How to apply for a France Schengen visa from the UK

Where you apply

Apply to France if it is your main destination. There is no consular area in the UK: the consulate in London decides for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and the Falklands, and you choose the centre:

• London: 18 Ryeland Boulevard, Wandsworth, SW18 1UN; submissions Monday to Friday 07:30 to 15:30, Saturday 09:30 to 13:30.
• Manchester: 1 Portland Street, M1 3BE; submissions Monday to Friday 07:30 to 16:00, Saturday 08:30 to 15:00.
• Edinburgh: Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, EH3 9DS; submissions Monday to Friday 08:30 to 16:00.

Only two short-stay categories may apply at the consulate itself instead: spouses of French nationals and family members of European nationals. Those direct appointments are booked with the consulate, are held on Wednesday mornings only and have longer waits, so the consulate advises using TLScontact.

Children under 12 give no fingerprints, and a parent or guardian may submit their application; France-Visas says under-12s are not allowed into the centres. Luggage is not allowed inside either.

Step by step

1. 1

   Fill in the form on France-Visas

   Complete the application on France-Visas, France's official visa site. It tells you which supporting documents to attach for your purpose of travel, and the fee. You can apply up to 180 days before you travel.
2. 2

   Book at TLScontact

   Book a date at the centre you choose on TLScontact's France site for the UK, and pay the service fee when you book, by debit or credit card (not American Express).
3. 3

   Gather the documents

   Put them in the order of the list France-Visas gives you; the UK-specific points are below.
4. 4

   Attend the appointment

   Bring the printed appointment confirmation, your passport, the documents and the means to pay the visa fee. Applicants aged 12 and over give fingerprints and a photo, unless they had a biometric Schengen visa in the last 59 months.
5. 5

   Wait for the decision

   Allow at least 20 working days, France-Visas advises; once the file reaches the consulate it usually takes 2 to 15 working days. Track it under “My requests” in your France-Visas account, then collect the passport at the centre without an appointment, with your application checklist and a valid ID.

Documents

The country's own checklist is the one that counts. The core of it:

• Passport issued within the last ten years, valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages.
• Proof of your UK immigration status, such as your eVisa and a share code, valid beyond your return.
• The signed application form and a photo to the ICAO passport standard.
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
• Recent bank statements, and a letter from your employer or proof of studies or self-employment.
• A flight reservation, and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.

On top of that, France-Visas' page for the UK says:

• Family members of British citizens can no longer apply as “family members of EU nationals”, unless the British family member lives in France under the Withdrawal Agreement: you pay the visa and service fees and bring every document for your purpose of stay.
• A representative collecting your passport brings your application checklist, a copy of your ID, their own ID with a copy, and a letter of authorisation signed by you.

If documents are missing at the appointment, you may choose not to submit, book again and come back without paying processing fees. If you submit anyway, you sign a statement that the file is incomplete.

Fees and processing time

Visa fee, adults

€90 (France-Visas, November 2026)

Children aged 6 to 11

€45; under 6 free

TLScontact service fee

Set in euros and charged in pounds: €40 to €55 per appointment, paid when you book (France-Visas, November 2026)

Processing

Allow at least 20 working days; 2 to 15 working days at the consulate, according to France-Visas

The service fee is not refunded unless you decide not to submit your file before your biometrics are taken. France-Visas' fee table also waives the visa fee for spouses of French nationals and for family members of EU, EEA and Swiss nationals.

Applications and refusals

In 2025, the consulates of France in the UK received 129,940 short-stay Schengen visa applications: 25.4% of all those lodged in the UK, and the 2nd most of any Schengen country. They refused 8.5% of the applications they decided; across every Schengen country in the UK the rate was 10.5%, according to the European Commission's visa statistics.

Applications, 2025

129,940

Rank in the UK

2nd of 28 Schengen countries

Refused

8.5%

All Schengen countries in the UK

10.5% refused

The Commission counts applications where they are lodged, not by nationality, so these are residents of the UK of many nationalities. A refusal rate is an average over every applicant and says little about any one file; and the country you apply to is set by your main destination, not by its refusal rate.

What applicants reported

223 applicants in the United Kingdom have reported their France visa to Visa Catcher's statistics. The median time from appointment to passport back was 13 days.

Reports

223

Appointment to passport back (median)

13 days; typically 8–18 days

Approved

100% of 223 with a known outcome

Validity granted (median)

6 months

Multiple entry

89%

See every France report from the United Kingdom · how the statistics work

Getting the appointment

The form is the easy part. The hard part is a free date with TLScontact: when demand is high the calendar can stay empty, and new dates go quickly when they appear.

These are the ways to get a date, including ours:

Each France route we track has its own page, and every route is on the UK appointment board page. For how the booking systems work, see how to book a Schengen visa appointment in the UK.

• France visa appointment, London
• France visa appointment, Edinburgh

Questions

Can I apply for a French visa in Manchester or Edinburgh if I live in London?

Yes. There is no consular area for France in the UK, so any UK resident may apply at the TLScontact centre in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Every application is decided by the French Consulate General in London.

Can I apply at the French consulate in London instead of TLScontact?

Only for two short-stay categories: spouses of French nationals and family members of European nationals. Those appointments are booked with the consulate, are held on Wednesday mornings only and have longer waits; everyone else applies through TLScontact.

Do children need to go to the TLScontact centre for a French visa?

Children under 12 give no fingerprints, and their short-stay application may be submitted by a parent or legal guardian. France-Visas says children under 12 are not allowed into the visa application centres.

Do non-EU pupils at a UK school need a visa for a school trip to France?

Not if they attend a general education school up to sixth form, travel on an organised trip with their own school, hold their own valid passport and a UK residence permit, and are accompanied by a teacher carrying a list of the pupils signed, dated and stamped by the head, according to France-Visas.

What is the refusal rate for France Schengen visas in the UK?

In 2025, the consulates of France in the UK refused 8.5% of the short-stay visa applications they decided, against 10.5% across all Schengen countries in the UK, according to the European Commission’s visa statistics. They received 129,940 applications, the 2nd most of any Schengen country.

Sources

• France-Visas: applying for a French visa in the United Kingdom
• France-Visas: table of visa fees in the United Kingdom (PDF)
• Embassy of France in the UK: applying for a visa
• France-Visas: online visa application
• EU Visa Code, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (consolidated text of 28 June 2024)
• European Commission: visa policy and the short-stay visa fee
• European Commission: Schengen visa statistics for consulates, 2025 (2025-consulates-schengen-visa-statistics.xlsx)

Rules and fees are set by the consulates and their visa centres and can change; check the official pages above before you apply. Our coverage, prices and release statistics on this page are live. Visa Catcher is an independent appointment-tracking service, not affiliated with any visa centre, embassy, consulate or government.