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I'm planning a trip to Europe this summer (Italy, Spain and Portugal) and will be using my travel document (Form I-571) that I have based on asylum from Syria. I had a visa appointment at the Spanish consulate today and was not able to submit the application as the officer mentioned that Spain does not recognize refugee/asylee travel documents.

This wikipedia page mentions that Spain accepts U.S. travel documents, however, I've read other sources that site the opposite such as this thread. Do you know which countries accept a travel document (with a Schengen visa) in 2019? I'd appreciate if you can include an official website, I'm having a hard time finding any.

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    The Travel thread you link to says that someone with an I-571 needs a visa to visit Spain. But you report that you've been told that you cannot get a visa for Spain with that document. I think that is terribly wrong (not least because the document is issued under the 1967 protocol of the 1951 refugee convention, and both Spain and the US have signed and ratified the protocol), and that both Wikipedia and the answers to the question you link to are correct. I think the question you ought to be asking is "how can I get the Spanish consulate to process my visa application?"
    – phoog
    Apr 16, 2019 at 18:54
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    It's not the first time I've heard of Spain refusing to accept a US refugee travel document, but it has been quite a while and I don't have a source handy. As I recall, their sticking point was that the US signed the 1967 protocol but not the original 1951 convention. Have you thought about visiting Germany?
    – Michael Hampton
    Apr 17, 2019 at 2:14
  • It seems like Germany is among a few countries that allow the U.S. travel document holder to travel visa free. However, the main reason I'm going to Spain is to attend a friend's wedding, would probably be inconvenient to ask him to move it to Germany haha. Any idea if I could travel through Spain if I get the Schengen visa from another European country or would that be illegal?
    – Adnan Baleh
    Apr 17, 2019 at 3:33
  • You could probably manage it if you didn't say anything to the German immigration authorities, and don't fly on Ryanair. I think the risk of having a problem is fairly low, as I said in the other post, but I suppose it is not technically legal, and I can't tell you what your tolerance for risk is.
    – Michael Hampton
    Apr 17, 2019 at 4:41
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    Update: I applied to the Schengen visa through France and I received the visa today. The visa allows me entry to the Schengen states except Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Poland and Malta which apparently are the countries that do not recognize the U.S. travel document.
    – Adnan Baleh
    May 17, 2019 at 22:03

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According to Adnan:

Update: I applied to the Schengen visa through France and I received the visa today. The visa allows me entry to the Schengen states except Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Poland and Malta which apparently are the countries that do not recognize the U.S. travel document.

If someone knows a better source for this information, please edit this answer in the future.

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    A subsequent question and answer on this same topic (different countries, but same issue) is located here.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Nov 8, 2022 at 23:12

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