airport transit visa question

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S_B_GC

Registered Users (C)
folks,

I will be travelling using Advance parole to India by Air India (via paris). I heard it is one straight flight from Newark to Mumbai. The question is do i need to obtain a airport transit visa (france) for my travel? Since i'm on I-485 my earlier H1B visa stamp in the passport had already expired. I'm solely dependent on AP. Any similar travel experience? Please comment. Thanks for the info.
 
Time again people ask this question, no you DON'T need a transit visa. My friends just flew 2 weeks back and no one even asked for anything, you will be just going from one gate to another gate at Paris. So take it easy, don't take any visa. If you call airlines/consulate they will ask you to take one but they just tell things as they don't understand it completely.
 
I don't think you will need a transit visa to travel via Paris.We had taken the same flight last time. They didn't even ask us to step out of the flight at Paris.The cleanign crew came and cleaned the flight with the travellers on..
 
Don't know about Paris but through Frankfurt I have seen in Atlanta they don't even let you board the flight if you don't have transit visa (in case your US visa is expired). I went to drop my parents and they refused one Indian guy to board since he didn't have transit visa and his visa to US was expired.

Last year when my wife was coming from India through Paris, she had a valid US visa and still some authorities in Paris harassed her for transit visa but after some explanation they let her go.

Also one of my friend's friend who is a US permanent resident was taken to jail for a day in Spain (he was travelling to russia) for not having a transit visa around 6 months back.

Last month my wife travelled again to India through Frankfurt and I made sure that she gets transit visa and as expected they checked that on airport before issuing her boarding pass.

If I would you I would definitely get transit visa just to avoid all the tension.
 
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S_B_GC,

End of Aug'03 I travelled from Newark to Bangalore in AI via Paris. My H1 was expired, was travelling using AP. Never got a transit visa and you dont need it as you will NOT be allowed to get out of the plane. All you need is the guts to sit through the aircraft cleaning while you are inside the aircraft. As usual, AI doesnt have the capacity to pay Paris govt the required fees to allow their passengers use Paris airport facilities. So they dont let you out. On the way back, in Paris they immigration people came into the flight and checked all passenger's passport for visa/AP. Thats my experience. Be prepared to carry a headphone coz you might not get one in the plane. Even if you ask them, they wont give you. Very "polite" and "customer oriented" service people

Good luck with your trip
 
S_B_GC,

Transit visa has always been a concern for those travelling on AP with an expired US visa.

My friend travelled through AI (via Prais) on Oct. 4th 2003, and had this same question to deal with. Having only couple of days before leaving, he took the risk of travelling without a visa and made it successfully to India. He left from EWR. Do not know it rules differ from airport to airport. Travelling AI you will stay in the aircraft itself.

You are better off writing to the concerned embassy and get an answer from them. If they say it's not required, take a print-out with you while travelling to justify that you did make attempts to get the transit visa.


Hope this information helps.
 
I came back this Sunday ...

from paris. You dont get off the plane in paris so u dont need any transit visa. also I saw that airlines people wer handing out some transit visa cars to thos ewho wan tot just go out to do some duty free shopping and come back. So u dont need a transit visa travelling on AP.
 
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