Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway concerning the Abolition of Visas

Article 1

Citizens of Norway holding valid Norwegian passports shall be free to enter Latvia at any authorized border–crossing point stay in Latvia for a period not exceeding ninety days during one calendar year without being required to obtain a visa.

Article 2

Citizens of Latvia holding valid Latvian passports shall be free to enter Norway at any authorized border–crossing point to stay in Norway for a period not exceeding three months without being required to obtain a visa. This period of three months shall be calculated from the date of entry into any Nordic State being a Party to the Convention of 12 July 1957 on the Waiver of Passport Control at the Intra-Nordic Borders. Any stay in any of those States during six months preceding the entry into any of those States from a non-Nordic State shall be included in the above period of three months.

Article 3

The waiver of the visa requirement does not exempt persons comprised by this Agreement from the obligation to comply with the laws and regulations in force in the respective State concerning entry into, residence — temporary or permanent — and work in that State.

Article 4

The competent authorities of each State reserve the right to refuse permission to enter into or stay in the country to persons considered undesirable.

Article 5

The competent authorities of each State undertake to readmit without formality, into its territory, any of its citizens.

Article 6

Either Government may temporarily suspend this Agreement in whole or in part, for reasons of public order or national security, except of Article 5. Such suspension shall be notified to the other Government through diplomatic channels and may enter into force immediately.

Article 7

Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of either Government arising from existing or future international agreements.

Article 8

This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the first month after both Governments have notified each other in writing trough diplomatic channels that the respective internal procedures required for entry into force of the Agreement have been implemented. The Agreement may be denounced by either Government by notification in writing through diplomatic channels, the denunciation taking effect one month after the date of the notification.

Done at Riga on 2 July 1997 in two originals in Latvian, Norwegian and English, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation the English text shall prevail.

For the Government of the Republic of Latvia Valdis Birkavs, Minister of Foreign Affairs

For the Government of the Kingdom of Norway Bjorn Tore Godal, Minister of Foreign Affairs