A traveler with layovers at London, Paris, and Amsterdam en route to Toronto (not planning to leave any airport), holding a US tourist visa, asked whether transit visas were required at any of these stops.
What the group said (advice varied — verify per airport/airline before booking):- Two or more Schengen-area layovers can trigger a visitor/transit visa requirement, even without leaving the airport — one member specifically flagged this for multi-stop Schengen routing.
- Another member reported no transit visa needed for Netherlands or Paris specifically, based on their own recent Air France booking via Paris — showing outcomes can vary by airline and specific routing.
- The deciding factor may be your ticket structure: single PNR vs. multiple PNRs. If your entire trip is on one airline under a single PNR, you generally don't need to claim baggage or go through immigration/transit between the three stops. If you have separate tickets/PNRs for different legs, you likely will need to clear immigration (and potentially need a visa) between segments.
Takeaway: check whether your itinerary is booked under a single PNR with one airline (lower visa risk) or multiple separate tickets (higher chance you'll need a transit visa) — and confirm directly with the airline given how much this varies by exact routing.