Going thru customs when there's a layover outside of Spain

[MirtaC]

Hi All!

Walking the Camino in June with my sister. Thinking of flying from LAX to S CQ via Frankfurt. Do I need to go to Customs twice - Frankfurt and SC Q or just once?

Thanks!

 

[henrythedog]

Once. Once you’ve cleared customs into the Schengen area, you’re in.

 

[dougfitz]

Hi All!

Walking the Camino in June with my sister. Thinking of flying from LAX to S CQ via Frankfurt. Do I need to go to Customs twice - Frankfurt and SC Q or just once?

Thanks!

There has been some discussion recently about where you will do the customs check, Frankfurt or Santiago. It would pay to check with your airline whether you are doing that at FRA and transferring to an internal flight, or you remain on an international flight, and on the transit in FRA, you don't need to collect your baggage and then have to clear customs at SCQ.

I have seen both patterns at Schengen zone airports, but haven't been through Frankfurt. Those who have are optimistic that flights from the US are treated as international flights through to their final destination.

That said, as @henrythedog suggests, you will only have to clear customs once, at least in Europe. There are different arrangements in the US, where transit passengers need to collect and clear their baggage, and then re-check it for the next leg(s) of their flight.

 

[henrythedog]

There has been some discussion recently about where you will do the customs check, Frankfurt or Santiago. It would pay to check with your airline whether you are doing that at FRA and transferring to an internal flight, or you remain on an international flight, and on the transit in FRA, you don't need to collect your baggage and then have to clear customs at SCQ.

I have seen both patterns at Schengen zone airports, but haven't been through Frankfurt. Those who have are optimistic that flights from the US are treated as international flights through to their final destination.

That said, as @henrythedog suggests, you will only have to clear customs once, at least in Europe. There are different arrangements in the US, where transit passengers need to collect and clear their baggage, and then re-check it for the next leg(s) of their flight.

As Doug rightly confirms, you’ll clear customs once and once only : but where that will be, I’m not sure, but my money’s on Frankfurt.

Schengen is akin to a country for customs purposes and I’m not certain how immigration or customs could handle a plane load of passengers and luggage with mixed status if you just transited in Frankfurt, were joined by co-passengers who were already in the zone and then and cleared customs and immigration at SQC

 

[Grousedoctor]

On all of our flights to Europe where we landed in places other than Spain or Portugal, we cleared immigration and customs at our first point of debarcation (i.e., Paris, Brussels, etc.) before connecting to our next flight. There were no other immigration checks after that.

 

[J Willhaus]

When I fly through Frankfurt, we do go through Customs and get a passport stamp, but we don't pickup our checked bag until Madrid. It can be checked by agents there.

 

[trecile]

Immigration and Customs are two separate things - Immigration is concerned with you, Customs is concerned with your belongings.

A passport check is not Customs.

 

[J Willhaus]

Agree the two can be confused, but you will get your passport stamped when you enter the EU. Going through Frankfurt or Iceland, we went through a line and had our passports stamped and Phil even got tagged for "special treatment" and they pulled him into a room in Iceland to ask him questions. We picked up our checked bag in Paris or Madrid on various trips and then went through customs. They looked at our passports again as well as looked in our bags.

 

[MirtaC]

Thank you everyone for your responses! Another alternative I was contemplating is to get a flight with a layover in Madrid instead. My concern is that on my return trip to LAX, I have 2 hours to get my exit stamp at Terminal 4 in Barajas before catching my connecting flight. Would 2 hours be enough time?

Thanks again!

 

[dougfitz]

Thank you everyone for your responses! Another alternative I was contemplating is to get a flight with a layover in Madrid instead. My concern is that on my return trip to LAX, I have 2 hours to get my exit stamp at Terminal 4 in Barajas before catching my connecting flight. Would 2 hours be enough time?

Thanks again!

I have had transits of less than an hour and been able to complete the departure procedures. It might depend a bit on the number of passengers, but I cannot see it being a problem if you have that long.

 

[J Willhaus]

Thank you everyone for your responses! Another alternative I was contemplating is to get a flight with a layover in Madrid instead. My concern is that on my return trip to LAX, I have 2 hours to get my exit stamp at Terminal 4 in Barajas before catching my connecting flight. Would 2 hours be enough time?

Thanks again!

Where will you fly to? Will you have to change terminals or is it on the same airline on one ticket.

 

[Josefus]

Given the whole trip is on one ticket and the destination is within the EU you will pass Customs at your final destination. Usually there are two exits. One is marked „Goods to declare“ the other „nothing to declare“. You decide which one to go. But when you decide to go „the other one“ don’t be surprised when they pick you out .