Private individuals resident in Svalbard must purchase their alcohol quota in Svalbard and are not able to import tax-free alcohol from the mainland to Svalbard.
The sale of alcoholic beverages in Svalbard is regulated by quotas. People who are registered in the Population Register of Svalbard can purchase the following monthly quota:
- up to two bottles of liquor (or up to four bottles of fortified wine)
- up to a half bottle of fortified wine (alternatively one bottle every second month)
- up to 24 cans or half bottles of beer containing no more than 4.75% alcohol by volume. However, up to 24 cans or half bottles of an annual quota can contain up to 7% alcohol by volume
- light wine for reasonable consumption
The Governor of Svalbard may grant persons living in Svalbard or staying there for more than 30 days permission to make purchases according to the same quota rules. However, this does not apply to passengers and crews on passenger vessels, fishing vessels, research vessels and naval vessels. They need to export alcohol from the mainland.
Svalbard is a customs and tax-free area. This means that goods taken from Svalbard to the mainland will be cleared through customs on arrival at the mainland as if the entry was from abroad. If you have stayed in Svalbard for at least 24 hours, you can bring alcoholic beverages with you in accordance with applicable rules. See information from the Norwegian Customs Service.
For short stays in Svalbard, private individuals have a right to bring alcoholic beverages for reasonable consumption upon entry.
Sales and the import and export of alcohol are regulated by the “Regulation on the alcohol arrangement for Svalbard” (Forskrift om alkoholordningen for Svalbard).
You can read more about the customs clearance of larger quantities of alcohol than the quota on the Norwegian Customs Service’s website.
