Complete ambiguity in rules for passport validity

<p>I am very unhappy about being turned away at the KLM check-in counter on the day of my flight. I was supposed to travel to Canada via Amsterdam from Johanesburg on 12 May 2016 and was turned away because I had 87 days left on my passport instead of 90. I was told initially that this was a home affairs issue and was given conflicting information at the airport about what the actualy rule was and whose rule this was.</p> <p>The facts:<br />1. I had a 4 year visa for Canada which was issued in 2012, so where an embassy may usually flag an issue before issuing a visa, I wasn’t aware of any issue as the visa I was travelling on was done a while back and it conformed to the requirements of my destination country (which I had confirmed with the Canadian embassy and an emigration lawyer)<br />2. My passport met the requirements for my country of destination (which was also confirmed)<br />3. My passport met the requirements for entry/exit at South Africa (valid for at least 30 days and 2 blank pages - as detailed on the DHA website)<br />4. All research I had done on transiting through a Shengen country seemed to support the fact that there wouldn’t be an issue:<br />- I would be travelling between 2 non-shengen countries<br />- I would transit at a shengen airport but because I wasn’t leaving the non-shengen area and because ZA is not on the list of countries requiring a transit visa, I did not need a transit visa<br />- On the KLM website there is a “travel documents requirements” tool, where you enter info on embarkation, transit and destination.. the info it yielded only made mention of the need for a “valid” passport<br />- On the KLM website there is also a video that explains what happens when you transfer at Schipol and it details that for people travelling between non-shengen countries, you stay in the “non-shengen” part of the airport and only go through a security check point - NOT passport control… so if no one was going to be checking my passport on that side, why the big fuss?<br />5. I consulted TIM (IATA’s travel info tool) and came to a similar conclusion - no specific passport requirement was highlighted<br />6. KLM basically put the blame on Dutch law and I phoned the Dutch embassy to confirm the 90 day rule. They read me a non-specific clause over the phone but could not scan me a copy or direct me to this clause online other than saying “if you google it, you will find it” - yes, maybe.. but all the clauses I’ve found online are completely ambiguous and only really highlight requirements for travel within the Shengen area and between Shengen countries (i.e. not within a non-schengen airport zone).<br />7. After chatting to the Dutch embassy, the call centre agent there basically put the blame back on KLM, stating the info should have been on the airline's website.</p> <p>So basically it is a stale mate.</p> <p>I’ve contacted KLM with my complaint via their Customer Support portal and I’m trying to get your attention via twitter too.</p> <p>The thing that is infuriating is that - my passport got flagged at the KLM counter, but it did not get flagged when I purchased my ticket online (I have a loyalty membership with KLM so all my passport details are captured on my profile). That and the ambiguity of the rule - some places seem to allude to the fact that it is “common knowledge”, others are just vague (ref: transit between non-shengen countries).</p> <p>I really want some action here. This misguidance has resulted in massive cost - penalties to change my ticket, cost of a new passport and to transfer the visa, cost of a flight for my husband who lost a non-refundable ticket as a result, cost of a non-refundable upgrade made when I checked in online, cost of business turned away for the period I was to be travelling as well as the inconvenience and stress this has caused myself and my family. </p> <p>I am not disputing the rule or that it exists. I am disputing the fact that you are unwilling to direct me to where this rule exists definitively and specifically related to transit between non-shengen countries, through a non-shengen zone in a shengen airport where a transit visa is not required and there is no need to go through passport control.</p> <p>I'm an unhappy customer - I want someone to phone me to discuss my grievances.</p>