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FREE COVID-19 TESTS FOR SVALBARD RESIDENTS: Locals heading home can get tests at Oslo airport and Tromsø city center w/ ID; reimbursement available for those who paid

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Free COVID-19 tests for Svalbard residents travelling home are being offered at Gardermoen Airport in Oslo and the Tromsø city center, and those meeting eligibility requirements can seek reimbursement if they have already paid for such tests, according to the Norwegian Directorate of Health

Eligible persons must show documentation of showing they are in the population registry of Svalbard or, for Barentsburg residents who cannot be in the registry, work confirmation from Trust Arktikugol. The tax office in Longyearbyen maintains the registry list and issues valid documentation, which can be obtained by contacting them by e-mail.

“An e-mail with confirmation from the tax office in Svalbard which is newer than two months” is valid, according to the health directorate. “When an automated solution for issuing a residence permit is in place, a digital residence certificate that is newer than two months will also be valid documentation.”

Parents and guardians of children under 18 register and can seek proof of residency from the tax office.

All people travelling to Svalbard have since January needed to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of departure, with some specific exceptions for special circumstances. The cost and logistics of obtaining such tests have prompted numerous complaints from local residents and officials who say it places sometimes unreasonable hardships on travel for regular purposes such as work and medical treatment.

Free tests at Gardermoen are being provided through an arrangement with the Dr. Dropin test station in the departure area. Tests in Tromsø are available at the designated municipal test station in the city center.

Svalbard residents who have already paid to obtain such tests since Feb. 19 can seek  a refund through the Svalbard tax office if receipts are kept. However, the health directorate states such payments will not be processed until after Easter.

“It is also possible to apply for a refund via this scheme if you complete the test before departure at a place other than the above test stations,” the directorate notes.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
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