Transiting from the US to the UK through Madrid - would I pass through border control in Spain?
Upvote:3
The overlapping rules and institutions are somewhat confusing (and the comments a little bit too) but here is how it works:
The European Union does not have a unified border or visa policy. EU citizens enjoy extensive freedom of movement rights within the EU but that does not mean other people do or that there can be no border controls between EU countries. As a US citizen, you are what's called a “third-country national” in EU lingo and EU rules do not directly concern you for this purpose.
The Schengen area is a border-free area with a single visa policy for short stays. It's tightly linked with the EU but not fully coextensive with it. Precisely, all EU countries except the UK and Ireland are supposed to join the Schengen area eventually but Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia haven't done it yet. And all other EU countries (and some non-EU countries like Norway and Switzerland) are already part of the Schengen area.
Border checks have been lifted between Schengen countries so if you go from one Schengen country to the other, you don't have to go through passport control or get your passport stamped. On the other hand, if you leave a Schengen country (say Spain) to go to a non-Schengen country (including the UK), you will have to go through a Schengen exit control.
But but but… international airports in the Schengen area (and the UK, Turkey, the Middle East…) work differently than in the US. If you don't need to leave the transit area of the airport, come from a non-Schengen country and go to another non-Schengen country, the visa requirements are different and you generally don't have to formally enter the Schengen area and complete the entry formalities. In simple terms: No passport control for your trip.
Finally, no matter what the theory says, spot checks can happen everywhere. They happen increasingly frequently on land borders within the Schengen area (in ways that are becoming difficult to defend legally speaking but that's another question…) and they also happen at airports. In that case, if there is no proper passport check area to reopen temporarily, police officers can also simply stand right out of the jet bridge and ask passengers to show their documents before they actually enter the airport building (this happened to me so I can vouch it does exist).
In that case, it's not an “external” border check, which means that the police asks people to show an ID or passport (and, as applicable, visas or residence permits) but should not stamp them. I don't think that's very common and I would expect that to be even less likely in Madrid for a flight coming from the US but that's pure guesswork on my part.
More post
- 📝 Does employment make a difference when applying for a visitor visa?
- 📝 Crossing the Canadian border with all your camping/mountaineering/mountain biking gear?
- 📝 If we miss a connection in Toronto what should we expect the airline to do?
- 📝 Visa refused because I already have a seaman's visa
- 📝 How can I get a 1968 international driving permit (French citizen, US permanent resident, with a US driving license converted from a French license)?
- 📝 I can't print my return boarding passes using the TUI website, how should I proceed?
- 📝 Do the UK and USA share immigration information?
- 📝 Entering Australia with 3 different nationalities?
- 📝 Labuhan Lombok to Poto Tano, how to?
- 📝 Germany emission sticker (Umweltplakette) Violation
- 📝 Can one obtain a visa for a third country in their home country if they do not currently live in the home country?
- 📝 How do I know how much time was given to me to stay in the USA?
- 📝 Has anyone who are non-EU travelled to Greece with UK work permit visa?
- 📝 Can I apply for USA B1 visa if my passport is expiring in next 5 months?
- 📝 Where can I buy a pre-paid SIM card that will work in Andorra?
- 📝 10-kilo biryani rice in check-in baggage
- 📝 Can a 17-year-old travel to Portugal with an 18-year-old friend?
- 📝 How do I travel as dual citizen of the US and New Zealand?
- 📝 When will the Gramercy be imploded?
- 📝 Next day visa - Wait five minutes to enter?
- 📝 Does a Bangladeshi need a visa for Northern Ireland?
- 📝 What happens if the on-board headcount shows that the wrong number of people have boarded the airplane?
- 📝 26 hour layover in Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 📝 Does adding another bed count as adding another guest on Booking.com?
- 📝 If I am now a Australian citizen and I still have a NZ passport
- 📝 Can I visit other GCC countries if I hold a valid visa for one of them?
- 📝 Malaysia to Thailand and again Malaysia Visit
- 📝 Can I really "wear" my luggage?
- 📝 Am I eligible for a Schengen visa if my passport will expire in 3 months?
- 📝 How many days do you need (minimum) to visit Oslo and others?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Transiting from the US to the UK through Madrid - would I pass through border control in Spain?
- 📝 Would the most logical path from Normandy to the Bavarian Alps (Germany) pass through Lyon?
- 📝 Will I be able to pass through immigration and customs from foreign country to the U.S with damaged green card after an absence of more than one year?
- 📝 Transiting from the US through the UK on a Child Visitor visa
- 📝 Is it possible to cross the border from Kosovo to Serbia without visa for Jordanian passport?
- 📝 Connecting Jet airways flight Mumbai to Jaipur, after flying in from Frankfurt. What would be the luggage allowance?
- 📝 My friend lost her HKSAR passport, how can she return to HK from Chile, via the US or transiting elsewhere?
- 📝 Can I use the 1-Day CTA pass from O'Hare?
- 📝 Transiting through the UK both ways on a return journey
- 📝 From Canada to Norway, through the North Pole, is that possible?
- 📝 Do I have to go through Canadian immigration before crossing the border by walk to the US?
- 📝 Can a US citizen leave the airport briefly while transiting through Zurich?
- 📝 Can I get a 5-day visa when entering Shenzhen through the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link from Hong Kong?
- 📝 French Pass Sanitaire for travelers coming from outside the EU
- 📝 When did/does the Trans-Mongolian pass through Datong?
- 📝 Questions about using the interrail pass from Rotterdam to Budapest
- 📝 Visa requirements for Indian Nationals transiting through Schengen to the UK, by train/ferry?
- 📝 Is it legal to bring a Jamon Iberico from Spain into the UK, passing through France?
- 📝 Can I travel to Burma/Myanmar over land across the border from China?
- 📝 What would Brexit mean for my immediate Europe travel plans from the UK?
- 📝 What is the best time to leave from Baja Mexico to San Diego, California through Vehicle/Pedestrian crossings?
- 📝 Can you step out of the airport for some time while transiting through Casablanca Airport?
- 📝 Can I cross the border from Vietnam to China with a motorcycle?
- 📝 How to get from Hong Kong airport to Shenzhen while obtaining a 5-day visa at the border and if possible avoiding stairs?
- 📝 Procedure for crossing the land border from Canada to the USA for visa-exempt national?
- 📝 Transiting through Scotland from a quarantined country
- 📝 What's the point of having a Good To Go! pass aside from avoiding the extra 25¢USD/trip?
- 📝 Travel to Italy from the UK - Is the NHS COVID Pass sufficient to fulfil the Green Pass requirements?
- 📝 Can a Japanese citizen get a visa for Iran at the border from Pakistan?
- 📝 How to travel from Kitwe in Zambia to Kabale in Uganda through the DRC