After Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt’s happy news that Norwegians can travel to Turkey without a passport, Henrik went to Antalya with a national ID card. Now he is stuck at the airport.
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On June 15, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party) agreed with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu that Turkey will accept a national ID card instead of Norwegian passports until 2022, reported NRK the same day.
It was not stated when or how the scheme would take effect. Several Norwegian media, including VG, also reported the news.
Misinformed
Last Thursday, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt tweeted that she was “So happy that Turkey is temporarily changing its 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.
It turns out that this is not true.
Henrik Hippe Kristiansen spoke to the Foreign Minister and traveled to Turkey on Saturday with his girlfriend Donja Roshan (20) and her family. He is now in what he calls a prison cell, and is not allowed to leave the airport in Antalya.
– We feel cheated, Donja and Henrik say.
The scheme has not yet been implemented in Turkey, and thus a valid passport is still required for entry into the country. This also appears on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website.
Donja and Henrik believe they have been misinformed by the Norwegian media and authorities:
– The Minister of Foreign Affairs must formulate himself in a better way, so that people understand that it is actually not okay to travel with an ID card to Turkey than so far, Donja says.
– The information should have been much more specified, and better communicated, says Henrik.
Not approved
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Siri Svendsen tells VG that the scheme to approve Norwegian ID cards for entry into Turkey is a unilateral Turkish decision:
– From the Norwegian side, we are waiting for confirmation from Turkey that the formal processes there have been completed. The Norwegian authorities will then implement the scheme as soon as practicable. As soon as the details of the use of national ID cards for travel to Turkey have been clarified, this will be communicated, including via our website about travel information.
She says that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes the statement that this could have been communicated even more clearly.