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I booked return flights on KLM from South Africa to the US (SA passport). On the return leg I'm going to have layovers in both Paris CDG (~ 1.5 hours) and Amsterdam Schipol (7 hours). At booking time I wasn't warned that this would require leaving the international zone for the Paris-Amsterdam leg. Am I in trouble here?

I contacted the French visa service (Capago) here in SA and they said we won't need one, but everything else I've read says we do. In addition the Paris layover is worryingly short if we're going to have to go through passport control. Any additional insights?

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mbza
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1 Answers1

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You’re a visa national, your US> France> Netherlands> SA itinerary means you have two connections in the Schengen area and will therefore have to clear Immigration at your first point of arrival (in your case, that means you have to leave the airside/international area of CDG).

You will need a (French) C-type visa. See this question for a full explanation, and you can also check travel documents requirements for your itinerary at IATA.

If I were you I’d try to change your itinerary to one airside transit, which would simplify the trip.

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