Finnair posing Visa issue
 

Hi all,

As a standard rule, please do not identify yourself using your full name since a combination of that and posted details of your exact flight dates would facilitate those up to no good to misuse this info. Not just here but anywhere on the web.

If you are on AY 022 which arrives 15:20 HEL time on Sep 12, the situation becomes a bit tricky. The potential problem is that you will need to go through Schengen passport control upon arrival, because your final destination is within Schengen space. If you were continuing on to the UK or another non-Schengen destination you would be OK.

Generally speaking, once you deplane at HEL, you need to make your way to either the Arrivals area or the Non-Schengen connecting area. If you proceed to Arrivals, you will need to go through Passport control -- even though there may be seats in the area, you probably can't just hang around in front of the counter for 9 hours until the clock strikes midnight and your visa becomes valid. On the other hand, technically you cannot proceed to the Non-Schengen waiting area and stick around there, as your destination is HAM. While someone at HEL may accommodate you once you land, there is no way for the check-in agent at DEL to know if you will be allowed to do so.

It may seem trivial and administrative in this case but penalties levied on the airline for enplaning pax sans valid visas are significant, so AY is likely to be rather skittish and throw the book at you when enforcing visa validity.

A written confirmation from Finnish border control may help but you should also check with the consulate that issued your visa.

Actually I thought about this some more and realized that your HEL-HAM departure time on Sep 13 has no bearing on the issue. Once you enter the Schengen area your travel within the area is not necessarily germane to this situation.

The bottom line is that Schengen space is your final destination and your visa is not valid to enter it on Sep 12 which is the intended date of your entry.

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?

While common sense says the border inspector should use common sense, I am not sure how much common sense are they allowed/wiling to use.

I would suggest you contact your nearest Finnish embassy/consulate and ask them for advice. They should be up to speed on stuff like this.

Cheers,
T.

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.

In theory the OP could overnight in the non-Schengen transit area and proceed to immigration after midnight, but AY might very well deny boarding due to lacking proper visa (not valid at time of arrival)

......

Does he have a UK visa ?

Most likely, AY contract staff in India will deny the passenger boarding.

Yes. India cannot know the Schengen / Non-schengen procedures at HEL, so denied boarding is the most probable result.

However, if you manage to board, hanging out in non-schengen until visa becomes valid is completely possible. You just exit the safety check and hang out in the area before passport control.

Passport control is open till late, HKG flight leaves @ 23.40. Non-schengen lounge is open till 00.00, so at least exit to land-side will be possible.

Yes, this could be the solution! Buy HEL-LHR ticket on 12th of Sep and wait in the area with that ticket until midnite.

BA and Finnair are the carriers using HEL, and oneway on both will be quite expensive tough.

No comments regarding the cancellation of the ticket...

Terrible situation for the OP.

I would suggest that he, as suggested by others, contact both the Finnish embassy as well as Finnair. (maybe via social media?)

It should be possible to find him a solution - either by allowing him to enter Schengen a day earlier (or better said, couple hours) then when his Visa starts, or by providing him with a letter that he's allowed to board the flight to HEL and wait in international (non-schengen) area till midnight.

Hopefully their will be a solution found. It's - luckily for him - not Germany "zis is a rule"-country but Finland, where common sense haven't totally be lost.

As others have already suggested, it would be heck easier if the OP returned to the Finnish consulate (or whichever country issued the visa) and apply for a new visa. After all, the OP already has a visa and won't have to go through hoops that first-time applicants have to. Worst case is the consulate may charge 60 euro fee but it's a heck cheaper than changing reservation or refused boarding.