Airport transit visas
General information
Nationals of the following countries require a visa to transit through the international area of any airport located in the territory of the Schengen States in order to take a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area.
- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka.
In addition, nationals of the following countries require a visa to transit through the international area of any airport located in Spain in order to take a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area:
- Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Liberia, Mali, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Syria, Togo and Yemen. Holders of passports issued by the Palestinian Authority also require a visa.
Nationals of the States included on the foregoing lists do not require an airport transit visa if they have a Schengen visa, or another type of visa, or a residence card permitting their return, issued by a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, or by Andorra, Canada, the United States of America, Japan, or San Marino, or by any of the overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or if they are a diplomatic passport holder , or a family member of a citizen of the EU or of the EEA, or a flight crew member of a State that is party to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The Schengen area encompasses 26 European countries without border controls between them: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The transit airport visa enables transit through the international area of airports located in the Schengen area but does not allow entry into the territory of the Schengen States. When a connection details a change in airport terminal that requires going through a border control, it will be necessary to apply for a Schengen visa (see the “Schengen visas” section).