Abbreviated Country Clearance Procedures
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The Defense Attache Office handles all Country Clearances for visiting personnel, as well as all Diplomatic, Flight Landing, and Hazardous Cargo clearances for the Country of Norway. This includes military aircraft and ships, and military exercises.
The DAO can be reached by e-mail at usdao@online.no or by commercial phone at (+47) 2130-8970.
 
1. Country clearance procedures for Norway are illustrated in the DoD Foreign Clearance Guide (DoD 4500-54-G), Europe/Norway Section. Country clearances are not required for all visits; however, it is required for the following categories of visits:
- All visits to Norwegian government, Norwegian military and Norwegian industry organizations.
- Visits by Distinguished Visitors, such as Flag Officers and civilian equivalents.
- Visits to the American Embassy Norway.
- Unit movements not in conjunction with exercises or training activities.

2. Personnel Lead Time Requirements. Thirty days notification for:
- Visits to Norwegian government agencies, military installations/facilities and Norwegian industries.
- Visits to conduct or participate in planning for exercises or training.
- Visits to the American Embassy Norway.
- Visits by senior military officers, civilian equivalents and other distinguished visitors.

3. Visits which pertain to the mission of USCINCEUR, require Theater Clearance prior to travel.

4. Visits of non-NATO personnel to Norway. The Government of Norway (GON) reserves approval authority for all visits to Norway by non-NATO personnel. U.S. personnel will not extend invitations to non-NATO personnel to visit locations in Norway without prior, written authorization by the GON. The US Defense Attache Office is the contact point for non-NATO visits to Norway. The DoD Foreign Clearance Guide contains the procedures to request visit authorization for non-NATO personnel.

NOTE: When visits for non-NATO personnel are approved by the GON, it is the responsibility of the visiting country to ensure compliance with immigration agreements for entry into Norway, including passport and visa requirements.

  THE TOP FIVE MISTAKES IN REQUESTING COUNTRY CLEARANCE
 1. Failure to provide detailed location information. Organization, city and address are needed.

2. Failure to meet time requirements for submitting clearance request. Thirty days is the minimum time required. The issuance of a blanket clearance still requires the notification procedures be followed.

3. Failure to provide a Point of Contact (POC). This is the person who will meet you and pass your visit information to the host organization's security office. Visit requests cannot be forwarded to Norwegian authorities without a valid POC name, phone and fax number.

4. Failure to provide correct phone and fax numbers. Norway's country code is 47. Norway's phone numbers are 8 digits long, so a valid number would read (47) XXXX-XXXX.

5. Failure to arrange visit details/itinerary in advance. The ODC and DAO do not coordinate schedules; your request will be denied if your intended Norwegian host is not previously informed and prepared for your visit.

If in doubt, contact the U.S. Defense Attache Office at (+47) 2130-8970.