Immigration in Europe

You go through immigration for France at your first Schengen stop.

A couple examples using places you mentioned. If you fly from the US to Paris, then onto Marseille, then you go through immigration in Paris.

If you were to fly from the US to London, then to Marseille, then you would go through immigration in Marseille, as London (the UK) is not part of the Schengen zone.

Thanks Paul. I live in Iowa too.

No immigration at LHR, but you will go through a security check before you get to the departure area for your next flight. Make sure you have all liquid s in the 3-1-1 bag and take it out of your carry on. Also take out tablets, phones and laptops. They all go on a bin for scanning. Also make sure your water bottle is completely empty if you have one.

We flew from San Francisco to London connecting to Lisbon. We went thru security then passport control at Heathrow then passport control/immigration in Lisbon. I assume you will do something similar if you connect thru Heathrow to Marseille.

Yes. Similar situation. Thanks for your reply.

If your flight is ORD-LHR-MRS and
you are just connecting at LHR, then no immigration there. You will go through security. You and your passport might get scanned but this is not immigration. It is part of security and also the assurance you have a passport.

Go to this website, plug in your flights, and it will give you detailed instructions on what you have to do.

http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections

If you go through immigration/passport control at LHR then you've made a mistake. And even if you did, if you have a US passport you can use the electronic gates.

You mentioned Paris. Does your flight stop in Paris as well?

When you get off the plane, you follow the heard and do what they do. Sometimes it can be a hassle, but most often its pretty fast and pretty smooth. There will be bigger issues in your day to worry about. Just go with the flow and enjoy your holiday.

When you get off the plane, you follow the heard and do what they do.

Well, I would modify that to say to be aware if you are connecting or not. It can be easy to follow the hoard to immigration and out of the security zone, the passages for immigration for connecting flights is sometimes a bit more subtly signed. Heading outside the security zone can add a hefty delay.

Should mention in addition to my initial post, even flying through Amsterdam or Frankfurt (both common hubs for US flights) you will go through immigration there, as Netherlands and Germany are both Schengen countries (some 29 all together).

At Heathrow you follow the purple “flight connections” signs, and make sure you know if your Marseille flight departs from the same terminal you land in (probably T5 if you are flying BA) or from T3. There are several places where the “herd” splits, and you don’t want to be following the wrong one.

Canadian airline Air Transit fly from Montreal to Marseilles. Might be of some use if you can get from Chicago to Montreal?

If going via Paris, you might like to consider taking a high speed train to Marseilles - or somewhere else in the south. This site will tell you times & prices:> https://www.thetrainline.com

Also read:>https://www.seat61.com/France.htm

You don’t have to worry about where to go through immigration. At some point it will be staring you in the face. True lines can be long in major airports, but I would not concern myself to trying to travel to another smaller airport simply for immigration. In London you may go through immigration also, even if on a through flight if you are moving between terminals. Those big airports you never know.