Do I need a visa if I have a connecting flight in France?

Who needs an Airport Transit French Visa (ATV)? This short-stay visa type is destined for foreigners who want to temporarily stay in the international zone of a French airport, between connecting flights to travel to another international zone/s of another Schengen country/ies.



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Yes, a Schengen visa is needed even for transit. This type of visa is valid for 24 hours and can only be used in the transit area of a Schengen country airport. If you want to leave the transit area and go anywhere outside, you need to have a regular Schengen visa in that case.

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Also, if your transit time does not exceed 12 hours, you will not need a German transit visa. Note that if you need to stop at more than only one airport within the Schengen area, you will then need to apply for a regular Schengen visa.

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In most, not all, countries if you are transitting you remain airside and do not pass immigration. Therefor, you do not need a visa. In the US, however, if you are transitting and change planes, you have to clear customs and immigration, collect your baggage and check in again.

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If during transit through a German airport, you do not leave the International Airport Area and if your destination is not within the Schengen area, you do not need a transit visa.

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You might have to go through customs during a layover, especially if your layover is in the Schengen Area (which consists of most countries in the EU). For example, if your final destination is Paris, France, but you have a layover in Madrid, Spain, you will actually go through customs in Spain, not France.

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By default all connecting passengers have to go through security and plenty of airports do this for everyone regardless of where you come from (London (LHR), Paris (CDG), Doha (DOH), etc.)

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Foreigners who NEED an Airport Transit French Visa to transit through a French airport to another destination are citizens of the following countries:
  • Afghanistan,
  • Angola,
  • Bangladesh,
  • Cameroon,
  • Chad,
  • Cuba,
  • The Republic of Congo,
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo,


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You'll need to clear customs and immigration. Next, you'll recheck your luggage for the domestic flight. Finally, you'll need to go through Transportation Security Administration screening. This may include a physical inspection of your luggage and personal items with a metal detector or a full-body scan.

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Generally, if you are on an internal flight, once you land for your stopover, you will pass through the transfer area that will take you to the gate for your next flight where check-in is not required.

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You are arriving from outside the Schengen Area and your destination is in a non-Schengen country: Usually no passport check is mandatory, provided that you do not leave the transit zone. Depending on your nationality, you may require a transit visa. If in doubt, please contact an embassy or consulate of your country.

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Is 1.5 hours enough for a connecting flight in Frankfurt? Yes if you're not having to retrieve baggage and recheck them. If they're transferred to your connecting flight, 1.5 hours is enough time.

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Transit Visa Required Countries
  • Afghanistan.
  • Albania.
  • Cuba.
  • Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Eritrea.
  • Ethiopia*


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You'll need to clear customs and immigration. Next, you'll recheck your luggage for the domestic flight. Finally, you'll need to go through Transportation Security Administration screening. This may include a physical inspection of your luggage and personal items with a metal detector or a full-body scan.

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You might need a Visitor in Transit visa if you're: changing flights in the UK on your way to another country. going through UK border control, for example to check in your luggage for a connecting flight. leaving the UK within 48 hours.

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Schengen area countries Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

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While the Airport Transit Visa allows its holder to travel through the international zone of the Schengen Country Airport without entering the Schengen Country Area the Transit visa which allows its holder to transit within no more than 5 days through more than one Schengen country by car, coach or plane on the way to ...

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You need a transit visa to change planes even if you're not planning on leaving the airport but are exempt from that requirement if have a valid visa for an EU/EEA country, Canada, Japan or the United States of America.

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