Many fewer Norwegians have received emergency passports this year. So far, there has been a decline of 20 %. Norwegians have simply become less cluttered, police say.
By the end of August this year, 18,170 emergency passports had been issued. This is a decrease of 4,383 emergency passes compared to the same period last year, according to figures from P4-News received from the Police Directorate.
“It is encouraging to see that we have such a positive development,” says section manager Arne Isak Tveitan at the ID department of the Police Directorate.
He believes better information from the police has made people more aware.
“They see that it is important to look after their passport, and even if they find their original passport, it is invalid after receiving an emergency passport. This also gives them an extra cost,” says Tveitan.
The price for an emergency passport is the same as for an ordinary passport, NOK 450. But the emergency passport is only valid for one trip, so in reality it costs you NOK 900 as you must have a new passport before the next trip.
“If a person constantly loses their passport and needs to have an emergency passport, he or she will eventually not be able to get a real passport either,” says Tveitan.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
