Still passport problems after the summer
If you are going on holiday in autumn or winter, you should still be early.
An endless queue and a holiday that went down the drain. The production of Norwegian passports was at a standstill and occupied many before the summer.
Last Wednesday, the Police Directorate sent its latest update on how things are going to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness. It says on:
- It is somewhat easier to get pass lessons now. At approximately 60 out of 78 passport offices there are hours available in August and September and until January.
- Just under 20 passport offices are still fully booked for the next few months. This primarily applies to passport and ID offices in larger cities and towns in Eastern Norway.
- There is still a long queue at the manufacturer Thales for the production of already ordered passports. The queues are not going down and are actually somewhat higher now than in mid-June.
Approximately 95,000 ordered passes were in the queue last week. Now the number must be around 90,000.
A more long-term forecast for the harvest is expected in the coming week.
Produces less than expected
Last week in Oslo, the police released 9,000 hours ahead in time. Well, the police want to see how it affects the queue and available hours at nearby passport offices around the capital.
But that doesn’t mean you get time now.
When Aftenposten tries to book an appointment at Greenland police station or Sandvika police station, there are only a handful of available hours before November and December. There are also few available hours in Lillestrøm. More free hours are available in Ski, south of Oslo.
The police also write that Thales does not produce as many passports as the police promised. 4200 passes must be made daily. Something varies between 3800 and down to 1700 passes daily.
According to the police, this is happening despite the fact that Thales now has enough passport books. Lack of raw materials for the production of passport books, which can be seen as a main challenge in ours.
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The police had enough. Such was the dish with the supplier of Norwegian passports.
The consequence is that the police will not allow so-called samsoknader. These are applications where you order a passport and ID card at the same time. This will not be allowed until the supply of passports is more stable.
Now there must be a 6–7 week waiting time for a passport and a one week waiting time for a national ID card.
What about our neighboring countries?
The variations are large within the Nordic region.
In Sweden, there are longer queues. There are the 400,000 ordered passes in the queue and a delay of 12 weeks. The Swedes expect things to return to normal before Christmas.
However, in Finland, where Thales’ factory is located, the queues are shorter. Around 30,000 documents are in the queue. The delay is just 1–2 weeks, in addition to the usual waiting time of 4–5 days.
The country that Aftenposten previously named the Nordic passport winner, Denmark, seems to continue to do well. A sample carried out by Aftenposten shows that there are many free hours in the middle of Copenhagen every day this week.