Madrid transit for Indian passport holders

Before you book a connection through Madrid

1. 1Work out how you reach Madrid. From a Gulf hub or Istanbul, Madrid can be your only Schengen stop; from Frankfurt or Paris, it is your second.
2. 2If Madrid would be the second Schengen airport on the way to Latin America, plan for a Schengen visa or choose a different route.
3. 3Keep the flight into Madrid and the Iberia flight out on one booking so bags are checked through.
4. 4Ask Iberia whether your connection between terminals stays airside.
5. 5Check the entry rules of your Latin American destination; some depend on holding a US or Schengen visa.

How Spain dropped its transit visa

Spain used to require Indian ordinary passport holders to hold an airport transit visa, even for a connection inside Barajas. The Spanish Embassy in New Delhi announced on 19 February 2026 that it would be abolished, and the change applied from 4 March 2026. It was the first of three such moves in 2026, followed by France in April and Germany in June.

Annex 7B of the EU visa handbook, the list of national airport transit visa requirements, no longer marks Spain for India. A Madrid connection is therefore visa-free for an Indian traveller who stays in the international area and flies on outside Schengen.

The two-airport problem on routes to Latin America

No nonstop flight between India and Spain was found in October 2026. To reach Madrid, an Indian traveller changes planes somewhere first, and that is where the transit question really sits. A journey from Delhi through a Gulf hub to Madrid and on to Bogotá touches Schengen only at Madrid, so staying airside there needs no visa. A journey from Delhi through Frankfurt to Madrid and on to Bogotá enters Schengen at Frankfurt, because the Frankfurt to Madrid flight is internal to Schengen.

No official sentence covering the second case was found, but it follows from the German rule that airside transit applies only while you do not enter the Schengen area. Treat it as needing a Schengen visa.

Latin American entry and Madrid

Iberia’s network makes Madrid a natural European connection for Latin America, and the visa you need at the end of the journey varies by country. Colombia, for example, exempts Indians who hold a US or Schengen visa valid for at least 180 days on entry, according to the Embassy of India in Bogotá; a US C-1 transit visa does not count.

If your Latin American entry depends on a Schengen visa you already hold, that same visa lets you pass Madrid passport control too, and the airside question disappears.

Leaving the airport, and the flight reservation

To leave Barajas you need a Schengen C visa. Spain’s applications in India go through BLS International; apply to Spain if it is your main destination.

A flight reservation is an airline booking held without payment. For a Madrid routing, show the whole journey on one booking where the airlines allow it, with a realistic connection and bags checked through. For a Spanish Schengen application, Madrid will usually appear as your arrival airport after a connection outside Spain, and the entry date there should match your BLS application and hotel bookings.

Each airline decides how long it holds a reservation, so it varies. Order it for the day you submit.

Madrid routings for an Indian passport

Madrid-Barajas (MAD) questions, answered