Transiting through Oslo, Norway

[narakthisud 174]

Here's an oddball question:

My fiancee and I are looking at tickets from BKK to JFK. Norwegian Air is coming up in nearly every search with the lowest fare. However, this would require a stop in Oslo. Does anyone know if Thai nationals require a transit visa? I've been reading about this online and I'm not 100% confident that she can travel without a Norwegian transit visa.

Here's what I've seen so far:

• http://norway.nlembassy.org/shared/products-and-services/products-and-services/schengen-visa/airport-transit-visa
  You do not require a Schengen airport transit visa, if you ... Hold a visa valid for [...] the United States
• https://www.oslo.com/v/visa-requirements/
  For nationals from countries from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka, you must have a special airport transit visa if you are to stop in Norway on your way to another country outside the Schengen area.
  
• http://www.vfsglobal.com/norway/thailand/allaboutyourvisas.html
  No mention of any sort of "transit" visa here. Puzzling!

[ScotchHans 8]

For lay over flights, you do not need any visa for the country which you will stop over. I had travelled a couple of times with Oslo being my lay over country and its just fine, they'll have guides on where the transferring passengers will pass for verification anyway.

Goodluck

[narakthisud 174]

For lay over flights, you do not need any visa for the country which you will stop over. I had travelled a couple of times with Oslo being my lay over country and its just fine, they'll have guides on where the transferring passengers will pass for verification anyway.

Goodluck

Thank you. Like me, you're a US citizen, right? We have it pretty easy around the world.

My concern is that my Thai fiancee will face a little more difficulty.

[ScotchHans 8]

Nope, I am actually a Filipino but I have a dual citizenship, I carry a British passport too. But I used my Fil passport on those flights as I will be entering Phil. It will actually be fine, as she is not gonna get off the airport anyway. As long as she has the American visa, she will be allowed.

[NDB052714 122]

Nope, I am actually a Filipino but I have a dual citizenship, I carry a British passport too. But I used my Fil passport on those flights as I will be entering Phil. It will actually be fine, as she is not gonna get off the airport anyway. As long as she has the American visa, she will be allowed.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe the comment "as long as she has the American visa, she will be allowed" is correct. It is the person's passport/citizenship that determines whether or not a visa is required.

I heard of a story recently where a Thai and an American had flight tickets that routed them through Vienna on the way to the US. When they checked in at the airport in BKK they were not allowed to leave on the booked flight because the Thai didn't have an appropriate visa for a layover in Vienna. So they ended up having to spend a lot of money on the spot to book a different flight/route.

Good luck!

[narakthisud 174]

I'm sorry, but I don't believe the comment "as long as she has the American visa, she will be allowed" is correct. It is the person's passport/citizenship that determines whether or not a visa is required.

I heard of a story recently where a Thai and an American had flight tickets that routed them through Vienna on the way to the US. When they checked in at the airport in BKK they were not allowed to leave on the booked flight because the Thai didn't have an appropriate visa for a layover in Vienna. So they ended up having to spend a lot of money on the spot to book a different flight/route.

Good luck!

Thanks. My fiancee and I tend to be more cautious, anyway. I ended up e-mailing the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok for their take on this. Basically, as long as she has a through-routed ticket (BKK > OSL, OSL > JFK on the same itinerary), isn't staying in the airport beyond 24 hours, and has a valid US visa, she'll be fine. If she were to, for example, book two separate tickets BKK > OSL and another OSL > JFK, then she'd have some trouble.

At any rate, we're probably going to end up choosing Korean Air since it's only about $70 more and she's flown with them before with no visa issues.

But hey, this was a great learning experience! 555

Edited December 20, 2016 by narakthisud