Sterile transit Voyage Tips and guide

Sterile transit is a term for a situation in international travel where one can enter and leave (transit) part of a country's territory without customs or immigration formalities. This is similar to how freight is handled legally at some "free" sea ports.

This most often applies to international flights. For example, consider flying from country A, changing planes in country B, then flying on to country C. If sterile transit is allowed, then travellers do not need to go through country B's customs or immigration checks. However, they must remain in a restricted zone in the airside area of the airport, and at most airports they and their hand luggage will still be required to pass through security screening before entering the departure area.

Sometimes other modes of transport may be involved. For example, you can land at Hong Kong airport and take a coach or ferry to either Macau or mainland China without going through procedures to enter Hong Kong.

Some countries, notably the United States, do not allow sterile transit at all. Canada generally does not allow it, though there are a few limited exceptions for people flying between Asia and the US. Most other countries allow it, but it is usually available only at specific airports and often not for all passports or for all combinations of flights.

If sterile transit is not available, you may need a transit visa. In some cases, the country may require you to have a visa even if you do not need to pass through customs and immigration, and you will not be allowed to check in for your flight without it.

Sterile transit is more convenient for the traveller, since it avoids formalities that are often time-consuming and usually boring. Sometimes it also saves money, as it may avoid the need to pay for a visa. In other cases it significantly reduces risk; if you do not legally enter the country, then you are not subject to refusal of a visa (which for most countries would make any later entry more difficult), and are less likely to be arrested or deported. It also saves work for border officials, and it may even benefit other passengers by making the queues for customs and immigration shorter.

For example, consider a flight from Southeast Asia to Canada with a change of planes at either Seoul-Incheon or Los Angeles. South Korea allows sterile transit (provided your luggage is checked through), so you can just walk to the escalator that gets you to the departure area, go through security at the top of it (usually quick), and walk to your departure gate.

The US does not allow sterile transit. The traditional process for an international-to-international connection in the United States is (1) immigration inspection; (2) claim baggage; (3) customs inspection; (4) recheck baggage; and (5) security screening. US law requires all newly arriving travellers to present themselves at a port of entry to be formally admitted to the country, even if you intend to be on US soil for only three or four hours. If you need a visa, that will cost at least $160 and will require an in-person interview at a US consulate or embassy. No airline will allow you on a US-bound flight unless you have a valid US passport, a valid foreign passport with a valid US visa, or in the alternative, an approval from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization if your home country is part of the US Visa Waiver Program. These strict entry requirements are reasons for avoiding travel through the United States.

The United States began a One Stop Security pilot project in 2025 to allow connecting passengers on certain designated flights to go directly from the jetway to the gate, clear immigration inspection at a temporary checkpoint set up right at the gate, bypass all other steps, and directly enter the airside departure area, while checked baggage is transferred directly to their next flights. However, participating connecting passengers must still be eligible to enter the United States.

Sterile transit is almost always a good option if it is available. Many travellers will arrange flights to take advantage of it – in the example flying via Korea rather than via the US and choosing flights that allow checking luggage through so they can have sterile transit in Korea – even when this costs a bit more.

Many countries offer visa-free sterile transit to those from a quite long list of "friendly" countries, but still require visas for those from others. Sterile transit is only available if the airport as well as the country offers it — generally it is only available in large airports that have many transiting passengers. For example, in the UK only at Heathrow and Manchester airports.

In most airports sterile transit is only available if your arriving and departing flight are on the same ticket and your baggage is checked through to your final destination. If you are flying in on one airline and out on another and the two do not have an agreement that lets you check luggage all the way, then you will need to perform a self-transfer: that is, claim your baggage, go through customs and immigration, then check in for the outgoing flight. This may exclude flights on budget airlines, and also may be more expensive than buying separate tickets for each leg.

Although there a few exceptions, normally your arriving and departing flights have to use the same airport for sterile transit to work. If your flights use different terminals in the same airport, always check with the airport to ensure that it has airside transfer arrangements between those terminals.

Although sterile transit implies that you should be able to avoid entry formalities, an official may still look at your passport, and in some case you may still need a visa. Similarly, your baggage doesn't have to go through a full customs inspection, but there are still limits on what you can take with you (which can be different from your destination), and even your checked baggage will usually undergo security screening at the transit airport.

Sometimes the rules are rather complex. For example, a Filipino changing planes in France is allowed to transit without a visa only if they are travelling to or from the US or Canada and they have a visa for that country; all other Filipinos need a French transit visa. In either case, French officials will check the relevant visa.

There may be time limits on how long you can spend in transit; for example, Australia has an 8-hour limit. Check with your airline if you have more than 12 hours between flights, as they may assume that you are going to have a brief stopover in town rather than staying airside.

When booking connections, keep in mind that the security screenings required by most airports of passengers in sterile transit can impose significant delays. This is particularly important in large hub airports with lengthy concourses. Even if your arrival and departure gates appear to be at the end of the same concourse, and even if you are certain that you are exempt from immigration and customs inspection because you are merely connecting, many airports will still force you and all arriving passengers into a corridor that takes you straight to the main terminal building before you can reach the security checkpoint for connecting passengers and enter the airside departure area. Then you may have to rush back down the same concourse you just arrived at, in order to catch your departing flight. Terminal 2 at Heathrow is notorious for this.

Most airports offering sterile transit have separate airside zones for arrivals and departures, with a security check for passengers moving between them. However a few airports such as Tocumen International Airport in Panama City or Kuala Lumpur International Airport have only one airside zone so passengers can walk directly to their connecting flights. The disadvantage of this system is that such airports cannot guarantee that originating airports' security checkpoints conform to any specific standard. This may mean that there are secondary security checkpoints at all gates for flights departing to countries that require all passengers to be screened before departure, notably the United States and Israel. You must allocate the time needed for that security checkpoint.

In the European Union, security screening can be waived for connecting passengers in transit if they are arriving from a member of the One Stop Security program. This benefits passengers arriving from the United States, Canada, and six small countries. Obviously, if no security screening is required while in transit, it is possible to attempt much tighter connections. Taiwan has a similar arrangement for transit passengers arriving from the United States and Canada. Something similar may apply for connections to other countries with strict security standards.

Be aware that although you may be planning for sterile transit, it is still possible that you will have to unexpectedly enter the country. This could happen if you get ill, or there are technical problems with your departing flight, or you miss your connection. So you may wish to avoid transits where you need a visa, do not have one and are not eligible for visa-on-arrival.

Because you are on the transit country's territory (although lawfully exempted from immigration and customs inspection), you are still subject to that country's laws. For instance, Singapore's notoriously tough drug laws also apply to passengers on sterile transit, and there have been cases of drug traffickers getting arrested while changing flights at Changi Airport; some were executed. Almost anywhere, you can be arrested by local police while on sterile transit if there is an outstanding warrant, or if you are subject to an extradition request.

On two countries that do not allow sterile transit:

• Avoiding travel through the United States
• Avoiding travel through Canada