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Norway - Customs

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Customs Rules for Yachts Arriving/Departing Norway

Arriving by Yacht

Yachts from Nordic countries do not need to make a Customs declaration provided they are not carrying an excess of dutiable stores and equipment and do not remain in Norwegian waters more than six months.

Yachts from other countries (including UK yachts) should report immediately on arrival at a Port of Entry. The penalties for importing excess alcohol or tobacco are severe.

For the full procedure see Clearance.

Customs Restrictions

Firearms must be declared. All firearms must have a license from the country of origin. See full details here.

Norway allows the importation of up to 10kg of meat, meat products, and cheese from the EEA area. A permit is required to import these products from outside the EEA area. See full details here.

Customs rules specify that only up to 10 kg of fruit, berries, and vegetables are allowed to be imported for personal use. For larger quantities of goods, a phytosanitary certificate is required.

Potatoes may only be imported with a permit. See full details here.

If you are carrying goods that must be declared, such as alcohol or tobacco, in excess of the permissible quota (quotas are severely limited, and enforcement is strict), there is a Customs app that allows you to check the quotas and even pay any duties owed. Note: The importation of alcoholic beverages containing over 60% alcohol by volume without a permit is strictly prohibited. See full details here.

Leaving your boat in Norway

A vessel is allowed to be stored in Norway for up to 24 months before it becomes eligible for VAT.

A boat can remain stored in Norway, without special permission, for up to 6 weeks in any 12 month period, but it may not be used by others if left this way.

If you want to leave the boat for longer than six weeks, you must apply to Norwegian Customs for permission before you leave the country. Initially, you apply for one year from the time it entered the country. If you need to leave the boat for longer than 1 year, you must make a second application. Such a boat cannot be used by others. The Customs department has created a standard application form for boat owners, see www.toll.no/en/services/forms. A total of two years from initial entry into Norway is the maximum time allowed.

It is VERY important to apply to Customs IN ADVANCE for permission to leave the boat. Failure to do so may result in a criminal charge of illegal importation, the penalty for which carries a very substantial fine as well as a VAT of 25% of the value of the boat.

See the official website at www.toll.no/en/goods/boat for the details.

The vessel may only be used by the person to whom clearance is given and cannot be used for commercial purposes.

Other Items

Value Added Tax (VAT) – To claim VAT refunds for imported or purchased parts in Norway, you must apply in person at a Customs office upon leaving the country.

Last updated:  August 2024

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Norway was last updated 3 months ago.

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  1. July 29, 2025 at 7:46 PM
    Clare Glasspool says:

    As a 49 foot British sailing vessel wanting to sail from England To Norway and spend several weeks cruising along the coast heading towards Sweden and thence to Denmark Germany the Netherlands and back to the UK we looked carefully at the immigration requirements. This is our experience.
    In summary our sailing experience in Norway was extremely positive. We enjoyed a very easy and pleasurable few weeks in Norway and would definitely return. During our stay we did not encounter a single other yacht of any description that was British or from any other country outside the Schengen area.
    The Norwegian government website indicates that yachts arriving from outside of Schengen should register, in the first instance with SSNN (safe Sea Net Norway) although my research indicated this might be tricky and also indicated that reporting and obtaining permission to move and drop anchor was really important.
    After failing to complete the registration process for SSNN, which seemed to be set up for large commercial vessels only, my next move was to contact the police authority of the district where we intended to make landfall – Stavanger csc@ccss.mil.no.
    We were then required to submit a copy of our boat registration certificate, confirming our length to be 14.95 metres. If we had been just five centimetres longer -15 metres- I was informed that we would have to register with the military. A swift e-mail reply from the authorities confirmed that unless we had “special capacities” our vessel was not required to report in to the Coastal Surveillance. We were told that if we had been required to report in we could do so without the SSNN registration by using the e-mail given above, but we would still have to report in an ETA and destination and obtained permission in order to move the boat.
    The last instruction was to call or e-mail the police on arrival in Stavanger and the sender wished us a pleasant voyage.
    It was an interesting and largely enjoyable sail from Hartlepool in England (before departure we informed the UK authorities of using a sPCR form from the UK government web site); past wind farms, drilling rigs and oil and gas platforms, and with a fair number of cargo, fishing and pleasure vessels.
    As we approached Stavanger I telephoned the police on the given number to report our imminent arrival I was told they would call back in due course we tide up in Stavanger guest haven a small self-service Marina situated conveniently in the heart of the Old Town and immediately adjacent to the petrol museum for the record this cost 250 Norwegian kroner per night for our 14.95 metre vessel which included free access to the shower and washrooms and also the laundry.
    Our next contact from the police was to arrange a time for them to visit us and stamp our passports. We were offered a morning visit the following day and were advised it was fine for us to leave the boat in order to explore, eat, visit the museum and buy provisions which we did keeping our yellow Q flag flying.
    Two very pleasant lady police officers came to a vote the following day they sport asked us if we understood the rules of Schengen in terms of the time limit and advising us that whatever country we took parted back to the UK from we should ensure that we had our passports stamped. Interestingly, the fact that they had taken 24 hours to visit us gave us an effective free Shengen day.
    They reassured us that we did not have to report in and with that they wished us a good day and left it appeared that they had not often if ever had to perform this particular duty.
    And that was it. A few days later at the small port of Tananger, we were approached by some police. We offered them sight of our stamped passports and boat papers and they left us with a cheery wave moments later.
    We spent three happy weeks cruising the Norwegian coast finding it beautiful easy and friendly wherever we went. We have just left Norway en route to Sweden.

  2. September 1, 2024 at 4:40 PM
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    Sailors for Sustainability says:

    Clearance August 2024:
    We tried to set up a SeaSafe account, but didn’t manage because it seems to be set up for professionals only. We arrived from Scotland without prior notice, then called +4702800. We were transferred to a border force officer, who informed us that we should have notified them by e-mail prior to coming to Norway. The e-mail address for arriving in Agder Province (Southern Norway) is: Agder.grensekontroll@politiet.no

  3. February 22, 2022 at 12:14 PM
    Smcinnis says:

    No one needs to take a test before or after entering Norway. The info on here is dated.

    1. February 22, 2022 at 11:18 PM
      profile photo
      Sue Richards says:

      Thanks for letting us know Steve – really helpful. Yes I see rules changed last week and we’ve updated the biosecurity section accordingly.

  4. June 9, 2018 at 2:37 PM
    Data Entry2 says:

    The best pilot guide we used was, in fact, an app downloaded to our iPad and phone: https://www.harbourguide.com.

  5. June 9, 2018 at 2:36 PM
    Data Entry2 says:

    Norway is very capable when it comes to gas refilling. We found that our existing UK Calor bottles could be refilled with Propane by a professional for the same or less than in the UK. We did not have to buy a Norwegian bottle.

    Rorvik and Harstad are where we filled our bottles but it seems like you can do it in most major towns. This site is useful: https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/norway/

  6. March 24, 2017 at 1:10 PM
    Data Entry2 says:

    To be more precise phasing out is a process as I have explained here: http://59nord.pl/en/radio-2/

    It will be finished at the and of the current year, so there is still a good chance that this season visitors to Norway may be able to use their FM receivers.

    When it comes to weather forecasts I have elaborated on that here: http://59nord.pl/en/weather-forcast-on-nrk-radio/ and here: http://59nord.pl/en/marine-radio-weather-forecast/

  7. January 1, 2017 at 5:16 PM
    Data Entry2 says:

    I want to highlight that Norwegian radio has shut down their FM senders from 2017 and the only way to access public radio is by having Dab+ in your boat as this is the only transmission remaining.

    To access weather, check VHF Ch 16 where they inform which working channel they will broadcast the weather every day at 9:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 21:00 local time.

  8. October 16, 2016 at 7:54 PM
    Data Entry2 says:

    Being Norwegian, I would like to expand on your statement about all shoreline being private (Restrictions section).

    Few countries, if any, give a sailor better access than Norway. The public intention is to keep all shoreline within 100m open to the public. Deviations from this rule are unfortunately many. Some because of existing buildings when the law was passed, some because of too good lawyers. But the general rule is that you can freely use the shoreline.

    You can anchor outside the private property. You can take your dinghy ashore anywhere that is not obviously private. You can spend the day at the shore, collect firewood, and pick berries. All this without asking anybody for permission.

    Any “private” signs are most often illegal. With exceptions for the densely populated southeastern part of Norway, the vast majority of the shoreline is free to use.