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There is a provision for issuing Schengen visas at the border (see section 1.7 of this document): apart from meeting all regular criteria, the individual applying must show that they were not in a position to apply for a visa in advance. Furthermore, this entire process comes with the caveat that it is supposed to be exceptional.

I am considering a (single-ticket) non-Schengen to non-Schengen flight itinerary that involves a short (approximately two hour) stopover in Amsterdam.
There is only one flight everyday between Amsterdam and my final destination; missing my connection would probably lead to an overnight halt.

If I were to miss my connection, is there any evidence to suggest that I might be able to successfully apply for a Schengen visa at the airport (and avoid spending the night at Schiphol)?

Alternatively, is there evidence to suggest that missed connections and long layovers are not exceptional enough to warrant the issuance of Schengen visas at the border?

Some (possibly) salient points: I require a visa to enter the Schengen states. I am not from a country whose nationals require a visa to transit through airports in the Schengen states, or from a country where consultations are required with certain national authorities before its citizens can be issued Schengen visas.
I have held multiple short-stay (C) Schengen visas over the last 10 years, of varying (longish) validity- 1/2/3 years. Over the past 5 years, I have visited the Schengen area on average 3-4 times a year, with my average length of stay being a week or so.

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  • A missed connection is unlikely to be considered 'exceptional' as such things happen all the time. Although not a duplicate, it is addressed by this response
    – Giorgio
    Dec 21, 2016 at 15:27
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    @pnuts Does the specific nationality matter? I think not. We know that the traveler requires a visa to enter the Schengen area.
    – phoog
    Dec 21, 2016 at 15:36
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    @pnuts False, if you require a visa to get in, you're not getting in without one, period (other than in accordance with existing provisions, which do not apply here)
    – Crazydre
    Dec 21, 2016 at 16:10
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    @HenningMakholm They are in the non-Schengen area
    – Crazydre
    Dec 21, 2016 at 16:42
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    @GayotFow We have no such thing in Schengen - you may qualify for a 15-day visa on arrival on unforseeable and imperative grounds (the latter not applying here), but that's it
    – Crazydre
    Dec 22, 2016 at 6:35

1 Answer 1

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The document you linked states:

submits documentary evidence of the existence of unforeseeable and imperative reasons for entry.

The word imperative means "of utmost importance", which this is not - you simply want the convenience of not being "trapped" on international territory during your stopover.

So I'm afraid you would have to sleep in the transit area of the airport. There is a Mercure Hotel as well as the Yotel to choose from, both located in the non-Schengen zone and starting at €85-90 (although of course, the airline will pay for it if you miss your connection due to your Inbound flight being delayed).

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  • Do you know that these hotels are on the non-Schengen side of passport control? Neither the hotels nor the airport seem inclined to reveal this on their websites. (Or if they do, the links to the information is too well camouflaged for me to notice).
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Dec 21, 2016 at 16:37
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    @HenningMakholm Schiphol's Website schiphol.nl/en/transfers "Whether you’d like to sleep, rest or just freshen-up with a hot shower, pay a visit to either the Mercure Hotel or Yotel. They are both located after passport control and are open all day, every day". Plus, I've seen it myself
    – Crazydre
    Dec 21, 2016 at 16:38
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    Hmm, I wonder how you make that page display that text. For me it just show a menu with choices "Check that you're good to go" / "Enjoy yourself at Schiphop" / "Find your way to the gate" -- and neither of the pages in that menu contain that text either. (Also, for a transfering passenger, shouldn't "after passport control" mean on the Schengen side?)
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Dec 21, 2016 at 16:51
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    @HenningMakholm Sorry schiphol.nl/en/facilities/sleep-after-passport-control
    – Crazydre
    Dec 21, 2016 at 16:57
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    Not to mention, if he misses the connection due to the airline's fault, and they have to leave him there overnight, the airline should be paying for the hotel anyway.
    – Michael Hampton
    Dec 21, 2016 at 18:28

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