Arriving Before Visa Start Date
Reading this thread got me thinking about what would happen if you unintentionally arrived early in a country (specifically port or airport - if it's by road just hang tight a mile or two from the border!) for which you required a visa?
For example, a flight that was due to arrive at 1am in the destination country caught a strong tailwind and arrived at 23:30 the day before. Does anyone have experience of this?
Similarly for unintentional overstays - I have had a flight delayed 12 hours (3pm scheduled, 3am +1 day actual departure) where we were bused from the airport to a hotel in Lisbon. If I required a visa to be in Portugal at the time and was leaving on the last day of its validity, how can that be handled? Doing exit passport control 4 hours before the flight?
Best Answer
Regarding your second scenario. This is almost never an issue. Just come over to migration office at an airport and explain the situation. They usually have an authority to extend your visa for 24-72 hours in case of such an emergencies.
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CAN I BOARD FLIGHT ONE DAY BEFORE VISA START DATE?
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Answer 2
First first case, worst case, they will not allow you to enter, so you should wait few hours in airport before to pass the passport control area.
And this depends a lot of the country you are entering. If control is computer based, and without allowing exception, you have bad luck and you should wait.
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