– I feel like a prisoner – VG

Less than 20 minutes ago

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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.

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Sitter fast

Donja and her family all traveled with passports and got through without any problems. But because Henrik traveled with a national ID card, the police at the airport will not let him into the country.

Henrik has been stuck in a small room since Saturday night. He is monitored by guards 24 hours a day. They do not speak English either.

– Our whole vacation is completely ruined. I feel like a prisoner here, he says.

A desperate Henrik has been in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They referred further to the Norwegian Embassy in Turkey.

– I was informed that the Minister of the Interior in Turkey has not signed the documents that the national ID card was legal to travel with, says Henrik.

Now he has been asked to take the first flight home to Norway. If he does not do so, he must stay in the “prison room” at least until Saturday:

– The embassy in Turkey said that if the policemen at the airport let me in, they will be afraid of losing their jobs, he says.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes in an e-mail to VG that they have not clarified the time for starting the agreement with Turkey.

– Pending further clarification, Norwegian citizens must therefore still use a Norwegian passport for entry into Turkey, says Siri Svendsen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Henrik says that he called the Eastern Police District the day before departure, to make sure that he could travel safely with a national ID card:

– They asked me to have «ice in the stomach». If I came through the controls at Gardermoen, it should go well in Turkey, they should have said.

– It is very unfortunate if we have said this, because the rules are clear, writes police inspector Annette Kristin Breivik in an e-mail to VG.

She emphasizes that only passports can still be used when entering Turkey.

– There must have been a mistake here. Our challenge in this case is that we can not confirm or deny that the Eastern Police District has stated this. We have now sent out information to all our employees about which regulations apply.

The police write on their website that they have received many inquiries about the Turkish authorities’ decision to approve Norwegian ID cards for entry into the country.

At the same time they write:

“This is a scheme that has not yet been implemented and thus only passports can still be used when entering Turkey. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months upon entry into Turkey ».

Henrik says that he himself must cover the flight ticket home. He’s also worried about that possible triple air strike will cause him to be stuck at the airport in Antalya even longer:

– It is a hopeless situation, he says.

Donja and her family will be in Turkey until Saturday anyway, but she says that the holiday will not be the same:

– It’s a depressed mood. We just walk around and think of Henrik.

Because Norway is experiencing major problems with passport production, a number of alternative solutions have been considered for holiday-ready Norwegians. Including to travel with expired passportsor use national ID cards as a valid travel document.

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