2

Nationality: Non EU

Hi, I have a temporary residence permit from Portugal which has expired, I am awaiting the Blue Card, meanwhile, I have to travel to Poland from Portugal. I was checking a flight from Lisbon to Krakow, which has a layover at Eindhoven airport, Netherlands. I wanted to know if I will pass through immigration at Eindhoven airport when landing from Lisbon, because passing through immigration will be a problem. Where can I confirm if I will have to go through immigration or not? Since both Portugal and Netherlands are in the Schengen Border Free zone, I am of the assumption that I will not pass through immigration, but the website where I'm booking the flight shows the warning in the screenshot.

enter image description here

As a side note, I have the receipt of paying for the blue card. Will that be accepted for traveling?

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    That warning shouldn't be shown for this itinerary. Transferring between two Schengen internal flights, you will never enter the "visa-free transit zone." That said, you do run the risk of being asked to show that your presence in the Schengen area is authorized, and I do not know whether documenting your pending blue card would be sufficient.
    – phoog
    Commented Sep 9, 2022 at 19:28
  • @phoog - thank you for your comment. Can you tell me what’s the worst that can happen? Deportation? But deportation to the country I boarded the flight from?
    – stealthmode
    Commented Sep 9, 2022 at 21:41
  • @AbhishekSha the worst that can happen would be being detained for hours/days/weeks and then deported back to your country of origin if in their opinion you’re not supposed to be in Schengen. Not sure how likely deportation is (it would take quite a few steps to get to that, and a good lawyer should get you out of trouble, but that’s huge costs for you), but being detained for at least a few hours until they can clarify things does not seem that unlikely if you stumble on a random check and they don’t like whatever paperwork you have.
    – jcaron
    Commented Sep 9, 2022 at 23:55

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

In theory, within the Schengen Area, there are no internal passport/visa checks (though there may be ID checks for security reasons), but you are supposed to be able to prove your status at any time.

In practice:

  • There can be temporary border checks when entering some countries in some circumstances (terrorism, security, migrant crisis…). There are currently no such checks in Portugal, the Netherlands or Poland
  • There can be spot checks anywhere and anytime
  • Some airlines do additional checks even if they’re not supposed to. Ryanair for instance will require all non-EU/EEA passengers to prove they have the relevant documentation.

So it’s probably not a good idea to travel without the proper documents.

Improve this answer
2
  • Appreciate your detailed answer. I just saw that Ryanair has the same mentioned on your website and I thank you for your tip. Do you know if LOT, TAP, or easyJet also do this type of check?
    – stealthmode
    Commented Sep 9, 2022 at 22:46
  • @AbhishekSha I would very strongly recommend against trying to sneak around rules. This site is full of the sad stories of people caught in those. There can be spot checks anywhere and anytime. You will be banned from the Schengen zone if you are caught without the proper documents.
    – user4188
    Commented Sep 11, 2022 at 17:41
2

The previous comments and answers failed to notice that this is not a regular transfer. This is a kiwi.com unprotected self-transfer, where tickets are booked seperately and not through a carrier or a carrier alliance. In this case it may be required to exit to landside at an airport without flight transfer facilities and go through security again.

Kiwi.com informed you on the warning that Eindhoven airport probably will require you to go through security again, so make sure you have all the correct documents or book a regular connecting flight to avoid any mishaps. I have seen people have to prove their visa status while boarding an intra-schengen flight before, so I would be really cautious.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .