Mir083

I am traveling to Tirana Albania in some days, i live in Ireland with a Irish residence permit, I have a Pakistani Passport, have to transit through Berlin and Cologne airports on my way, time for transit is 3h 50min, I have to check in again for my flight as it is a self tranfer flight. Do i need a visa to do it?

freakazoid

If you need to enter Germany, you'll need a Visa. As Ireland is not a Schengen member, "For non-EU citizens living in another European country regular visa regulations apply." https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/v...laender/606744
Its not possible to transfer at Cologne airport without entering Germany. https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/visa/ai...-visas/2442170 At BER a transfer is possible to some extend: https://ber.berlin-airport.de/en/sel...ou/VIABER.html

Mir083

[QUOTE=freakazoid;35491840]

Thank you so much for the answer. Can you check this as there is mix information, the BER airport page says if you are arriving or destination is a Non schengen state you will need a transit Visa while the other German website says you are exempt from a transit visa if you Hold an EU or Schengen state residence permit which in my case applies to me as i hold Irish residence permit. I wanted to post the links but cant as i don't have 5 posts yet and i am not allowed to post urls and screenshots.

NewbieRunner

If I understand you correctly you will not be transiting at a German airport. You will have to enter Germany to travel between Berlin and Cologne airports. So the rules for passengers "transiting" at certain German airports (for example see this link below) do not apply in your case.
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/v...transit/606710

freakazoid

I believe the way https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/visa/ai...-visas/2442170 is meant to be read is, that most people can transit from non-Schengen to non-Schengen on airports that have an international transit section. Certain nationals incl. those from Pakistan must have a transit visa, even when their flights wouldn't require to enter Schengen.* This transit visa is not required when you already have a residency in EU/Schengen states. However if you want/need to enter Schengen to make the transit, then you need the visa anyways.
* I assume this list is compiled of countries that are known to have Europe as a popular destination for asylum and they don't want people to use the transit as a way to knock on the door.

Mir083

Well let me explain a bit. I am going from Dublin to Berlin with Ryan air with self check in, to Tirana Albania with Wizz air. The return from Tirana is to Cologne with self check in and back to Dublin from cologne. I am not travelling inside Germany, i just need to self check in when i am going from Dublin to Berlin and then from Berlin to Tirana. Return is through Cologne.

Mwenenzi

Will you have checked bag?
Do you have separate tickets for these 2 airlines? Purchased from the airlines or some on line travel agent?
Have you flown with Ryanar before? [they are different]

What you have(may have) is a flight ending at an airport (Berlin). And another separate flight from that happens to be from same airport some time later. To many that is not a transit, but just the end of 1 journey and the start on another.

Ryanair will likely check you are admissible to Germany as that is where they are taking you to.
How will you check in - document check(bag drop?) the second flight? That may be land side after immigration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirana...n%C3%AB_Tereza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin...enburg_Airport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Airport

The passenger is always responsible for having the correct passport/visa/visa waiver/residency permit/what ever.

:D!

So the return is not going to work as you can't transit Cologne airport without entering Germany.

The outbound would work if it was on one ticket (or separate tickets on other airlines), but Ryanair will not care about your onward flight and will not let you fly to Berlin if you don't have the right documents to enter Germany.

NewbieRunner

OK I got it. The return trip will not work as Cologne is not one of the five airports listed in the document I linked earlier.

• Frankfurt/Main
• Munich
• Hamburg (4.30 a.m. - 11.30 p.m. only)
• D�sseldorf (6.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. only) and if the airline has arranged the transit beforehand with the authorities responsible for cross-border security (the Federal Police)
• Berlin-Brandenburg

But as already pointed out you will not be able to board a flight to Berlin since as far as Ryanair is concerned your destination is Germany and you will not be able to enter the country without a visa.

irishguy28

Because you are "self-connecting", you are not actually considered to be a transit/connecting passenger.

You have a contract with Ryanair to transport you from Dublin to Berlin. It doesn't matter that you have a separate Wizz Air flight booked to Tirana and it doesn't matter that you are not intending to enter Germany; as far as Ryanair is concerned, you are flying to Berlin and they are obliged to ensure that you meet the legal requirements to enter Germany before they will allow you onto the flight.

If you require a visa to enter Germany, then Ryanair will not let you board the flight for Berlin unless you can show this visa at the Ryanair Visa/Document check desk at Dublin Airport. This desk is in the main departure hall, before security. You must get your boarding pass stamped there before going through security.

Ryanair are very strict about this; you MUST visit the Visa/Document check desk in Dublin before departure for them to stamp your boarding pass showing that Ryanair considers you eligible for the flight. If you show up at the boarding gate with a non-EU/non-EEA passport and a boarding pass that hasn't been stamped by the Visa/Document check desk, then you will definitely not be allowed to travel, and there won't be time for you to get back landside to have your visa checked before the flight departs.

https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-us/ar...-do-I-do-this-

As a Pakistani national, you do require a visa to fly to Germany: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/v...rvice/-/231148

irishguy28

To benefit from this transit visa exemption, you would have to actually be travelling on a connecting ticket.

Lufthansa can get you from Dublin to Tirana on a single ticket (connecting in either Frankfurt or Munich). You would be advised to book your journey as a simple Dublin to Tirana return ticket using Lufthansa.

freakazoid

I have not found any language that suggests that this statement would be true. The German pages make zero mentioning of a single ticket requirement. The UK makes it quite clear that this is not a requirement: "arrive and depart by air; and have a confirmed onward flight departing the same day from the same airport".

irishguy28

I can guarantee you that Ryanair simply will not convey the OP to Germany without a German visa. They do not offer connections and treat all passengers as O&D passengers; they won't care that the OP claims to be self-connecting, and will only cover their own backs so that they are not fined for transporting a passenger to Germany that later attempts to enter the country without the necessary paperwork.

I know of no other airline serving Dublin that would interpret the rules in any other way (if you do, please tell the OP!).

As such, if the OP doesn't want to obtain a German visa, the only realistic option open to the OP is to travel on a connecting ticket where the airline in question has the comfort of being able to prove that the passenger presented themselves as intending to travel onwards (no matter what happens in Germany). Buying any other type of ticket - i.e. self connecting - will leave the OP in the same trouble, i.e. they are presenting themselves as a passenger whose trip ends in Germany, and the airline then becomes liable (fines, repatriation costs) if the OP abandons their trip in Germany.

Or else the OP should self-connect in the UK.