General Information

The airport transit visa allows transit in the international zone of the Schengen area airports but does not allow entry into the territory of the Schengen States. When the connection implies a change of air terminal that requires the passage of a border control, it will be necessary to apply for a Schengen visa.

Nationals of the following countries need a visa to transit through the international zone of any airport located in the territory of the Schengen States to take a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka.

In addition, nationals of the following countries need a visa to transit through the international zone of any airport located in Spain to take a connecting flight to a country outside the Schengen area: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, India, Liberia, Mali, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Syria, Togo and Yemen. Holders of passports issued by the Palestinian Authority also require a visa.

The nationals of the States included in the previous lists do not need an airport transit visa when they have a Schengen visa, or another type of visa, or a residence card that allows re-entry, issued by a Member State of the European Union or of the Space. European Economic (EEA) or Switzerland, or by Andorra, Canada, United States, Japan, or San Marino, or by some of the overseas countries and territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or when they are diplomatic passport holders, or family members of citizens of the Union or the EEA or Switzerland, or members of flight crews of the States party to ICAO.

The Schengen area covers 26 European countries with no border controls between them: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.

Processing Time

Please note as per the instructions received from Embassy of Spain minimum processing time is 15 days (without taking into account the days interrupted from the moment of requirement for additional documents by the Embassy, if any, to the moment of the presentation of these additional documents). Therefore applicants are kindly requested to submit visa application well in advance. Otherwise the Embassy does not guarantee that the visa will be issued in time.

Important Notice

• Except territorial-limited visas, Schengen visas are valid for the following countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Polonia, Portugal, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
• Visa applications are to be lodged personally.
• The Member State competent for examining and deciding upon a uniform visa application shall be: (a) the Member State whose territory constitutes the sole destination of the visit(s); (b) if traveling to more than one Member State, then the Member State intended as the main destination, that is, the one where the main purpose of the intended stay is to be carried out. If the main purpose can not be established then the Member State in which territory the applicant intends to stay the longest; c) when no main destination can be established according to these rules, the Member State whose border the applicant intends to cross first.
• Visa applications must be submitted within 6 months prior to the intended journey. In all cases applications are to be submitted at least 15 days in advance of the intended journey.
• Applications will not be admitted to processing in the following cases:
  • Failure to comply with the 6-months term
  • Application form different from the official one of the Embassy of Spain,
  • Passport or travel document not valid at least up to 3 months after your departure.
  • Photograph which does not meet established conditions.
  • Non-payment of visa fee –except for cases of exemption.
• Visa fee (except for cases of exemption) must be paid once application has been admitted to processing. It will only be reimbursed if the application is later considered not admissible or when the Embassy is not competent for processing your application.
• Applicants have the RIGHT TO SUBMIT ANY OTHER DOCUMENT that they consider relevant in support of their sapplication. The Embassy may request the submission of any other additional document deemed necessary or the applicants’ presence for a personal interview.
• Visa dossiers must include original documents –which will be returned to the visa applicants once the procedure is finished - and a good-quality copy of each document. The documents must be presented in order, following the document checklist for each kind of visa. If it is impossible to include original documents in the dossier, these can be replaced by their certified true copies, duly legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. As an exception, documents directly addressed to the Embassy or its officers will not be returned, so copies are not required –eg: letters of recommendation or in support of the application when addressed to the Embassy rather than to the applicant, etc. Should you fail to submit a copy of any of the originals you will be deemed relinquishing your right to be returned its original to the Embassy. Documents in languages other than Spanish or English need to be translated into either Spanish or English. Groups of applicants applying together must submit one copy of every shared document per application.