Visa question when transiting through Schengen countries
 

Can someone clarify whether a transit visa is required for Italy to do say LHR-FCO-TIP? (TIP = Tripoli, Libya) using Alitalia (AZ)? I just need to change planes at Rome with about 1.5hr layover both ways. I do hold visas for both UK and TIP. However I don't have transit visa for Italy or for any Schengen nations.

I do know that transit visa is not required if destination is either UK or USA. But will they allow me to board if its an African destination?

Ofcourse I hold Indian passport.

This whole transit visa thing is ****gly crazy!

I don't know how many Asian nationalities are inconvenienced due to these stupid rules.

Yeah its quite insulting to have to appear for a personal interview and pay $100 visa fee just to go from one gate to another.

Sometime back I had to cancel flights for my wife to go from India to Nigeria via MAD b/c of the transit visa. In general, the rule is that if you have a valid visa of a developed nation, you do not need a visa. That is how US green card holders are able to transit EU without needing a visa. But do check again.

Use the tool on http://www.delta.com/planning_reserv...tion/index.jsp

See below what the info looks like for the routing you indicated.

____________________________________________

National India (IN) /Transit Italy (IT)
Destination Libya (LY)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW


Italy (IT)


TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
Visa required, except for Those who continue their journey to

a third country by the first available flight within 48 hours
and without leaving the airport, provided arriving and
departing from/to non-Schengen countries. Passengers must also

hold tickets with reserved seats and other documents for their

onward journey.
Additional Information:

- Visitors may be refused entry either for public security,
tranquillity, order or For details, click here
Warning:
- Non-compliance with entry/transit regulations will result in

fines between For details, click here


Libya (LY)



Passport required.
- Passport and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.
- Admission is refused to those not holding passports (or
accepted passport replacing documents) printed in the Arab
language, in which case a translation in the Arab language

of all personal passport details is required. Translation

must be done by a sworn translator and affixed to the
passport.
- Exempt are:
- - those traveling for touristic purposes

- transit passengers.

Visa required.

Visa Issuance:
- On arrival: if required, a visa is issued in exceptional

cases only. For details, click here
Compulsory Currency Exchange:
- Visitors travelling to Libya for touristic purposes are

required to convert USD 1,000.-, or equivalent, in freely
convertible cash or debit the amount from a valid credit

card upon arrival. Failure to do so, will result in the
traveler being refused entry.
- Exempt are those visiting a resident, provided holding

proof of sponsorship covering entire stay (e.g.

accommodation, medical care expenses, etc.).

- Exempt are those traveling as part of a paid tourist
package if holding a visa or permission from the
Administration of Passport, Nationality and Foreign

Affairs;
Additional Information:

- Admission and transit refused to holders of:
- documents containing a valid or expired visa for Israel;
and
- tickets showing a point in Israel.

- All visitors must hold sufficient funds for their
maintenance.
Warning:
- Non-compliance with visa requirements will result in a fine
for the transporting carrier (LYD 500.- per passenger) and

deportation of the inadmissible passenger by the delivering

carrier.

CHECK TINEWS/N1 - SOUTH AFRICA: FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP


Timaticweb Version 1.3
09 June 2010

Thanks rsh913. I had checked Timatic site. But I am not too clear about how to interpret it. I don't want to risk booking a trip based on my interpretion of a website, and end up with a denied boarding. I want advise from someone who has first hand experience.

Going by UA Fan's experience, seems it may not be doable. When you come to think of it, isn't it so silly?

Only if we could have paid with the same coin.... :(

Since you have a UK visa i think you should be okay also your trip commences and ends in UK. I'm glad i changed my wife's flight as I when i got out of the Nigeria flight at MAD there was a cop pulling ppl aside "randomly" for passport checking.

Note at that time my wife did not have a US greencard.

silly is an understatement....

While the rules are inconvenient for sure, they are sadly there for a reason. The number of Indians who have exploited lax visa regimes in the past (yes, even in direct airside transit) has made it quite neccessary to implement these.

Which is why "less liberal" transit points like Dubai and Singapore that don't have any of these stupid rules will always be more popular than EU airports for Indian travelers. I'm willing to bet that AI's departure from the EU transit hub had a lot to do with European's attitudes towards Indians (to be fair, EU transit to US is a non-issue, but in the event of a irregular ops one could expect to be held "prisoner" in a midfield concourse for hours on end).

EU visa regime is more stupid than lax. I have got several EU visas *exactly* for the duration of my ticket - no allowance to make any spontaneous changes - in fact I would probably be out of status if my flight were delayed (volcano anyone?). If I wanted to overstay, I would overstay whether my visa was for 11 days or 3 months - what's the difference?

Randomly = You couldn't have said it better

Given the choice, I think Indians would prefer to stay in Singapore or Dubai rather than the EU. Both these countries have do not require visa for airside transit. So it's not the visa rules, it's how you implement them that makes the difference. How many Indians exploit the visa rules in Hong Kong? Indian passport holders have visa on arrival facility in Hong Kong. The EU rules have nothing to do with exploitation of the so called lax visa regimes but is a perfect example of colonial mindset.

You apparently have never dealt with Indian citizens making fake refugee claims while transiting at EU airports. The most common claim is that they are gay and face persecution at home for their sexuality. That gets them a hearing and often leads to a succesful claim. There are other common persecution stories as well - lower caste, dowry problems, Khalistan/LTTE/Naxalite sympathizer/target, etc... that are also used by the bucketful. There are cottage industries of desi "lawyers" in most countries who even offer advice on the best way to make the fake claims in advance.

Try claiming you are gay in Dubai/Singapore/Hong Kong and therefore should be granted political asylum? Not going to get particularly far with that. Also a lot harder to disappear underground as an undocumented alien.

Back to the question....
 

Now back to answer your question....

No, you do not need a transit visa as you are not entering Italy as Libya is considered international. You will be flying from an international arrival to an international destination.

BTW, its not just Indian nationals have this problem... Thai, Philippines, Vietnam, South African, come to mind... All share in the same EU Schengen visa requirement.

Thanks a lot guys for all the clarifications!

IMHO, this is where the problem is.. We blame the folks making refugee claims etc etc.. Maybe they were actual problems , cases etc but we generally find it more easy to say they were false..
But more importantly, if this is actually the case, then why does the EU countries hv these rules which can be mis-used.. They willl be well aware if some of there rules are getting mis-used and plug the gap , atleast I would hope so..For me that is the root cause, and not Indians mis using some rule... and btw whts the % of folks doing this among those that travel.. .5%, .6% ??
We all are aware tht ppl will use a loophole if found.. and not only indians.. see what the folks in ''developed'' countries did(with regulatory loopholes) and see the state they r in now.. US, UK, Italy and I can go on and on but we don't want to digress..The point is plug the loop hole if any and don't penalize the common man for this..

Most refugee claims in the EU by Indian citizens are not upheld. So it is not "us" who say that the claims are false but rather the authorities who examine each case in great detail.

That's exactly the justification they give for transit visas. The transit visa restriction basically "plugs the gap".