I have an upcoming trip to London from Washington DC via Iceland. I hold an Indian passport, H1B visa in US, and visitor visa for UK. I have booked WOW air and it has a stop in KEF airport in Iceland. I have researched the immigration websites and saw that I may not need a transit visa. I did not get any information from the embassies through email and phone calls. Can anyone who has done this in the past, please advise on this?
-
1... and note that contrary to what the currently posted answer says, you can transit in KEF for this itinerary without leaving the international area of the airport.– hmakholm left over MonicaAug 7, 2017 at 16:25
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
As stated by Timatic, the database used by check-in staff:
Visa required, except for Holders of confirmed onward tickets transiting on the same calendar day
So if your connection is on the same day, you do not need a visa
answered Aug 7, 2017 at 16:43
Please note Iceland is a schengen country so you need a schengen visa to enter Iceland.
As with transit visas..
Nationals of the following countries need an Airport transit visa when transiting/passing through an airport in Iceland: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, The People's Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka. This does not apply however, if the above mentioned nationals have a residence permit in a Schengen country or specific types of permits issued in Great Britain, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, United States, Canada, Japan, Monaco, San Marino or Switzerland and the permits are valid three months longer than intended transiting/passing through an airport in Iceland. For further details on types of permits see appendix 4 in the regulation on visas.
http://utl.is/index.php/en/who-does-not-need-a-visa
Article 21 Visa for transit through airport
A national of a state enumerated in Appendix 4, Part I, shall have a valid Icelandic visa for transit through an airport when landing at an Icelandic airport on the way to a another destination or in order to change aircraft. A visa shall however not be required if the traveller is in possession of the permit to stay referred to in Appendix 4, Part II, and has a permit for returning to the country of stay which is effective for at least three months after his or her transit through the Icelandic airport.
https://eng.innanrikisraduneyti.is/laws-and-regulations/nr/860
-
Thanks a lot for the information. The issue I have is, Iceland doesn't have embassy in the US. It's operated by the Swedish embassy and I got no information calling them. It looks very confusing. I would like to hear from someone who has has done this in the past. But, they may not have a reason to get back to the forum and read this :( Aug 7, 2017 at 15:49
-
The House of Sweden is a building in Washington, D.C. which houses the Embassy of Sweden and the diplomatic missions of the Republic of Iceland, and the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United States. The Embassy of Iceland has been located at that address for more than 70 years and has it's own contact numbers: phone 202-265-6653, fax: 1-202-265-6656, email: [email protected]– GiorgioAug 7, 2017 at 16:05
-
1Keflavik certainly did have a non-Schengen transit area when I came through in late 2015. Note that the discussion thread you link to turned out to be about someone who had layovers in both Keflavik and Paris, and therefore needed to enter the Schengen area in KEF to get on the Schengen-internal flight to Paris. Aug 7, 2017 at 16:18
-
I really appreciate everyone for their efforts to help. Though WOW air didn't offer any help on the visa part, Icelandair executive suggested I won't need a visa. But, the more I read, it becomes more confusing. It would have been easier if I were applying from my home country. I am thinking of applying a schengen visa to be on the safer side of things. Aug 7, 2017 at 16:30
-
2