8

I am travelling from India to NY in coming month.

My flight will halt for about 1 hr at Brussels, for technical checking and passenger on boarding. May I know whether I would require transit Visa-on-arrival at Brussels Airport, if for any unexpected reason passengers are asked to disembark the flight?

I am an Indian citizen.

US Visa type: F1 (Student)

Improve this question
4
  • @Karlson that question was for Austria. this question is for Belgium. I hope both countries do not have identical immigration rules.
    – kishoredbn
    Commented May 27, 2014 at 17:23
  • 4
    @iKishore Being Part of Schengen Agreement they do for transit. They don't have identical rules when it comes to immigrating to individual countries.
    – Karlson
    Commented May 27, 2014 at 17:25
  • 1
    Once more, the answer to the previous question does not apply at all. The rules for Germany and Belgium are not the same and the other question involved an intra-Schengen flight.
    – Relaxed
    Commented May 27, 2014 at 18:42
  • 3
    Even if the answer would be the same, the questions are not duplicates. Keep in mind that questions should be marked as duplicates if the ask for the same thing and not if the answers happen to be the same.
    – RoflcoptrException
    Commented May 27, 2014 at 21:09

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
10

As long as you remain in the transit area of the airport, you do not need a visa as an Indian citizen in Belgium (or any other Schengen country except France, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic), even if you need to disembark and catch a connecting flight. This should also apply to any unexpected need to leave the airplane in your case. If you would require an airport transit visa (ATV), the US visa could help but it does not matter here since you can in any case transit without ATV.

All this only applies if you have only one layover in the Schengen area, in an airport with a proper transit area. If you have two layovers with an intra-Schengen flight in between (like the previous question about Vienna and Frankfurt) or if you need to change airports or otherwise leave the transit area, you need to have the right to enter the Schengen area. In this case, the rules for entry (as opposed to transit) would apply. Consequently, an airport transit visa would not be enough (you need a full Schengen visa) and the exemption for US visa holders would not apply either.

There are also provisions to grant a visa at the border in extraordinary circumstances (say an emergency landing at an airport with no transit facility) but in normal circumstances, it's not possible to get a visa-on-arrival. If you do need a visa for your trip (whether a regular type C visa or an airport transit visa), then it needs to be obtained in advance. Airlines have to check your visa and would refuse boarding if you don't have the documentation needed for your transit.

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .