My Schengen visa starts from 28/08, but my flight will have a transit stop in Zurich (still be 27/08). Will that be a problem? Will they even let me on board in the first place? The transit does not include leaving and reentering the airport and my luggage will be directly delivered to the next flight.
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There are two possibilities here.
The first is that your flight from Zurich will take you to another airport in the Schengen area. For example, your itinerary could be Istanbul-Zurich-Paris. In this case, you cannot make the trip because you will enter the Schengen area in Zurich so your visa needs to be valid on arrival in Zurich.
The second is that your flight from Zurich is to a destination outside the Schengen area. For example, your itinerary could be Istanbul-Zurich-London. In that case you need to determine whether you need an airport transit visa in Switzerland. Nationals of certain countries require such a visa, but there are several exemptions to the requirement depending on other visas or residence permits you may hold. You can find more information by clicking "travelling to Switzerland" on the home page of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
It seems likely that your flight is to another Schengen airport (because you have a Schengen visa) and that you have an overnight transit in Zurich (assuming your visa was issued to reflect your date of arrival at the final destination). In this case, you should in theory be able to make the trip provided that you wait until midnight before going to the passport control point. The airline, however, will probably be reluctant to let you board in this circumstance. Your best bet is probably to try to talk to the Swiss border control office and the airline before the trip to ensure that everyone understands what's happening. You can find contact information for the Swiss border control office at How to contact border authorities in EU/Schengen countries?
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