Can I transit through Germany with an unused Schengen-visa issued by Spain?
I am a Indian citizen, traveling to Mexico via Frankfurt (from Mumbai) with a multiple-entry Spanish Schengen visa. (The return journey would be Mexico-Munich-Mumbai.)
As per official Mexican Visa authorities :
...Holders of any valid U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom and Schengen Visas (any nationality) DO NOT require a visa to enter Mexico on tourist, business and transit purposes only....
And that was confirmed to me by the Mexican embassy also.
I have applied for and gotten the Schengen visa, for the first time.
But my query is:
I am not sure as I have never entered a Schengen country and the German authorities would consider my first point of entry as Germany and deny my entry as my Schengen visa was issued by Spanish authorities and on top of that i am travelling to Mexico!
Best Answer
As an Indian national you would ordinarily need an Airport Transit Visa in order to make an airside transit at a German airport. However, holding a valid type C visa from any Schengen state exempts you from this requirement.
See the Schengen Visa Code, article 3(5)(a).
Whether you have the right paperwork for the transit will be checked by the airline rather than the German authorities. The airline is not competent to judge whether the reasons for issuing the visa still apply (which is what could create a problem at the border if you tried to enter the Schengen area on a visa that clearly doesn't match your stated plans); they merely check that you have a visa of the right kind.
And even so, logically the exemption from airport transit visas that comes with a type C visa will practically always be something you use on a different trip than the one your visa was issued for -- because on the trip your visa was issued for you won't need to transit anyway but to enter the Schengen area. So you're not using the exemption in a way it wasn't intended to be used.
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Do I have to enter the country that issued my Schengen Visa?
It does not need to be the country that issued you with a Schengen Visa, as you must apply with the nation where you are planning to spend the majority of your stay in the Schengen Area.Do I need a Schengen Visa for transit in Germany?
Do I need a visa? The vast majority of foreign travellers benefit from the \u201ctransit privilege\u201d - if during a stopover at a German airport, you do not leave the International Airport Area and if the destination is not in a Schengen country, you do not need a transit visa.What happens if Schengen Visa is not used?
It could be fine, immediate deportation or even getting banned from entering the Schengen Zone for a specific amount of time. Finally, yet importantly, it does not matter if you have entered Schengen territory on a Schengen Visa, or if you are the national of a country, to which a visa waiver has been applied.Can you transit through 2 Schengen countries?
No. Long stay visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen Agreement State allows you to travel or stay in other countries of Schengen area during the maximum period of \u201cshort stay visit\u201d (staying not more than 90 days within a period of 180 days).Non European countries where you can GO with a Schengen Visa | Travel with Schengen Visa
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