Do I need a transit visa in Amsterdam going from Philippines to Greece, if travelling on a (government) official passport?
I hold an official Philippine passport (government official) and will travel from Manila to Athens through Amsterdam (transit). I do not need to get a visa for entry to Athens, Greece. Do I need to get an airport transit visa for Amsterdam?
Best Answer
An airport transit visa (ATV) does not make sense in this scenario, that much seems clear.
Article 3 of the Schengen Visa Code (emphasis mine) provides that
- Nationals of the third countries listed in Annex IV shall be required to hold an airport transit visa when passing through the international transit areas of airports situated on the territory of the Member States.
But if you are flying from Amsterdam to Greece, you will have to leave the international transit area. And the Philippines is not on the Annex IV list. On a purely legal level, this article therefore clearly does not apply and there is no basis to require or issue an ATV here.
In practical terms, all passengers who want to take a flight to other places in the Schengen area have to go through an “external border check” in Amsterdam and you can't do that with an ATV. There are no facilities for sterile transit in this case, the assumption being that people who can enter their final destination in the Schengen area are generally allowed to enter the country where they are transiting as well. In this situation, Philippines citizens with regular passports would therefore need a type C “uniform” Schengen visa like they would to enter either Greece or the Netherlands.
Incidentally, the same article also mentions this:
- The following categories of persons shall be exempt from the requirement to hold an airport transit visa provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2:
[…]
(e) holders of diplomatic passports;
Even if your passport is not a diplomatic one and that last provision is not relevant, there are several different reasons why an airport transit visa is not applicable. So if you need something, it's going to be something else than an ATV (probably a Schengen visa, with or without territorial limitation). You should check what the requirements are to enter the Netherlands on your passport.
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Do Philippine passport need transit visa in Amsterdam?
In accordance with immigration regulations as stated in the Dutch Aliens Act, in general, it is required for travellers with Philippine passports to apply for a visa at the Netherlands embassy, prior to arrival at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands.Do I need transit visa for connecting flight in Amsterdam?
Note that if your connecting flight is to another Schengen area country, you don't need a transit visa. Instead, you will need a regular short-stay Schengen visa for the Netherlands. This also applies if you need to transit through another airport within the Schengen Area, other than a Dutch one.Do I need a transit visa for Greece?
In order to reach your departure gate you'll have to leave the transit area and pass through the security control to get back into the transit area and once you leave the transit area you're technically in Greece and therefore might need a visa.Do I need a transit visa for a connecting flight in Europe?
A transit visa is a travel document allowing you to pass through another country until you reach your destination. For example, if you are traveling from India to the US, but you need to stop in the Schengen Zone to continue your flight for the US, you require a transit visa for the Schengen Area.Schengen Visa Types | Schengen Transit Visa - Transit Through the Schengen Zone by Air or Sea
More answers regarding do I need a transit visa in Amsterdam going from Philippines to Greece, if travelling on a (government) official passport?
Answer 2
First of all, for border purposes the Netherlands (Amsterdam) and Greece are in the same country: the Schengen area, with a common visa.
As such, while the Manila-Amsterdam leg will be international, the Amsterdam-Athens leg is domestic, and immigration will be cleared in Amsterdam.
However, the visa requirements for entering Schengen through different member states do differ for diplomatic and official passport holders.
The following info is from Timatic, the database used by airlines.
For the Netherlands:
Visa required.
For Greece:
Visa required, except for Nationals of Philippines with an official passport for a maximum stay of 90 days.
In other words, had you entered Schengen at an airport in Greece (or Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain or Sweden) you would not have needed a Schengen visa.
However, if entering at an airport in the Netherlands, unfortunately you do need a (Schengen type C) visa. An airport transit visa will not do, as you're not staying in the international section of the airport in Amsterdam.
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