A visa-free transit facility for Indian passport holders for transiting through Germany has been announced. The announcement of the visa-free transit facility for Indian passport holders for transiting through Germany is expected to ease the travel of Indian nationals.
Citizens of certain countries require an airport transit visa when flying via Germany to their final destination. Entry clearance requirements depend on the citizenship of the applicant. Nationals of some countries, including India, were required to have an airport transit visa when passing through the international transit area of airports in Germany.
The new visa-free transit rule for Indian citizens makes Indians eligible for transit privilege. During a layover at a German airport, if you stay within the International Airport Area and your destination is not in a Schengen country, no transit visa will be required by Indians.
Transit Privilege
The vast majority of foreign travelers benefit from the “transit privilege”. If, during a stopover at a German airport, you do not leave the International Airport Area and if the destination is not in a Schengen country, you do not need a transit visa.
However, if for some reason you need to enter the Schengen area during your stopover, for example, to change terminals or if the destination is in a Schengen country, you may require a visa.
Nationals of the countries which requires transit visa may still be exempted if they hold a valid visa for the United States of America, or they hold a used, valid or expired visa issued by the US, return from the US and travel to a non-Schengen Member State within 24 hours after the visa expired.
Earlier Rule
Indian nationals required an airport transit visa for the Schengen area. This visa allowed a short stopover at an international airport only, without leaving the airport’s international transit area or overnight stay in a hotel. If you need to leave the international transit area, for example, to catch a connecting flight at another airport to leave the Schengen area, then you need to have applied for a regular Schengen visa.
The announcement of visa-free transit for Indians was made after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Merz held restricted and delegation-level talks in Ahmedabad on 12 January 2026.
Both sides expressed willingness to further strengthen legal mobility and strengthen cooperation on the return of persons required to leave the country and in the fight against irregular migration, human trafficking and document and visa fraud by fully implementing the provisions of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA).