Schengen Area And Transit

[Saival]

My thai wife has to fly to my home country which is Iceland. There is no direct flight all the way from Thailand to Iceland so she has to transit at some airport and in most cases she is going to change airline also.

Iceland is part of the Schengen Agreement. Transiting only once and through another Schengen country seems to be the best option. To find a flight with the same airline from Bangkok all the way to Iceland is very rare - I have found one so far. All other options involve changing airline and therefore transiting landside because, I think(?), she needs to check in her luggage again.

We have been looking for answers but they have been limited so far.

Here are two options for example:

1. This flight is in the middle of May and we estimate she will hopefully get her visa in the middle of April. We don't want to wait another month.

Air Berlin

BKK - TXL (Germany) - KEF (Iceland)

Flight AB7161 (Air Berlin) Bangkok (BKK)- Berlin (TXL) 11h 20m

Wait Berlin (TXL) 6h 25m

Flight AB3546 (Air Berlin) Berlin (TXL)- Reykjavik (KEF) 3h 30m

2. There are many options like this one with many different dates so I guess we will choose something like this when the time comes.

Thai Airways Intl, Iceland Express

BKK- CPH- KEF

Flight TG950 (Thai Airways Intl) Bangkok (BKK)- Copenhagen (CPH) 11h 20m

Wait Copenhagen (CPH) 7h 30m

Flight HCC902 (Iceland Express) Copenhagen (CPH)- Reykjavik (KEF) 3h 10m

The visa she will get to enter Iceland is a sticker called D-visa. About D-visa from the website of the Directorate of Immigration in Iceland: "D-visa is issued when a foreigner has been granted approval on his application for a residence permit in Iceland. This means that after the arrival of the foreigner in Iceland, on fulfilling certain obligations, the foreigner will be issued a residence permit. When the Directorate has decided to grant a residence permit, the Directorate sends a request for a D-Visa, which the foreigner then receives at the respective embassy".

I'm not sure if this visa applies for transiting through another Schengen country - I hope it does but I guess she has to transit at Schengen Area airport landside in most cases because she has to change airline and then check in her luggage again.

So does she need to get transit visa to transfer landside?

Do the waiting hours matter? Because it looks like she has to wait atleast 3-7 hours before boarding the flight to the final destination.

Information that might matter: She can speak english and she is going to fly alone.

Thank you for reading.

-Sai

Edited February 26, 2012 by Saival

[necronx99]

If you are buying a trip to a given country where a single airline does not fly direct they will use partner airlines.

I have often flown with long airport stops and have never had to collect and re-check my bags.

Are you sure they wont check the bags through all the way on these flights?

Think about the logistics here, what if you werent eligble for a visa in Germany? You have to give up your bags?

[VisasPlus]

Normally a Category D Schengen visa is a single entry only visa. That is why the holder is required to apply for a Residence Permit on arrival in the Schengen country of destination. The visa can be endorsed " Single Entry + one Transit ". The visa application form includes the following questions:

22. Member State(s) of destination

23. Member State of first entry

24. Number of entries requested

Single entry Two entries Multiple entries

25. Duration of the intended stay or transit

Indicate number of days

Your wife is also require to provide her flight ticket or confirmed booking.

In addition to answering the questions, and providing the ticket, you should provide a letter stating that your wife require one transit stop in a Schengen State, and refer to the flight details. If, for any reason, the issuing country doesn't want to issue a visa that includes a transit, then they will tell you that your wife has to fly direct.

[UbonOz]

Here is a link that will possibly give the information on transit stops - http://www.oneworld.com/airports-destinations/visa-health-information/

moxtravel.com in Bangkok advertise flights to Iceland. Give them a call and see if you can get a through fare.

I just did a search for flights with SAS via Copenhagen to Iceland, comes up with a through fare, not cheap but it works.

00:25 - 07:00 SK972 Bangkok - Copenhagen (Terminal 3) 14:00 - 15:10 SK6151 (FI)

Copenhagen (Terminal 3) - Reykjavik, Keflavik International