Spain has introduced travel visas for Kenyans effective January 20, and will have same prerequisite on Senegalese nationals on February 19.
The move has been taken because of a flood in the number of Senegalese visa holders looking for shelter at the Madrid airport, while making a trip to Brazil.
Along with France and Czech Republic, Spain now has the longest list of countries whose citizens require a transit Schengen visa.
As of January 20, 2024, Kenyan passport holders should get a travel visa ahead of time, to have the option to go through Spain, to arrive at their destination country.
The decision was made a month ago, on December 20, 2023, and has become viable now, as indicated by SchengenVisaInfo.com.
According to an announcement made by the Spanish Embassy in Senegal on January 24, 2024, all holders of ordinary Kenyan passports who wish to carry out airport transit in Spain with a final destination to other countries must be in possession of a valid airport transit visa (TAP Visa) to transit through the international areas of Spanish airports.
On the other hand, beginning on February 19, 2024, holders of Senegalese passports will also become subject to the same requirement.
From February 19, 2024, Senegalese nationals, holders of ordinary passports, should be in control of airport travel visa (TAP) to travel through the international zones of Spanish airport.
The move was made in response to an increase in the number of asylum seekers at Madrid’s airport and complaints from police unions about the rising number of Senegalese passport holders seeking asylum during a layover in Madrid while traveling to Brazil.
Spain was the third European Union nation to receive the most international protection applications in 2023.
Office of Asylum and Refuge (OAR) of the Ministry of the Interior, there were 163,218 applications for international security submitted in Spain in 2023, 37 percent more than the earlier year. The number is also the highest that has been recorded since the office was established in 1992.
A Transit Schengen Visa is granted to travellers who only need to stop in a Schengen Area airport, in order to take another flight, to their non-Schengen destination.
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The EU countries have two types of lists of countries the nationals of which need a transit Schengen visa. The first list is a joint one, and all countries apply the same one. It includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sri Lanka
Cameroon
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
Spain, Czechia and France, has the longest list of countries needing transit visas to pass through its territory. Together with Kenya and Senegal, Spain’s list now counts 23 countries.
source: SchengenVisaInfo.com
