What documents do I need during a layover or airport transit?
Keep your passport, onward boarding pass and any transit visa to hand during a layover. Some countries require a transit visa even if you never leave the airport.
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What to carry through a layover
A layover is a document check in the middle of your journey. Whether you are connecting straight through or breaking the trip with a trip1 hotel near the airport, have these ready before you land rather than digging for them in the queue.
- Your passport, with enough remaining validity for the transit country as well as your destination.
- Your onward boarding pass, or the booking reference if the next leg has not been issued yet.
- Any transit visa or authorisation the transit country requires from your nationality.
- Proof of onward travel, since transit officers sometimes want evidence that you are leaving again.
- Your hotel confirmation, if the layover is long enough that you plan to leave the airport.
When you need a transit visa
You need a transit visa when the country you change planes in says so, and this catches a lot of travelers by surprise. It can be required even for a sterile transit where you never leave the international zone of the terminal.
The rule depends on your nationality, and sometimes on which terminal or airline you use. Some countries require a transit visa from everyone who has to clear immigration; a smaller number require one from specific nationalities even airside.
For the detail on how these work and where they apply, read what a transit visa is and whether you need one for your layover.
When a layover becomes an entry
Four situations turn a simple connection into a proper immigration entry, and in each of them you need full entry documents for that country.
You change terminals or airports
Moving between terminals often means leaving the secure area and coming back through. Changing airports within the same city always does, and it needs far more time than people allow.
You booked separate tickets
On separate tickets your bag is usually checked only as far as the layover airport. You collect it, clear customs and check in again, which means clearing immigration first, and no airline is responsible if you miss the second flight.
Your bag is not checked through
Even on a single ticket, some countries make you collect and recheck. The United States requires every arriving passenger to clear immigration and customs at the first US airport before any onward domestic connection, however short the layover.
You leave the airport
An overnight layover in a hotel is an entry, not a transit. You need whatever visa or authorisation the country requires of a visitor, and a transit exemption will not cover you.
Important: Airlines are fined for carrying passengers who are refused entry or transit, so check-in staff at your first airport can deny boarding if you lack a required transit visa. That decision happens before you leave home, not at the connecting airport.
How to check before you fly
- List every country your itinerary touches, including the ones where you only change planes.
- Check each one's official immigration site for transit rules that apply to your nationality.
- Confirm with the airline whether your bag is checked through to the final destination.
- Look hard at the connection time. Under two hours with a terminal change is tight at a large airport.
- If you plan to leave the airport, book a hotel you can cancel free of charge in case the transit rules turn out to block it.
Long layovers and hotels
If the layover is long enough to sleep, work out first whether you are legally allowed out. Once you know you are, a trip1 booking near the airport gives you the confirmation the hotel wants at check-in and, in countries that ask arriving passengers for proof of accommodation, satisfies that too.
Airside transit hotels inside the terminal are the other option. They keep you out of immigration entirely, which is useful when a transit visa would otherwise be needed.
Layover and airport transit documents - FAQ
The length of the layover does not decide it. Whether you need a transit visa depends on the country you change planes in and on your nationality, and some countries require one even for a two hour connection. Check the transit country's official immigration site for your passport before you book.
Sometimes, yes. A few countries require a transit visa from certain nationalities even if you stay in the international zone and never pass immigration. You will also need entry documents if you change terminals, collect and recheck a bag, or travel on separate tickets, because those usually take you through immigration.
Only if you have another valid authorisation. Every passenger clears immigration at the first US airport, even when connecting abroad. US citizens just need their passport. Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries can transit with an approved ESTA, and most other travellers need a visa, usually a C-1 transit visa.
Keep your passport, your onward boarding pass or booking reference, any transit visa your nationality needs, and proof of onward travel within reach. Your passport must also meet the transit country's validity rule. If the layover is long enough to leave the airport, add your hotel confirmation.
Only if you meet that country's entry requirements as a visitor, which may mean a visa or travel authorisation. A transit exemption does not cover a night in the city. If you are allowed out, book a hotel you can cancel free of charge. If not, an airside transit hotel keeps you out of immigration.