Visa question please

Upvote:4

You say your J-1 expired in June 2015. I assume you are an Indian citizen.

Indian citizens require an airport transit visa to transit in Germany, although there is an exemption if you hold a valid visa for any of several countries, including the United States. The exemption also applies if you are returning from one of those countries, having used a valid visa to travel there.

It's not entirely clear whether this exemption should include travelers who are returning from a trip using a valid visa, where the return journey falls after the expiration of the visa. Advice on the German consular site suggests that you should apply for an airport transit visa:

If your resident status has expired, please note:

The longer the time gap between the expiration date of the visa and the return from the USA, the higher the likeliness of facing complications when transiting through Germany.

The final decision whether an airplane can be boarded or a transit zone can be entered without a transit visa lies with the airlines or German Border Police, respectively. Therefore, the embassy advises clients whose US visa has expired to apply for a transit visa.

(I've changed some of the punctuation and capitalization to conform with English rules; the original has some German-style punctuation.)

Since your visa has expired nearly a year ago, you should no doubt follow this advice.

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