Travelling from US to India through Frankfurt on expired H1B visa with approved extension

Upvote:1

You need a transit visa unless you meet one of the other criteria of exemption (e.g. holding a valid Canadian or Japanese visa).

Based on documents issued by the United States, Indian nationals are exempt from the transit visa requirement imposed by Germany if they have a valid visa or permanent residence permit issued by the United States of America, or if having used a now expired visa, return from the United States immediately (within 24 hours) after the visa's expiry.

While the visa code provides for transit visa exemption for the situation where the third-country national "return[s] from those countries [non-Schengen EU countries, Canada, U.S., Japan] after having used the visa", the EU and Germany have taken the position that the return trip should take place immediately after the expiry of the visa (Visa Handbook, page 13), despite the distinction between visa and immigration status made by other countries like U.S. and Canada.

This requirement is also included in Timatic, the database used by airlines to check if they can allow you on board based on the immigration documents you present. A public interface is provided by IATA Travel Center. For transit through Frankfurt, it says:

Nationals of India transiting through Frankfurt (FRA) or Munich (MUC), arriving from a non-Schengen Member State with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight within 24 hours to a third country which is not a Schengen Member State. They must:

  • have a visa issued by Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland (Rep.), Japan, Romania or USA, and
  • stay in the international transit area of the airport, and
  • have documents required for their next destination.

Nationals of India transiting through Frankfurt (FRA) or Munich (MUC), arriving from a non-Schengen Member State with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight within 24 hours to a third country which is not a Schengen Member State. They must:

  • have a used, valid or expired visa issued by Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland (Rep.), Japan, Romania or USA (an expired visa is accepted if it is valid when departing from the country that issued the visa), and
  • be returning from the country that issued the visa, and
  • stay in the international transit area of the airport, and
  • have documents required for their next destination.

More post

Search Posts

Related post