Transiting at a Dutch airport

If you are making a brief stop or changing planes at an airport in the Netherlands, check whether you need a visa. This will depend on your nationality and destination.

Visa required?

• you change planes on the way to your next destination without leaving the international transit zone. This means you do not go through passport control;
• your plane makes a brief stop and you stay on the plane or wait in the international transit zone until your plane leaves for your next destination.

If any of these situations applies to you, you may need an airport transit visa. This will depend on your nationality and destination. Answer a few questions to find out what applies to you. Answer ‘airport transit in the Netherlands’ to the first question.

Are you a family member of a national of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland?

If you are a family member of a national of an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland, you may not need an airport transit visa. Check below whether you meet the requirements regarding family members.

What are the 3 requirements that family members must meet?

1. You are a family member of a national of an EU or EEA member state (other than the Netherlands) or Switzerland. And you can prove this with a birth certificate or marriage certificate. In this case a family member is a: spouse, registered partner, parent or stepparent, grandparent or stepgrandparent, child or stepchild, or grandchild or stepgrandchild.
2. You are travelling to or with this family member.
   or;
   You have a valid visa or valid residence permit as a family member of an EU citizen. And this visa or residence permit was issued by an EU or EEA member state or Switzerland.
3. You have a valid visa or valid residence permit for your final destination.

If you meet the requirements

If you meet all 3 requirements you do not need an airport transit visa for the Netherlands. But you must be able to show various documents. Check the website of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) to see which documents you need in order to transit through the Netherlands.

If you do not (or may not) meet the requirements

If you don’t know whether you meet the requirements, or you can’t prove that you do, apply for an airport transit visa.

Are you a Turkish national?

As of 1 December 2022 most travellers with a Turkish passport will need an airport transit visa when transferring at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.

Do you live in the United Kingdom?

If you live in the United Kingdom, new rules apply to transfers at an airport in the Netherlands due to Brexit.

Not in transit?

If you are not in transit, for example because you have to collect your luggage and check it in for your next flight, check whether you need a Schengen visa. Answer ‘90 days or less’ to the first question.

Also useful

• Can I leave the international transit zone at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport?
• Can I visit Amsterdam or other places in the Netherlands during my transit period?
• What will happen to my luggage?