Can I use other Schengen countries as first port of entry & last port of exit using Type D Visa?
Similar situation to Can I visit Schengen countries on a Type-D Schengen Visa? but slightly different.
I just got my Type D visa for Spain because I'm going to be an exchange student in Barcelona next year. I understand from various resources that Type D visa is still allowed to travel within EU, similar to the Schengen tourist visa.
My question is about the first port of entry to EU. I have relatives living in Netherlands and were encouraged by them to visit them first and then leave together to Spain from there. Am I allowed to have Netherlands as my first port of entry if I can prove I will go to Spain as scheduled within a few days? Or do I have to use Spain as my first port of entry? (another use case would be if I travel outside EU when I'm studying, do I have to go to Spain first or can I go to other EU as my port of entry?)
Second question is similar, can I leave EU at the end of my study from the Netherlands instead of Spain?
I understand that answers to both question above would be yes for Schengen tourist visa, but I would underline that I have a Type D Visa
Best Answer
From personal experience as a traveller: yes, you can enter the Schengen area on a D visa through a different Schengen country, it does not have to be the country that issued the visa.
IANAL, but the Regulation (EC) No 562/2006, and a later amendment in the Regulation (EU) No 265/2010 seem to indicate that they have to let you transit to your destination country even in the absence of some requirements:
(a) third-country nationals who do not fulfil all the conditions* laid down in paragraph 1 but who hold a residence permit, a long-stay visa or a re-entry visa issued by one of the Member States or, where required, a residence permit or a long-stay visa and a re-entry visa, shall be authorised to enter the territories of the other Member States for transit purposes so that they may reach the territory of the Member State which issued the residence permit, long-stay visa or re-entry visa, unless their names are on the national list of alerts of the Member State whose external borders they are seeking to cross and the alert is accompanied by instructions to refuse entry or transit
* - having a valid passport, visa and justification for crossing the border
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