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I have a visa that starts on March 15th and my flight arrives on the 14th at 11:30 PM. Would I be allowed to board the plane, as I am certain I will not be going through the immigration procedures until after 12:00 and it is already the 15th?

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  • I mean arriving to the airport, leaving the plane and then to passport control. Ive asked some people and they said that you can wait until its 12 and then do the passport control. I am just scared from the home airport not letting me on the flight.
    – user134476
    Mar 13, 2023 at 13:56
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    If you mean that you’re relying on the time it takes between your plane landing and you getting to immigration to get you past the start date of your visa, then yes, you have a problem. The airline won’t let you board unless your visa is valid on the date your flight lands.
    – Traveller
    Mar 13, 2023 at 13:58
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    What will you do if the flight has a following wind and arrives 30 minutes early? Mar 13, 2023 at 13:59
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    Not all airports have arrangements where you can wait after arrival before going through immigration and your plane may for whatever reason be diverted to a different destination. I honestly can't imagine that the airline will let you board. Mar 13, 2023 at 16:15

1 Answer 1

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Would I be allowed to board the plane?

Assuming the airline doesn't make a mistake, you will most likely be denied boarding. Yes, this might not make sense from a practical standpoint, but airlines usually stick to the rules. So if you want to be safe, change your flight to a later day.

I will not be going through the immigration procedures until after 12:00 and it is already the 15th

If you somehow convince the airline to let you board the plane, this should indeed work. If you show up at 00:01 with a visa valid on that day, you should be allowed into the country. But unless you're willing to risk forfeiting your ticket, I wouldn't plan on doing this.

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  • Comments have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on Travel Meta, or in Travel Chat. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.
    – JonathanReez
    Mar 14, 2023 at 22:13

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