
– We have too many people applying for passports in relation to how many passports are produced, so there is a longer and longer waiting time. We think it is approaching ten weeks when we come to July, says Vandvik.
– CLEAR MESSAGE: The head of department at the Norwegian Police Directorate, Bjørn Vandvik, encourages people to wait to book a holiday abroad before their travel documents are in order. Photo: Ingvild Gjerdsjø / TV 2
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He points to the backlog from the pandemic as the main reason for the long queues, as the passport was hidden in a drawer.
– Now many people want passports at once, and then we are unable to deliver the corresponding demand. The war in Ukraine may also have affected the delivery of components to the passports, he says.
But for those who still have not given up hope of getting a new passport or ID card for the holiday, Vandvik advises applying outside the city.
– We see that there is a different waiting time per hour in the police districts, so you can still do that. It’s unfortunate that you have to search around, but there we are now.
– Too early to say
But despite warnings and long waiting times for passports, travel agencies are noticing an increasing number of bookings, especially towards the summer holidays.
For the time being, it also does not appear that people have got cold feet.
– It is too early to say whether we will notice a larger number of cancellations related to the lack of valid passports, says communications manager at TUI, Nora Aspengren.
– OPTIONS: The Ving manager points out that ID cards can work just as well as passports, if you have not been ready for the trip. Photo: Ving
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Country manager for Ving in Norway, Marie-Anne Zachrisson, says they are concerned about the statement to the police directorate to avoid booking holidays abroad without valid passports.
– It is good that the police have gradually pointed out that it holds with a valid ID card. We have several trips to countries where this is good enough identification, says Zachrisson.
– We follow the situation closely. Many have waited through two long pandemic years to be able to travel abroad on their summer holiday, and we would recommend those without a valid passport to book a trip to Schengen where you do not need a valid passport, but an ID card.
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