The strict entry rules in Norway meant that Lene Magnusson was first refused to visit her cancer-stricken mother. Instead, a relative would film if the mother was approaching death.
During the pandemic, Lene Magnusson was only a few hours away from her mother, but Magnusson lives in Sweden. The entry rules in Norway made it very challenging for her to visit her dying mother back home in Norway.
She lives in Säffle in the west of the country, and earlier this year she learned that her mother in Norway had cancer. She wanted to visit her mother, but was first refused entry to the country – even though Magnusson himself is a Norwegian citizen.
It was the Swedish newspaper Expressen who first mentioned the case.
Relatives were to film the death
Magnusson tells Expressen that she asked the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs what she would do if her mother became so ill that she was about to die.
– I got the answer: “Do you not have a relative who can film her while she dies, so she can send it to you?”, Magnusson says to Expressen.
– Do you really mean what you say, I asked, and got the answer yes.
She tells Expressen that she feels excluded from her own country.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes in an email to Expressen that they can not comment on individual cases, but states that through the pandemic it has been possible to visit dying or seriously ill family members in Norway. They write that it is the police at the border who decide whether the conditions for entry into Norway are met or not, and that it is the police who make the decision and deportation at the border.
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Was questioned on the way to the funeral
Lene Magnusson says that she then wrote a long email to Prime Minister Erna Solberg and that she received a reply from Solberg’s secretary who apologized for the situation, and forwarded the letter to Minister of Health Bent Høie. He contacted Magnusson, and said that she could gain access to Norway via a special section that allows relatives to visit the sick.
After this answer, Magnusson again contacted the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Magnusson, she was still denied entry to Norway, but eventually she received a green card for entry.
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The time has been tough, and Lene points out the treatment at the border as a burden. She describes the performance at the border as very unpleasant.
“There have been so many sarcasm and attempts to refuse me entry into the country, even when I have also been fully vaccinated,” Magnusson told Expressen.
She further says that she was asked orally on the way to the funeral, even though she had the right to cross the border for a funeral.
The online newspaper has been in contact with Magnusson, who confirms the content of Expressen’s case.
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