Expert: Cesar - 1/13/2010

Question
QUESTION: My friend is Colombian, and he has connect flight in Madrid, Spain after 10 hours. Does he need any visa?
Thanks for your answer.

ANSWER: Dear Zippi:

Normally, when people are in transit to other countries during their flights do not need a transit visa. You should ask the airline to make sure, which should be able to tell you (they have computer systems that include information about that). I think that the or one exception could be the United States for citizens of some countries. I am not really in the immigration business and I do not know where your friend is flying from and to, but I imagine the flight includes a stopover in Madrid and the person is leaving from Colombia. I suppose your friend is going to somewhere else in Europe or Asia. Normally when someone travels to Europe they need a visa that is good in several countries. For example: if the person is going to France then France will issue a visa that is also good in several countries in the European continent including for example Spain. Therefore by applying for a visa to say France then the person will be able to stay in Spain. Since it is just a transit flight then the person will not really have to stay in Spain and might remain in the plane or in a waiting room where the person will not be allowed to leave the waiting area. Therefore most of the time transit visas are not necessary. I do not know the law/regulations for Spain (for example if they have restrictions for citizens of some countries including Colombia) and therefore for your peace of mind you could contact the nearest consulate for Spain (but normally consulates are slow to respond or might not pick up the phone) or the airline your friend will be using.

Regards,

Cesar
www.CesarColombia.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My friend is going to Israel, and not leaving the airport. he doesn't need visa to Israel

Answer
Dear Zippi:

Transit visas are for people who would like to leave the airport at the stop over to do a short visit of the city (in this case Spain). In my opinion, if the person does not plan to leave at the airport then he will remain at the waiting room for the next plane. In this last situation the person should not need a transit visa. The problem is that some countries are starting to require the transit visa even for people who are not going to leave the airport. I do not know if Spain does that. Please see:

http://www.immihelp.com/visas/nonustransit.html

Based on what I found in the following website, Colombians need visa to stay in Spain, but not for transit:
http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/Bogota/es/home/Paginas/Home_Bogota.aspx

I based the answer on a document that appears at:
http://www.maec.es/subwebs/SiteCollectionDocuments/Documentaci%C3%B3n%20consular

They call it "visado aeroportuario" and abbreviate it as "VTA".

That page comes from the link below that talks about types of visas including short visas.
http://www.maec.es/SUBWEBS/CONSULADOS/BOGOTA/ES/MENUPPAL/SERVICIOS%20CONSULARES/

As you can see it is all a matter of keep looking. You can still contact the airline and the consulate.

PREVIOUS ANSWER:
One way to know is ask the Spain consulate or the airline. I am not an expert in Spain and their laws/regulations. Citizens from some countries need a transit visa when intending to transit in the international areas of the airport in Spain. The list they have is: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Congo (The Democratic Republic), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka. Israel and Colombia were not in the list.

http://spain.visapro.com/Transit-Airport-Visa.asp

More links:
http://www.consulate-spain-chicago.com/turista.htm

Spain is one of the Schengen countries as you can see at:
http://www.consulate-spain-chicago.com/schengen_countries_are.htm

More links:
http://www.learn4good.com/travel/es_visa.htm

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Spain/Spain-Guide/Visas-Permits/Visas

You can do additional searches in Google by typing something like (the Internet is a great source of information): transit visa for Spain
Or: “transit visa” and Spain

For peace of mind it is good to ask the airline (anyone can call an airline that does those flights and ask) and/or ask the consulate. Normally countries do not ask for a transit visa if the travelers are not allowed to leave the waiting room, but who knows for Spain since they do require transit visas.

Regards,

Cesar
www.ColombiaInforma.com