I am a US citizen traveling under a valid US ordinary passport. I was refused entry to Spain at MAD flying nonstop from JFK, when I sought to visit the city during an extended layover (en route to non-Schengen). Per border police, no non-EU Nationals are allowed to leave the international transit area during layovers.
Per Schengen Border Code I met all conditions for entry:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...l14514&from=EN. I have not previously been denied to Spain or any EU nation. I was also not allowed to appeal the decision or given any written documentation.
Has anyone else been in this situation? Or how did you manage to visit the city during a long layover?
EDIT: I went with the arrival flow. This is not a question of trying to leave the sterile area.