Henrik traveled to Antalya with a national ID card. After being in a “prison cell” at the airport since Saturday, he finally escaped into Turkey.
Just updated
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– It’s completely wild and I’m very happy. I think the holiday is saved, says Henrik Hippe Kristiansen to VG.
Then he has just escaped from what he referred to as a “prison cell”.
Earlier Monday wrote VG about passport-less Henrik, who was going on holiday with her boyfriend Donja Roshan (20) and her family, who have passports.
Received travel document
They chose Turkey because Henrik only had a national ID card, and the country had apparently changed its passport rules and allowed Norwegians without passports to travel there.
It turned out that the new rules had not yet entered into force. Henrik was denied entry and bought a ticket back home to Norway.
– I just sat at the airport and thought I was going home tomorrow, but then a kind of guard came and asked me to go to the police, says Henrik.
There he was handed a document that allows him to travel into the country, and back to Norway when he returns home on 25 June.
VG has seen the document issued by the passport office at the airport, has a picture of Henrik and a Turkish stamp.
– They said that I was very lucky, because I was the only one who had received it, says Henrik, who called the Norwegian embassy during the meeting to get help with translation.
Decision taken by Turkey
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms to VG that the Norwegian embassy in Ankara has been in contact with Henrik and the Turkish authorities in the case.
– But the decision that he should be allowed into Turkey has been made by the Turkish authorities, says spokesperson Siri Svendsen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
VG has tried to contact the Norwegian embassy in Turkey to ask why Henrik received the travel document, without getting an answer.
– How did your girlfriend react to you letting in the country?
– She was very, very happy. They come and pick me up at the airport now, says Henrik.
–Fit curl
It was last Thursday that Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party) tweeted that she was “So happy that Turkey is temporarily changing the passport rules! For the rest of the year, Norwegians who do not have a passport can use a national ID card when they travel to Turkey.
The background for the agreement is the major problems with passport production that have put many Norwegians’ holiday plans on hold.
On 15 June, she landed an agreement with Turkey’s foreign minister, which allowed Norwegians to travel to Turkey without a passport and only with a national ID card until 2022.
– I’m going to sunbathe
When VG contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier Monday, they replied that the Norwegian side was waiting for confirmation from Turkey that the formal processes had been completed.
This is still the case even though Henrik escaped into the country.
– As mentioned earlier, Norwegian citizens, pending further clarification, must still use a Norwegian passport for entry into Turkey. As soon as the details about the use of national ID cards for travel to Turkey have been clarified, this will be communicated to the public, says Siri Svendsen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Henrik is left and is a little confused by the situation, but most of all relieved.
– I know nothing about how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Turkey has been informed about my situation, he says.
– But now I will relax, sunbathe and enjoy the holiday.
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