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I am traveling from Canada to Amsterdam with single entry Schengen visa. I have booked return flight to Dubai in the middle of the trip for some work: AMS > Dubai > AMS. Then I will fly back to Canada from Amsterdam.

Wanted to ask if I can take the return flight to Canada since I would have exited Schengen area already for Dubai. Not sure if I can enter again and take my flight to Canada

DavidRecallsMonica
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Travel-ams
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    Without citizenship and residence status in Canada hard to answer. Didn't you inform them of your travel intention when making the application? – Mark Johnson Jan 26 '20 at 21:12
  • Without a Schengen visa you won't be able to re-enter the Schengen area a second time when you return to Amsterdam. However, you might be able to transit at Amsterdam without a visa if you remain in the airside part of the terminal. That depends on your citizenship and residence status in Canada. –  Jan 26 '20 at 22:04
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    What’s your citizenship? What’s your status in Canada? Would the two flights from Dubai to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Canada be on the same ticket, or booked separately? – jcaron Jan 26 '20 at 22:21
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    Dubai ticket was booked separately, I planned that trip later on :( I have canadian PR, that’s my status in Canada – Travel-ams Jan 26 '20 at 23:15
  • How long do you plan to spend in Amsterdam on the Dubai>AMS>Canada part of the trip? Will it just be a transit through the international zone of the airport? – Patricia Shanahan Jan 27 '20 at 04:39
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    It’s a 6 hour wait at the airport, and planning to stay at the airport. But these two flights were booked separately. It’s not like a connecting flight situation. I’ll have to collect my luggage and hence pass through passport control/immigration. And then take my next flight again (could be from another terminal) – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 09:57
  • @PatriciaShanahan why does the duration of stay in the airport matter? – phoog Jan 27 '20 at 16:29
  • @phoog Needing to go somewhere to sleep is one of the reasons for having to pass immigration. – Patricia Shanahan Jan 27 '20 at 16:32
  • @PatriciaShanahan not at Schiphol. Nor at most other major Schengen airports. – phoog Jan 27 '20 at 16:33
  • You don’t always have to pass immigration to collect your luggage. Your onward airline maybe able to do it for you. – uberqe Jan 27 '20 at 16:53
  • What if I only travel with handcarry? how will I get the boarding pass? – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 17:05
  • @PatriciaShanahan – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 17:09
  • @Travel-ams if you take only hand luggage you will still have to convince the airline carrying you from Dubai to Amsterdam that you will not attempt to go through passport control. I don't know how readily an airline would accept this, but I suspect that it varies from one airline to another. It's probably far less stressful just to apply for another visa from the Dutch consulate. – phoog Jan 27 '20 at 17:29
  • I would have surely done that but I am flying tomorrow so don't have that option. – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 21:47
  • I talked to people at Netherlands airport, they said if I stay in the transit area and have a hand carry only then there won't be any issue. For Dubai to Amsterdam, they asked me to show them my flight from Amsterdam to Toronto & with Canadian PR I can have transit there, so I should be good I guess (it's not a connecting flight so still not sure). Still feels risky a bit, but can give it a shot. Have been to Netherlands embassy & czech republic embassy too. Honestly no one had a definite answer to the situation. – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 21:53

2 Answers2

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With a single-entry Schengen visa you cannot re-enter the Schengen area as a visitor once you have left it by flying to Dubai.

You are permitted to transit the Schengen area without a visa since you hold a valid visa for Canada. However for this to work you must fulfil some strict conditions:

  • You cannot pass through immigration in Amsterdam. You cannot collect luggage, including anything left in Amsterdam, and you will have to make arrangements for any luggage from your Dubai flight to be transferred to you Canada flight.
  • You will have to convince boarding staff in Dubai that you will be able to transit in Amsterdam, otherwise they will not let you board the flight.

For more details see the answer to this question.

DJClayworth
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    Could there be a problem if the OP has checked bags? – Patricia Shanahan Jan 27 '20 at 05:11
  • Hi, thank you for your response. My concern was mainly if my situation is considered as transit or not. Since these two flights are completely different, and booked at different times. I’ll be back in Amsterdam from dubai, will collect my luggage, (hence will pass through passport control). Probably will have to go to another terminal or so, and take the flight for Toronto. Reading on internet, it doesn’t look like it is considered as a transit. – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 09:55
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    One issue is that the Airline you booked the AMS - Dubai - AMS flights on will consider you as having Amsterdam as final destination, and will thus see that you have a Schengen visa. Without it they may not allow you to board. – Krist van Besien Jan 27 '20 at 10:45
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    That’s my guess too. I’ll try changing my flight from dubai to toronto directly, would cost me more but it’s safer, right? – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 11:39
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    Are both your bookings with the same airline (or airlines from the same alliance). Look if you can connect the bookings. That way your Dubai - Amsterdam - Toronto flight would become a true transit through Amsterdam, and that would not be an issue. – Krist van Besien Jan 27 '20 at 13:00
  • I'm not aware of any time constraint on airport transit. Can you point to an official source for that? – phoog Jan 27 '20 at 16:29
  • UK has a limit (24 or 48 hours) and US has a limit that it must be the shortest reasonable time to effect the transit - meaning that you can't wait in the airport while several reasonable flights to your destination depart (because that implies that you are there for something other than transitting). I am presuming that Schengen has a similar rule in defining transit, though I don't know what it is. – DJClayworth Jan 27 '20 at 17:05
  • @DJClayworth the Schengen area has no such rule. See the Schengen Visa Code. (There is little mention of airport transit in the Schengen Borders Code because that regulation primarily concerns the conditions under which people may cross through passport control checkpoints, and an airport transit visa does not authorize that.) – phoog Jan 27 '20 at 17:38
  • @KristvanBesien both bookings are different airlines, although I tried to connect them some way but unfortunately there is no other way – Travel-ams Jan 27 '20 at 21:48
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In a comment, you wrote

I’ll be back in Amsterdam from dubai, will collect my luggage, (hence will pass through passport control).

To go through passport control, you need a valid Schengen visa, type C or D. (An airport transit visa, type A, does not allow the bearer to pass through passport control, and there is no longer a type B visa.)

Your single entry Schengen visa will no longer be valid because you will have used it already for one entry. Therefore, you cannot make this trip unless you get a new visa.

The above analysis assumes that you are not eligible for visa-free entry into the Schengen area. This is a reasonable assumption given your single entry visa.

In practice, if you try this trip without getting another visa, you can expect that the airline will not permit you to board the flight from Dubai to Amsterdam.

phoog
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