How to book a Schengen visa appointment in the UK, and what to do when there are no dates

Which company takes each Schengen country’s applications in the UK, how their booking systems work, and the ways to find a date when the calendar is empty.

By Visa Catcher · Updated

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On this page
  1. Who takes each country’s applications
  2. Which centre you can use
  3. How the booking systems work
  4. When there are no dates
  5. Waiting lists, walk-in days and paid options
  6. Booking is free: beware of appointment sellers
  7. On the appointment day
  8. What applicants reported
  9. How often new dates appear on the routes we check
  10. Questions
  11. Sources

There is no single booking system for Schengen visas in the UK. Each country chooses who takes its applications — VFS Global, TLScontact, BLS International or Global Visa Center World — and you book on that company's website, in the city the country's rules allow, and pick a date when there is one.

This guide lists who takes the applications for the 15 Schengen countries that receive the most in the UK, how each booking system works, the waiting lists, walk-in days and paid options, and what to do when the calendar is empty. For the application itself, see how to apply for a Schengen visa from the UK.

Who takes each country’s applications

For the 15 most-applied-for countries, as listed on the consulates' and providers' own pages in November 2026:

Spain
BLS International — London, Manchester or Edinburgh, set by the county you live in
France
TLScontact — London, Manchester or Edinburgh, whichever you choose
Greece
Global Visa Center World — London, Manchester or Edinburgh
Germany
TLScontact — London or Manchester; Edinburgh if you live in Scotland
Netherlands
VFS Global — London, Manchester, Edinburgh or Birmingham
Portugal
VFS Global — London, or Manchester or Edinburgh, set by the county you live in
Italy
VFS Global — London, Manchester or Edinburgh
Denmark
VFS Global — London, Manchester or Edinburgh
Switzerland
VFS Global — London, Manchester or Edinburgh
Iceland
VFS Global — London, Manchester, Edinburgh or Cardiff
Belgium
TLScontact — London, Manchester or Edinburgh, whichever you choose
Norway
VFS Global — London or Edinburgh
Malta
VFS Global — London, Manchester or Edinburgh
Finland
VFS Global — London, Manchester or Edinburgh
Austria
VFS Global — London, Manchester or Edinburgh

The company only takes the application, fingerprints and fees; the embassy or consulate decides. France's consulate general in London also takes direct appointments, but only from spouses of French nationals and family members of EU nationals, and it warns that the wait for them is longer than at TLScontact.

Which centre you can use

Each country decides whether you can pick the city:

  • France has no consular districts in the UK: any resident can apply in London, Manchester or Edinburgh.
  • Germany has two: the TLScontact centres in London and Manchester serve applicants living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and since 1 February 2025 the Edinburgh centre serves only those living in Scotland.
  • Spain assigns the centre by county: BLS International's UK site sends Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cumbria and the north-east of England to Edinburgh; Wales, the Midlands, Yorkshire and the north-west to Manchester; and London, the south and the east of England to London. An application from outside the district is not accepted.
  • Portugal splits the UK by county between its consulates in London and Manchester: VFS Global says residents of the London consulate's counties can apply only at its London centre, and those of the Manchester consulate's only in Manchester or Edinburgh.
  • Greece takes applications in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, but its visa centre asks applicants in Manchester and Edinburgh to allow five extra days of processing.

For the rest, the country guide says what the consulate allows. Where you may choose, each centre has its own calendar, so check all of them.

How the booking systems work

VFS Global

Each country has its own page, under visa.vfsglobal.com/gbr/en followed by the country's code — the Netherlands' is /nld, for example. You create an account, choose the centre and the visa category, add each applicant and pick a date. VFS Global's UK pages say appointments can only be booked through the online portal: its contact centre cannot book for you and does not know when slots will open. Italy is the exception to the website: since 19 September 2025, VFS says Italian Schengen appointments are booked only in its “Italy Global” mobile app. Book under the right category, with details exactly as in the passport; errors can stop you submitting the application.

TLScontact

France, Germany and Belgium each have their own TLScontact site. For France, the consulate says an appointment is usually available within 48 working hours, though it can take longer in high season, and the service fee is paid by card. For Germany, tourist, business, family-visit and school-trip applicants in London and Manchester register on a waiting list on the TLScontact site; when an appointment is allocated, the service fee must be paid within 24 hours or the appointment is cancelled. German Missions in the UK turn away applicants who booked under the wrong category, and an appointment is lost if the registration details do not match the passport.

BLS International (Spain)

On uk.blsspainvisa.com you first select the county where you live, which takes you to the London, Manchester or Edinburgh site. Book only within your district.

Global Visa Center World (Greece)

You fill in the application form on the GVCW website, print it, and then schedule the appointment there. Applications are taken in person and by appointment only; from Manchester and Edinburgh the passport comes back by courier.

When there are no dates

An empty calendar does not mean the route is closed. Centres release new dates from time to time, and cancelled appointments come back into the calendar, but there is no published schedule, and on busy routes a released date can be gone within minutes. These are the options:

Check the visa centre portal yourself

Free

Who books: You

Log in, choose the centre and category, and look at the calendar. New dates appear when the centre releases them or someone cancels, so this means checking again and again.

Visa Catcher free channel (@UKVFSBot)Our service

Free

Who books: You

Posts new dates on Telegram for Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands; you book them yourself.

Visa Catcher personal alertsOur service

£30 / 30 days

Who books: You

Telegram alerts for the route you choose, including routes the free channel does not carry. No passport details needed.

The routes we check are on the UK appointment board page.

Waiting lists, walk-in days and paid options

Some consulates offer another way in. These are the official ones we found in November 2026:

  • Germany's waiting list. Since 1 June 2026, appointments in London and Manchester for tourism, business, family visits and school trips are allocated first come, first served from a waiting list on the TLScontact site. The embassy does not publish waiting times, so register early.
  • Portugal's walk-in days. From November 2026 the consulate general in London takes some applications without an appointment on Wednesdays (except bank holidays), 8:30 to 12:30, at the VFS Global centre in London, subject to capacity — for short-stay visas, only from applicants who can show at least three previous Schengen visas.
  • Denmark by post. If your fingerprints were taken for a Schengen visa application, to Denmark or another country, within the last five years, Denmark lets you apply by post through VFS Global instead of attending an appointment; you confirm it in questions 26 and 27 of ApplyVisa and arrange it with VFS's customer care.

The providers also sell optional services. TLScontact's “Prime Time” appointments for Belgium, at early-morning slots outside standard hours, cost £79.74 per person; Global Visa Center World lists a Premium Lounge and next-day courier; and VFS Global's pages for Italy, Denmark, Iceland and Malta offer “Visa at your doorstep”, an application taken at a place you choose. None of them guarantees a visa, and TLScontact's Prime Time fee is not refundable.

Booking is free: beware of appointment sellers

German Missions in the UK introduced the waiting list “to protect visa applicants from fraudulent and expensive appointment booking agencies”, and state that you do not need an agency to apply: the only fees are TLScontact's service fee and the visa fee. TLScontact's Belgian centre in London warns against intermediaries selling appointments and says it cannot guarantee that an appointment bought from a third party will be honoured. Book on the official site, in your own name, and pay only the fees it lists.

On the appointment day

  • Bring the appointment letter, your passport and the full document set, with copies.
  • Bring proof of your UK status: a current share code, and a copy of your eVisa where the checklist asks for it.
  • Arrive on time.
  • Expect fingerprints and a photo unless you gave them for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months.
  • Pay whatever was not paid online.

After that the application goes to the consulate. The decision usually takes up to 15 calendar days, and you can usually track the application on the provider's website until the passport comes back. For the application itself, see how to apply for a Schengen visa from the UK.

What applicants reported

Applicants in the United Kingdom have reported 1456 visa outcomes to Visa Catcher's statistics. Across all of them, the median time from appointment to passport back was 14 days, and 98% of those with a known outcome were approved. The most-reported destinations:

Netherlands
315 reports, median 20 days · guide
Spain
262 reports, median 17 days · guide
France
223 reports, median 13 days · guide
Italy
125 reports, median 13 days · guide
Portugal
118 reports, median 7 days · guide
Germany
56 reports, median 13 days · guide
Greece
49 reports, median 10 days · guide
Switzerland
40 reports, median 8 days · guide

All reports from the United Kingdom · how the statistics work

How often new dates appear on the routes we check

Our monitors record every time new dates appear on a route we check in the UK. These were the busiest over the last 90 days; each route's page has its own pattern.

London → Switzerland
540 releases on 86 days, typically about 2 hours apart
London → Italy
213 releases on 62 days, typically about 4 hours apart
Manchester → Portugal
194 releases on 60 days, typically about 5 hours apart
London → Portugal
161 releases on 56 days, typically about 4 hours apart
London → Bulgaria
111 releases on 31 days, typically about 5 hours apart
London → Hungary
107 releases on 48 days, typically about 6 hours apart
Edinburgh → Italy
99 releases on 46 days, typically about 8 hours apart
London → Ireland
96 releases on 25 days, typically about 5 hours apart
London → Norway
95 releases on 49 days, typically about 11 hours apart
London → Netherlands
84 releases on 28 days, typically about 5 hours apart

Questions

Which company takes Schengen visa applications in the UK?
It depends on the country. Most of the Schengen countries that receive the most UK applications use VFS Global; France, Germany and Belgium use TLScontact; Spain uses BLS International; and Greece uses Global Visa Center World.
Can I apply in Manchester or Edinburgh if I live in London?
It depends on the country. France and Belgium let any UK resident use any of their centres. Germany, Spain and Portugal assign the centre by where you live, and Spain and Portugal do not accept applications from outside the district.
Why does the calendar show no dates?
All released appointments for that centre and category are taken. New dates appear when the centre releases more or someone cancels, without a published schedule. VFS Global says its contact centre cannot book for you or tell you when slots will open.
Is Visa Catcher part of VFS Global or TLScontact?
No. Visa Catcher is an independent service, not part of any visa centre company or consulate. Appointments are booked on the official booking websites.

Sources

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.

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