Transit through the Schengen area. When do you need a visa

On long-haul flights, you often have to fly with one or more stops and, as a rule, through Europe. At the same time, many travelers are concerned about whether they will have problems when crossing the Schengen countries without a visa, in which cases it is necessary to open a transit visa. Today I will talk about the tricks transit through the Schengen area.

1. First, find out if the country through which you are going to fly in transit is in the Schengen area.

On this moment The Schengen area includes:

Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden and Estonia.

2. To transit without a visa, check if there is a transit zone at the airport.

There is a transit zone at the following airports:

Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Helsinki, Milan, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Zurich, Vienna, Warsaw.

Berlin airport has its own rules. Only Air Berlin passengers can count on transit without a visa. On the rack for transit passengers("Transfer") you will be required to provide boarding passes for your next flight. Then you will be transferred to a special terminal, where you will be waiting for the flight, and then you will be taken directly to boarding the plane.

A similar system is in place at Geneva Airport on SWISS flights.

3. It is necessary to pay attention to the working hours of the transit zone.

Each airport has its own rules. For example, in Germany the following rules apply.

24/7 visa-free transit possible at the airport:

• Frankfurt am Main
• Munich

Visa-free transit during the day:

• Hamburg
• Cologne/Bonn from 4:30 to 23:00
• Dusseldorf from 6:00 to 22:00

If you arrived in Düsseldorf in the evening and departed in the morning the next day, then you will need to apply for a transit visa.

NB! Some countries limit the time before which you must leave the country without having to apply for a transit visa. In Spain, transit must be carried out before 12 at night, regardless of when you arrived. For example, you arrived in the evening, and the departure is a few hours later the next day. In this case, you will need to apply for a transit visa.

4. If you yourself made up the route, then check that the flight was carried out by one company or companies that are members of the alliance.

If you are flying from Moscow to New York with Air France, you can easily fly the entire route without a transit Schengen visa.

If the section Moscow - is operated by Aeroflot, and - New York - by Air France, then you will also be registered to New York without any problems, and you will not have to leave the transit zone. And all because these airlines are in the same alliance - SkyTeam.

IN skyteam includes: Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Xiamen Airlines.

Star Alliance: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, All Nippon, Airways, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss, TACA Airlines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines United Airlines.

one world: Airberlin, American Airlines, british airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan, Airlines, LAN, TAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines.

NB! When transiting, also check in which terminals there is a transit zone. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport has three terminals. If you arrive at Terminal 1 and depart from Terminal 2 A-G, then you do not leave the transit area. But in order to leave terminal 1 and go to 3, you will need transit visa.

5 . Transit through the Schengen area must be one

If you are traveling to New York on the route Moscow-Vienna-Paris-New York, then a transit visa is required. In this case, it is necessary to apply for a transit visa at the embassy of the first country on the route, that is, Austria. Or if you have long transplant in Paris, and you want to walk around the city or spend the night in a hotel, then in this case you should apply for a visa at the French Embassy.

Unfortunately, countries that provide citizens of Russia visa-free regime, A little. Visa-free European countries for Russians are mainly states that for various reasons have not joined the EU and are interested in developing economic and cultural ties with our country.

Serbia

Towards Russian tourists Serbia is considered the most loyal European country. You only need a passport with a validity of at least a month after the end of the last trip. However, Serbia has a registration regime similar to the Russian one, without which it is impossible to stay in the country for more than two days. If you settled in a hotel, the administration will take over the registration procedure with the police, if in a rented house or on private apartment- you will be registered by the owner of the property.

Montenegro

You can enter Montenegro without a visa for up to 30 days, but this is provided that your passport expires no earlier than three months after the date of entry. It should be borne in mind: departure from Montenegro is paid, the so-called. "airport tax".

Macedonia

The conditions for entry into this country and stay in it for Russians have recently been greatly simplified. But this simplified procedure is valid only until March 15, 2015, if a new agreement between our countries is not signed before that time. Tourists, as well as persons visiting relatives and friends living in Macedonia, without any vouchers and confirmations, can stay in the country for up to 90 days. To do this, you only need a passport (validity - not earlier than the date of departure from the country) and medical insurance for the duration of your stay. Your passport will be stamped at the airport upon entry.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a tourist, you can stay on its territory (do not forget - this is one country!) without a visa for up to 30 days, with a travel agency voucher, booked seat at the hotel and a passport with a validity period of at least three months after the end date of the trip.

Türkiye

Since this country is also trying to get into the European Union, we could not do without it in our list. Without a visa, Russians can stay in Turkey for no more than 60 days. The number of entries is not limited, however, during one period of 180 days, you cannot stay in the country for more than 90 days. Upon entry, you will need a passport with a validity of at least four months after the end of the trip, a travel agency voucher, return ticket or hotel reservation.

How to enter the Schengen area without a visa December 15th, 2014

Some people in different countries suffer over obtaining a special blotch in the passport, which gives the right to enter Europe - the Schengen visa. But a couple of days ago I was convinced that you can get into the Schengen area without checking documents, and at the same time I received several unusual stamps in my passport. I will write in detail only about crossing borders, about the rest - later.

My itinerary was as follows: a Moscow-London flight and then a flight to Gibraltar. Yes, in this territory, which occupies 6.5 square meters. km., most of which is a rock, there is an airport (owned by the British Ministry of Defense). It is almost wider than Gibraltar itself in length. runway crossed by a motorway and a pedestrian road. When the plane arrives, the barrier lowers, the traffic stops. The plane passes - traffic resumes. Just like we have at the railroad crossings. On my last visit to Gibraltar, I just observed this phenomenon (I photographed standing right at the barrier). In the background is already Spanish territory, on the right is the Gibraltar airport, in the center is the road from Gibraltar to Spain.




Gibraltar is not part of the UK and is not part of the United Kingdom and has its own passport and customs control for arriving. Everything is strict - all arriving people line up in a long queue for passport checks. I found the sign "EU" - "non-EU", the queue was divided into holders of European passports and all others. Do I need to say that I was the only non-EU citizen on the whole plane? Without a queue, I get such a nice stamp for the collection:

Then you can go to Gibraltar, the city center is half a kilometer away, but I'm in a hurry to visit another enclave - Ceuta, so my path lies in Spain. Most of people from the plane goes just to Spain, the nearest Spanish airports are only in Jerez, Seville or Malaga. There are police officers (not border guards) at the border. People go in a solid crowd and just hold documents in their hands, some with plastic cards, and some with passports. Some hold nothing, just nod or say hello. The police did not stop anyone in my presence (sometimes there are still checks, including mass checks). For the sake of interest, I also walked past with a stone face, holding a passport in my hands. Well, here I am in Spain.

Then he returned. I have a new Schengen visa and not a single stamp on it. If they are later caught or noticed at the border, they will be considered an illegal immigrant. I turn to the policeman - I would have a stamp. At first he said: “would you go with your stamp, don’t create a crowd” (they don’t put stamps in the passport when crossing the Spain-Gibraltar border), then he discovered that there were no marks on my visa and I suggested that I had just arrived by plane. The dude sighed, said to wait and left with my passport to a building nearby. He returned with such an unusual stamp. I don’t like all this euro-unification, it’s much more interesting to have various, funny stamps, if you really need to put them, so I was pleased with this stamp:

Further, my path lay in the Spanish Algiseiras, where I boarded a ferry to Ceuta. Ceuta is a Spanish enclave in Africa. Just as the British do not want to give Gibraltar to the Spaniards, there the Spaniards, in turn, do not want to give the Moroccans the territories they own in Africa. There is no control on the ferry - it's an intra-Spanish ferry.

After walking around Ceuta, I go to Morocco. Departure from Ceuta is very simple. You can walk 3 kilometers to the border from the center, you can take a bus for 80 euros. On Spanish territory, you immediately find yourself in a barred tunnel, without the slightest opportunity to contact the border guards. After passing it, you find yourself in Moroccan territory. So I left Spain without an exit stamp. Is the Schengen border well protected? I got in and out of the Schengen area in one day without border control. However, for the collection I decide to get Ceuta's stamp. I'm going back to Ceuta. Again, the control is very conditional - the border guard looks at the documents of the passers-by and lets them through, no stamps. The main control is on ferries, they try to catch all illegal immigrants there, getting into the territory of the enclave is not particularly controlled.

I came here just for a stamp, I find an inconspicuous window where you can get a stamp. I came across a corrosive border guard who managed to understand that I needed not an entry stamp, but an exit stamp (I would not be surprised if they gave me another entry stamp). I receive another infrequently encountered stamp on entry into Spain - a land stamp. Where else can I get a Spanish stamp with a typewriter? Of course, the answer is in Melilla, another Spanish enclave in Africa. On the other ground crossings do not put stamps.

I spent the end of this day and the whole of the next in Moroccan Tetouan and Chefshaun. I returned back to Europe by another ferry - from Tangier to Tarifa. Everything is already pretty standard here: they sell me a ticket for the ferry, which was supposed to leave half an hour ago, fast and without questions border control in Morocco, running to the ferry entrance on wet ramps - I managed. After 40 minutes, the ferry lands in Tarifa. In the same place, I get another new stamp for myself - with a ship. I have never sailed to Schengen by ship before (only domestic flights).

The next day was, unfortunately, rainy. Incl. I didn't really want to walk down the street. But still, I'm fine

Every traveler knows how difficult it is to get a Schengen visa, and you can't get to Europe without it! Many people think so, but this is a delusion. Firstly, there is nothing complicated in obtaining a Schengen visa, and secondly, you can get to some European countries without a Schengen visa! In this article, we will show you how to do it!

commit exciting travel around the world is always a pleasure, even despite the preparation associated with the issuance of visas and foreign passports. IN Lately tours to Europe have become especially popular in Russia, which allow compatriots to see and learn a lot of new and interesting things and join the progressive Western civilization. But Europe needs a Schengen, and Schengen is difficult. Stop!

Do you need a Schengen visa everywhere? NO!

Where can you go to Europe without a Schengen visa for Russians? Today defined visa-free countries Europe for Russia in 2011 and 2012, where Russians will be happy to meet in the absence of permission to enter the country or through a simplified border crossing system. Today it is allowed to make tours without a visa for Russian citizens in five European countries.

In 2011, Serbia entered the visa-free countries of Europe for Russia, where tourists can stay for 30 days. The country has 53 resorts in 25 centers of Serbia, which are equipped with special modern equipment for the treatment and prevention of numerous diseases. Tourist routes lead to the Zlatibor Institute and Nishka Banya. Tours to Serbia without a visa are provided in the capital of the country with the unique charm of a mixture of oriental and Western culture. Serbia offers excursions with a visit medieval fortress Kalemegdan in the old part of the capital with a monument of gratitude to France. Around located unique park, which presents the flora of all Europe. Tourists enjoy visiting New town built according to the rules of modern architecture.

Learning to travel around the countries of the European continent without a visa

Bosnia and Herzegovina allows tourists to stay for 30 days. Rest in the country involves visiting many areas and their attractions. Among the cities included in tourist routes and excursions are included Old city Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded in the thirteenth century, and which is the capital of the state - Sarajevo. The second largest city is Mostar, which is considered unofficial capital southern Herzegovina. Tourists are also attracted by the medieval Jajce, the town of Trebin and the Hercegovacka-Gracanica church located in it.

There is always a place where you can go on vacation tomorrow without a visa for a Russian, even in European countries you can travel!

Since many of our readers liked this material, we published a sequel: and a list.

More and more lately cheap tickets sold with transplants in Europe. Through the EU countries it is often more convenient to get, for example, to Africa or America. When booking such flights, tourists often have the question of whether a transit visa or a Schengen visa is needed for the trip of the country where the transfer takes place. Especially for Lenta.ru, an expert on budget travel, the author of the blog TripSchool.ru Alexander Andreev figured out the issue.

How visa-free transit works

First of all, the need to obtain a particular visa depends on whether there is a transit zone at the airport where the transfer will take place, in which the passenger can stay for some time without passing passport control.

If you are flying to, say, Mexico with a transfer in Paris, you can do without the Schengen visa. You can stay in the international transit zone- therefore, a visa is not required. Upon arrival at the airport where the transfer is planned, you must follow the signs Connections, Connecting Flight, Transfer Connections, Transit, Transit Passengers or Flight Connections, and in case of any doubt, find an airport employee and, having told him the magic word Transit, follow his further instructions.

When transiting, there are a number of restrictions, individual for each specific country and common to all EU countries.

Let's take Germany as an example. In this country, not all airports have international transit zones. Moreover, each of them has its own restrictions on the time of stay.

For example, in the air harbors of Hamburg and Cologne/Bonn, transit is possible strictly from 4:30 to 23:00. In Berlin - from 06:00 to 23:00 only at Berlin-Tegel Airport and only for Air Berlin passengers, while the time between connecting flights must be at least 75 minutes. A similar system operates at Düsseldorf Airport, where visa-free transit is possible from 06:00 to 21:00 and is also organized by carriers only on request.

Night visa-free transit in Germany is possible only at the airports of Frankfurt am Main and Munich. The time of stay in these air harbors is limited to 24 hours.

At other airports, the international transit zone is closed, so if your plane arrives at night, then you won’t be able to do without a Schengen visa: without permission to enter the EU, you simply won’t be put on a flight.

The situation is similar at the airports of France - however, here a round-the-clock transfer without a visa is possible in three major airports: in Paris Charles de Gaulle, in Toulouse and in Nice (except for transit between the first and second terminals). In the capital Orly without a "Schengen" you can stay strictly from 6:00 to 23:30, and transfers between the southern and western terminals are not possible. The same in Lyon: you can not connect between terminals one, two and three. In addition, the maximum transit time should not exceed three hours.

These restrictions are private, but there are also general ones. So, visa-free transit is not possible if you need to receive luggage and check it in again (for example, if the flight is operated by two different airlines).

Separate conversation - transfers in London. When connecting within the same airport, approximately the same rules apply as in the rest of Europe. Transfer without a visa is possible, but you need to leave the country no later than 23:59 on the day of arrival. At the same time, transit is possible in the British capital even if your flights are operated from different airports (for example, Heathrow and Gatwick). In this case, the final decision on the possibility of a visa-free transfer remains at the discretion of the immigration officer. In general, the rule most often works is that when flying to America or Australia, it is possible to arrange a connection with two airports, but without an English visa, but when flying to Berlin or Vienna, difficulties may arise. Another plus with such a transfer is the availability of bus tickets to a nearby airport or confirmation of a transfer reservation.

You cannot transfer to the EU without a visa if you are traveling through two or more airports in the Schengen countries. In this case, one of the flights will be domestic flight, for which you will have to go through passport control, and, accordingly, have a Schengen visa.

Such transit is not possible if you have ticket purchased with an open departure date or a connection time exceeding 24 hours.

Where can you find all this?

The easiest way is to contact the representative of the airline you are going to fly. As an alternative - upon arrival at the transfer airport.

If you own English language, finding the right information is a little easier: all information about visa-free transfers is available in the Timatic system, which is used by all airlines, airports and agents. You can use the database, for example, on the Emirates website.

To find out about the possibility of a visa-free transplant, indicate the data on citizenship, final destination travel and the country in which it is planned to transit. Look for the results in the TWOV - Transit Without Visa section.

What to consider when planning a transplant in the EU

There is another potential problem that can be encountered when transplanting in Europe. It applies to travel to EU countries that are not members of the Schengen Agreement. For example, if you are flying to Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania or Croatia with a connection through other EU countries, you will most likely encounter the fact that the second flight will not depart from international terminal, but from serving flights within Europe. Thus, you will still need a visa to move between terminals. Before buying tickets to these countries, be sure to check with the airlines whether transit is possible without the Schengen visa.

In some extremely rare cases, airline representatives may provide personal transfer between terminals across the airfield. For example, once when I was flying to London with a change in Copenhagen, when I got off the plane, instead of the usual inscription Transit, I found passport control at the entrance to the Schengen zone.

I did not have a Schengen visa, but after I explained the situation to the border guards, I was taken across the airfield immediately to land at the right exit. Boarding pass I had it on hand, I didn’t need to get luggage either. That is why such a maneuver was possible by the representatives of the airline together with the security and border control service. However, this is extremely rare, and it is at least presumptuous to hope that they will meet you halfway.