I'm traveling to Amsterdam from Oslo via Frankfurt. I have a single entry Schengen visa and Oslo will be the first point for me to enter the EU area. When I arrive in Frankfurt, should I go to the area for international flights, or should I go to the domestic flights area? Since I'll be travelling within the EU, will I go through passport control in Frankfurt?
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3@pnuts A flight from Oslo to Frankfurt is deemed international, but not subject to immigration control. I regularly fly from Oslo to other Schengen countries and have never experienced an official id control leaving Norway and as far as I know, there are no facilities at the airport allowing such control without in practice halting regular operations. If there had been an offical id check, you would however not have been 'stamped out' of the Schengen area.– Tor-Einar JarnbjoJan 23, 2017 at 16:27
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3@Tor-EinarJarnbjo indeed, the Schengen codes use the useful term "internal" to refer to intra-Schengen flights, the bulk of which are of course, strictly speaking, international. I have on occasion advocated for the use of this term on this site, but as others have rightly pointed out, insisting on precise terminology may not be very helpful to casual users who are infrequent travelers and who therefore don't have a very thorough understanding of the situation. When I was flying weekly between AMS and Oslo, we would frequently be checked (not stamped) at the gate on arrival in Oslo.– phoogJan 23, 2017 at 16:52
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2@pnuts in the three-part division of (1) domestic, (2) Schengen, (3) other international, a flight to Frankfurt would come under (2) Schengen, and would therefore be classified neither as domestic nor as "other international." Flights between Schengen countries ("internal" flights) are international, strictly speaking, even though passengers are not subjected to immigration controls.– phoogJan 23, 2017 at 16:54
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1@phoog But it is especially for flights to, from and between the Schengen countries, which are not in the EU (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) IMHO just as misleading and incorrect to call them 'domestic' flights as you are e.g. subject to much stricter customs regulations, as if you are flying between EU states.– Tor-Einar JarnbjoJan 23, 2017 at 17:01
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1@phoog I would agree that "internal" makes a lot more sense than "domestic".– CalchasJan 23, 2017 at 23:16
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3 Answers
You are correct that Norway is not in the EU -- but what matters for passport control is not EU membership, but Schengen, and Norway is in the Schengen area. So both your flights will be Schengen-internal.
In Frankfurt, when you get off your plane just follow the "connecting flights" signs until you reach an area where you see monitors showing lists of departing flights. Then locate your outgoing flight on the monitors and follow the signage towards the gate displayed for it.
Following the correct signs should not lead you through an exit immigration check.
answered Jan 23, 2017 at 14:21
hmakholm left over Monicahmakholm left over Monica
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1and as far as I remember, he shouldn't be able to go through exit immigration without a boarding pass anyway. Jan 23, 2017 at 16:35
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If the OP happens to get as far as Frankfurt and gets stuck, you can get a train to Amsterdam (lasts about 4 hours) from Frankfurt.– PrinsigJan 23, 2017 at 17:16
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Yes. Moreover, this advice holds even for flight origins outside of Schengen: say, on NYC-FRA-AMS, the FRA-AMS boarding pass will have a terminal number (if not a gate), and following the signs to that terminal will correctly lead you to the right immigration stuff.– E.P.Jan 23, 2017 at 22:14
Frankfurt airport is not separated into a ‘domestic’ and an ‘international’ area. Rather, the flights are allocated a gate and the gate number includes a letter for the area (A, B or C in terminal 1, D or E in termainal 2). Memorise the area that your gate is in and proceed there.
Once you have reached the area, signs will show you different directions for the gate numbers.
You should not encounter any immigration control on your way as all three airports in question (Oslo, Amsterdam and Frankfurt) are part of the Schengen area (as other answers have mentioned).
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But there are Schengen and non Schengen areas. Also transferring from one terminal to an other, you have separated wagons. Jan 24, 2017 at 9:34
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I like this answer best as it makes it clear that the domestic/international distinction is obsolete in the Schengen area. This is true for all airports I have seen in the area.– CalimoJan 24, 2017 at 10:58
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@Calimo Even when only considering the airports relevant for this question, it is not true. The airport in Oslo is separated in domestic and international areas and the international area is again separated in Schengen- and Non-Schengen areas. Jan 24, 2017 at 11:11
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@GiacomoCatenazzi Yes, but they are not labelled as Schengen/non-Schengen. The distinction is purely by gate area (B being non-Schengen in terminal 1, iirc).– JanJan 24, 2017 at 20:47
No, you will not go thru passport control in Frankfurt. It's actually a domestic flight.
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3Oslo, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are in all different countries. None of the flights between them are domestic.– NijJan 24, 2017 at 7:21