Passport holders of Senegal are now officially required to apply for a transit visa when planning to reach a non-EU country through Spain’s airport.
The decision of Spain to impose such a requirement comes due to an increase in the number of Senegalese seeking asylum upon their arrival at Madrid Airport despite them initially claiming to be travelling to Brazil.
We inform you that from February 19, 2024, Senegalese nationals, holders of ordinary passports, must be in possession of an airport transit visa (TAP) to transit through the international zones of Spanish airports.
According to the Spanish authorities, by introducing the transit visa requirement for the Senegalese, the country wants to make sure that travellers are prevented from taking advantage of a layover at Spanish airports.
The same have stressed that the country’s asylum system is already strained, and they cannot risk any more overcrowding at the Barajas Airport spaces allocated for asylum seekers.
Before the transit visa requirement became effective, Spain introduced another measure aimed at preventing Senegalese from taking advantage of the previous rules.
At the end of January, Spain asked Morocco to deny boarding flights with a stop in Spain to all passport holders of Senegal who have not held a Schengen visa in the last two years.
Such a request was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain through an official note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Residing Abroad.
A Transit Schengen Visa is issued to travellers who need to make a layover at a Schengen Member States’ airport to catch another flight to their non-Schengen destination.
Schengen countries maintain two categories of countries whose nationals require a transit Schengen visa.
The initial list is uniform across all the Member States and encompasses Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sri Lanka.
In contrast, each Schengen country maintains a distinct list. Spain’s list, besides Senegal, includes the following countries: Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti*, India, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, Togo, Yemen, Palestinians, and Kenya.
Spain has one of the longest lists of countries whose citizens need a transit visa to pass through its airport to reach a non-EU destination. It currently counts a total of 23 countries.
