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I was trying to book a flight from London to Chennai. The cheapest air ticket was the one that has two stops, first at Berlin and then at Frankfurt. I hold an Indian passport and a UK work visa. My Question is should I get a visa for such a travel to stay in the airport? Or it is not required because it is only in transit?

By the way, the airlines from London to Berlin is German Wings and the other part of the journey is with Lufthansa (Berlin -> Frankfurt -> Chennai). Are there any restrictions? I was not able to google this information easily.

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  • What kind of UK visa do you have?
    – Gagravarr
    Commented Jul 16, 2014 at 14:20
  • @Gagravarr : I have a Tier-2 General work VISA
    – Srivathsa Harish Venkataramana
    Commented Jul 16, 2014 at 14:36
  • @Karlson : thanks for the link, but it says the first transit is at Vienna(different schengen country), mine is at berlin
    – Srivathsa Harish Venkataramana
    Commented Jul 16, 2014 at 14:39
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    The same or very similar questions have been asked so many times here on Travel Stackexchange in the last few months that I find it really hard to believe that you have searched for an answer and not found any.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Jul 16, 2014 at 14:42
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    If you have two stops in the Schengen area, as an Indian citizen, you need a Schengen visa or residence permit, no exceptions (Berlin, Vienna and Frankfurt are all in the Schengen area). The fact that the cities are in the same country and all the other rules and exemptions regarding airport transit are not relevant and your UK visa also does not make a difference. See also travel.stackexchange.com/questions/30569/…
    – Relaxed
    Commented Jul 16, 2014 at 15:00

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In the Schengen area, the relevant distinction is between flights to non-Schengen destinations and flights to Schengen destinations. If you have two stops in the area, your journey includes a flight between Schengen destinations and you will need to go through the “external border” checkpoint to catch that flight. There will be no passport check at the second airport and once you have crossed the border at the first airport, there is nothing stopping you from leaving, which is why transit privileges do not apply.

Whether the next destination is in the same country or in another Schengen country does not make a difference and your UK visa and all the other rules and regulations regarding transit are not relevant in this situation either. As an Indian citizen, it means that you do need a type C Schengen visa (and not merely an “airport transit visa”).

See also Do I need a visa to transit (or layover) in the Schengen area? for a full explanation of the rules.

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