Arriving in a transit airport in Schengen area the night before the effective Visa date

Upvote:2

Both Germany and Finland are in the Schengen Area, so the flight between Frankfurt and Finland is internal to Schengen, and you enter the Schengen Area in Frankfurt and that will be problem if your visa is not valid.

Your problems might (should) already start when you try to baord the plane in Shanghai as the airline will probably not allow you to board with a visa that won't be valid when you land (they'll be fined if they do).

Upvote:5

What you've found by googling is correct, the VAC staff member seems to have misinformed you. Flights within the Schengen area, such as your flight from Frankfurt to Helsinki, are esssentially "domestic" flights for immigration purposes - there are generally no immigration controls before or after them (occasional spot-checks may be possible). Your paperwork (passport, visa, etc.) is checked (and stamped, if applicable) when you arrive and when you depart the Schengen area as a whole. With the itinerary you've described, that means you will need a valid visa to enter the Schengen area when you arrive in Frankfurt on the 15th. Without one, you won't be allowed to board the plane in Shanghai (and if somehow you are, you won't be allowed in when you reach Frankfurt).

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