Do I need transit visa for travelling from India to Spain via Brussels with Spanish re-entry permit
I am an Indian citizen and working in Barcelona. My Resident permit is under renewal process and meanwhile I am travelling to India. To enter into Spain, I have Spanish re-entry permit which allows to enter in Spain within 90 days of its issue. However I have a connecting flight from Brussels with layover of 5 hours at Brussels Airport. My question is do I need transit visa to enter into Schengen Area? as Spanish re-entry permit is not considered as EU travel document and it is valid only to enter into Spain and not to any other country or being an Indian citizen, I wouldn´t need transit visa and I can fly from Mumbai=>Brussels=>Barcelona without any issue. Thanks.
Best Answer
It used to be that a re-entry visa for one of the Schengen states would allow its holder to enter the other Schengen states for transit purposes on their way to the issuing state. However, this provision disappeared from the Schengen Borders Code when article 5 paragraph 4(a) was amended by regulation 610/2013, effective 19 July 2013.
Before this amendment the paragraph read (emphasis added)
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
but the current text doesn't mention re-entry visas:
third-country nationals who do not fulfil all the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 but who hold a residence permit or a long-stay visa shall be authorised to enter the territory of the other Member States for transit purposes so that they may reach the territory of the Member State which issued the residence permit or the long-stay 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
Since the only change was to remove the references to re-entry visas, one has to assume that they mean it, and that re-entry visas are now not valid for transit through other Schengen states.
If you change flights in Brussels on your way to Barcelona, you will enter the Schengen area in Brussels (as the Brussels-Barcelona flight counts as "domestic" for immigration purposes and departs from the inside-Schengen area of the airport). You therefore need either to get a short-stay Schengen visa from Belgium, or to change your travel plans -- such as to fly via Dubai, Doha, or Istanbul which all provide visa-free transit.
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Do Indian citizens need transit visa for Spain?
Spain will only process transit visas if a Spanish airport is the first point of entry. Application for visa must be submitted in person with no more than 90 days in advance to your trip and at least 15 days before. Applications with more than 180 days in advance to your trip will not be accepted.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.Do you need a transit visa for Brussels?
If you transit through more than 1 airport in the Schengen area (e.g. Amsterdam and Brussels) before taking your flight to your end destination, you will need to apply for a visa type C, even if you don't leave the airport. A multiple transit visa will only be granted if the need for such a visa has been proven.Do I need a Schengen Visa for transit in Spain?
As a specific tourist visa for Spain does not exist, tourists need a Schengen Visa to enter Spain for tourism. The Schengen Visa allows visitors to spend up to 90 days in Spain as well as the other 25 participating Schengen countries.Schengen Transit visa | Schengen visa from India | How to apply schengen transit visa
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