All you need to know about Airport Transit Schengen Visa

Posted date: 20 Jul 2021

•          The Schengen Transit Visa is an authorization for individuals who are required to enter the Schengen territory only in order to change their means of transport. There are two types of Schengen Visas for transit:
•          Transit Schengen Visa
•          Transit Schengen Visa for Seafarers

What is an Airport Transit Schengen Visa?

• The Schengen Airport Transfer Visa is a permit reserved for passengers who are expected to change flights at Schengen airports. It helps them to rest and wait for their flight to their destination country in the Schengen airport's international transit area.

• However, even if the traveller has to wait overnight, this visa does not allow its holder to exit the international transit area of an airport.

Airport Transit Schengen Visa Exempt Categories

•          You may be excluded from the requirement for an airport visa, even if you belong to any of the countries mentioned above, if:
•          Holding a diplomatic passport
•          A family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss resident
•          Hold a valid visa issued by the Schengen State, the European Union Member State or the European Economic Region, Canada, Japan or the United States of America.
•           Carry a valid residency permit issued by the Schengen State, the Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Region, the Principality of Andorra, the Republic of San Marino, Canada, Japan or the United States of America.
•          A flight crew member of a contracting party to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation is a national.

Where to Submit the Transit Schengen Visa Application

•          You must apply your application for a Transit Schengen Visa to the representative visa authority of the country in which you are located at the airport/seaport where your flight/vessel is to be modified. This representative authority could be:
•          The nation embassy where the airport/seaport is located
•          The Consulate
•          A third-party visa centre to which this country has outsourced the submission of visas
•          The Embassy / Consulate of another country to which visa application has been outsourced by this country

Within two weeks or so, you will receive a reply to your Transit Schengen Visa application.

The Schengen Airport Transit Visa is valid for 24 hours and is valid only in the Schengen Airport International Transit Field. Instead, you will have to apply for a normal Schengen visa if you need to leave this area or stay there longer than one day.

On the other hand, a transit Schengen visa for seafarers allows its holder to remain in the Schengen territory for a maximum of five days before leaving for a country outside the Schengen region.

Posted By

GSP Admin