Are Indian citizens required a Schengen visa when in transit?

Do Indian citizens require a Schengen visa when in transit?

• Last year I traveled from London to Lima, Peru via Amsterdam (on KLM) and did not have a valid Schengen visa. However, I never cleared passport control in the Netherlands and could catch my connecting flight on the way there and back without a problem. This month I traveled from London to Guayaquil, Ecuador via Madrid (on Iberia/LAN) and did go through passport control on the way back, though not on the way out. On the way back to London my passport was stamped twice in Madrid when disembarking from the flight from Ecuador and when embarking on the flight to London (approximately 90 minutes apart). This time I luckily did have a valid Schengen visa, so did not have any problem either. However, I am confused about what documentation I should have. Could someone please clarify what the rules are regarding Indian citizens transiting through Schengen? I am a full-time UK resident. Thanks in advance.

• Answer:

  In your case you are visa exempted since you hold a valid residence permit of a European Union country. In general citizens of India only need an Airside Transit Visa (ATV) for certain Schengen countries. Those are: Czech Republic [CZ], Denmark [DK], Germany [DE], Greece [EL], France [FR], Poland [PL], Spain [ES] and Switzerland [CH]. The requirement to hold an ATV is mostly waived for those who hold a residence permit of a EU/EEA country or of Canada, Japan, Switzerland, United States. Some countries like Denmark and Germany also waive the ATV requirement for visa holders to Canada or the United States. No ATV is required for Indian citizens to transit through airports of Austria [AT], Belgium [BNL], Estonia [EE], Finland [FI], Hungary [HU], Iceland [IS], Italy [IT], Latvia [LV], Lithuania [LT], Luxembourg [BNL], Malta [MT], the Netherlands [BNL], Norway [NO], Portugal [PT], Slovakia [SK], Slovenia [SI], and Sweden [SE], if they stay in the international transit area. http://www.nyidanmark.dk/NR/rdonlyres/8F3A05CA-3215-42CF-96F7-0D12E0A29674/0/16260_samlet.pdf [see page 15] http://www.bfm.admin.ch/etc/medialib/data/migration/rechtsgrundlagen/weisungen_und_kreisschreiben/Weisungen_Visa.Par.0027.File.tmp/Annex-1-List-1-ID-and-visa-provisions%E2%80%93particularities-regardless-of%20nationality.pdf ..