Originally Posted by
Pulkit Singhal
But will the landing at Helsinki airport but not getting out of it count as Schengen entry? What if I remain in the airport till 12 midnight and then go to the departure section to Germany?
When you say "airport" I am not sure you understand post-arrival mechanics. As I mentioned, once you get off the plane you must either proceed to Arrival (Schengen) or non-Schengen connections. There is no other area to go to. If you proceed to Arrivals/Schengen connections, you must go through passport control and enter Schengen space.
Can you wait until midnight? I don't know --- not only does it depend on whether passport control is open at that time, it also depends on if they allow you to remain in the passport control area for so long. Either way, you will have to be "getting out of it" at Helsinki because you are connecting to a Schengen flight. Once you land in ANY Schengen destination it will be the first point of entry if you are then proceeding to Germany.
You will not be entering Schengen in Germany, you will enter in Finland.
The question is not whether or not it is considered a Schengen entry, the question is whether you will be allowed to board a flight which lands on Sep 12 in Schengen when your final destination is Schengen and your visa is not valid to enter Schengen until Sep 13.
You need to clarify this with the consulate and Finnair. If Finnair says they will not uplift you on Sep 12, you cannot override that.