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I have a visa that starts on March 15th and my flight arrives on the 14th at 11:30 PM. Would I be allowed to board the plane, as I am certain I will not be going through the immigration procedures until after 12:00 and it is already the 15th?

JonathanReez
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user134476
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  • I mean arriving to the airport, leaving the plane and then to passport control. Ive asked some people and they said that you can wait until its 12 and then do the passport control. I am just scared from the home airport not letting me on the flight. – user134476 Mar 13 '23 at 13:56
  • Because the plane lands at 11:30 PM and when its 12, my visa starts. What do you think? – user134476 Mar 13 '23 at 13:57
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    If you mean that you’re relying on the time it takes between your plane landing and you getting to immigration to get you past the start date of your visa, then yes, you have a problem. The airline won’t let you board unless your visa is valid on the date your flight lands. – Traveller Mar 13 '23 at 13:58
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    What will you do if the flight has a following wind and arrives 30 minutes early? – Weather Vane Mar 13 '23 at 13:59
  • It might also matter why you got into this situation in the first place. If it's because your flight got rescheduled a few hours earlier,the airline staff might be somewhat understanding. They likely won't be if the reason is that you wanted to absolutely max out the allowed length of stay. – TooTea Mar 13 '23 at 14:26
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    Similar questions: https://travel.stackexchange.com/q/72111/4171 https://travel.stackexchange.com/q/46211/4171 – Ari Brodsky Mar 13 '23 at 14:29
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    Not all airports have arrangements where you can wait after arrival before going through immigration and your plane may for whatever reason be diverted to a different destination. I honestly can't imagine that the airline will let you board. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Mar 13 '23 at 16:15
  • @Nelson OP says they arrive at 11:30PM. – Loocid Mar 14 '23 at 00:55
  • The airline might make you sign a paper that you'll have to pay for your flight back if you are getting deny the entrance in the country. If they don't suggest it, you can try to negotiate it with them. But overall, it's just a last resort solution if you really want to take the risk. – Eskignax Mar 14 '23 at 02:37
  • Technically, you're in the country the moment the plane lands, whether you pass immigration is not that relevant. If you commit a crime or are the victim of a crime the moment you exit the airplane, destination police will handle it. If you have a medical emergency, you'll be brought to a hospital in the destination country, and if you drop dead on the way, the destination country needs to get rid of your body. Your destination country is willing to accept those risks from the 15th but not on the 14th. – Guntram Blohm Mar 14 '23 at 07:10

1 Answers1

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Would I be allowed to board the plane?

Assuming the airline doesn't make a mistake, you will most likely be denied boarding. Yes, this might not make sense from a practical standpoint, but airlines usually stick to the rules. So if you want to be safe, change your flight to a later day.

I will not be going through the immigration procedures until after 12:00 and it is already the 15th

If you somehow convince the airline to let you board the plane, this should indeed work. If you show up at 00:01 with a visa valid on that day, you should be allowed into the country. But unless you're willing to risk forfeiting your ticket, I wouldn't plan on doing this.

JonathanReez
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  • Comments have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed. – JonathanReez Mar 14 '23 at 22:13