How to apply for a Schengen visa from the UK

Do you need a Schengen visa?

It depends on your passport, not on where you live. British and Irish citizens do not need one. Everyone else needs one if their country is on the EU's visa-required list — Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, which includes, for example, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, China, South Africa and the Philippines. Nationals of the countries in Annex II, such as the United States, Canada or Australia, can visit without a visa.

Your UK status does not change this. Greece's embassy in London, for example, states that nationals of visa-required countries need a Schengen visa even if they hold a UK residence permit, and the same applies to holders of UK refugee travel documents.

Two EU systems are often confused with the visa. ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, is not in operation yet (November 2026); the EU says it will announce the start date several months before launch. It will apply to visa-exempt passport holders, such as British citizens, not to people who need a visa. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is already running: it started on 12 October 2025, has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, and registers non-EU short-stay travellers, with or without a visa, at the Schengen external border, taking a face photo and fingerprints instead of stamping the passport.

A short-stay (type C) visa covers tourism, visiting family or friends, business trips and short courses, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Longer stays, such as work or study, need a national (type D) visa from the specific country, which has its own process.

Which country to apply to

You apply to one country, chosen by the EU Visa Code's rules:

• Visiting one country: apply to that country.
• Visiting several: apply to the main destination — the one where you will spend the longest, or the one that is the main purpose of the trip.
• No main destination: if neither length nor purpose decides it, apply to the country whose external border you will cross first.

You apply in the UK because it is where you legally live: under the Visa Code the application goes to the consulate responsible for your place of residence. A consulate may take an application from someone who is only legally present in its area — on a visitor visa, say — but only if the applicant justifies applying there, so a visitor should normally apply in the country where they live.

Who takes the application in the UK depends on the country. Most of the 15 most-applied-for countries use VFS Global; France, Germany and Belgium use TLScontact; Spain uses BLS International; and Greece uses Global Visa Center World. Some also split the UK into districts: Germany sends applicants living in Scotland to its consulate general in Edinburgh, and Spain and Portugal assign the centre by the county you live in. France, by contrast, lets any UK resident use any of its three centres. The full list is in the booking guide.

When to apply

You can apply up to six months before your trip, and at the latest 15 calendar days before it. In practice the appointment decides your timing. Germany, for example, has put tourist, business and family-visit applicants in London and Manchester on a waiting list since 1 June 2026, and its embassy asks people to register as soon as their purpose of travel and approximate dates are known. France advises allowing at least 20 working days for processing.

Proving your UK immigration status

Every application from the UK needs proof that you live here legally, valid beyond your return. Physical documents such as the biometric residence permit have been replaced by eVisas, so the proof is now online: through the Home Office's view and prove service you can generate a share code, which lasts 90 days, and give it together with your date of birth.

• Greece's visa centre asks UK residence permit holders for a copy of the eVisa and a share code, with the permission valid for at least 30 days after you leave the Schengen Area.
• Germany's checklists ask for a share code from UKVI's “Prove your immigration status” service, with the residence permit valid at least one month after the trip ends.
• The minimum validity differs by country, so check your destination's checklist — the country guides give it where it is published.

Before you travel, make sure your eVisa is linked to the passport you will use: GOV.UK says you can travel with your eVisa once your passport details are added to it.

Documents UK residents usually need

Each country publishes its own checklist, on its visa centre's or consulate's website, and it is the one that counts. The core is the same everywhere:

• Passport issued within the last ten years, valid for at least three months after you plan to leave the Schengen Area, with at least two blank pages.
• Proof of UK status: your eVisa and a share code, valid beyond your return.
• Application form, filled in on the country's own system, printed and signed.
• Photo to the ICAO passport standard.
• Travel medical insurance with at least €30,000 cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip.
• Proof of means: recent bank statements, and a letter from your employer or proof of studies or self-employment.
• Travel plans: a flight reservation and hotel bookings or an invitation letter.

Fees

Visa fee, adults

€90, usually charged in pounds

Children aged 6 to 11

€45

Children under 6

Free

Service fee

Charged on top by the visa centre and set per country; for France, €40 to €55 per appointment, collected in pounds (France-Visas, November 2026)

The visa fee is set by the EU and is the same for every Schengen country, but in the UK it is usually charged in pounds, so the amount moves with the exchange rate: TLScontact's London centre for Belgium lists the adult fee as £81 (November 2026). Some applicants, such as family members of EU citizens, pay no visa fee. Optional extras are priced by the provider — TLScontact charges £79.74 per person for a Belgian “Prime Time” appointment outside standard hours, for example.

Step by step

1. 1

   Fill in the application form

   Each country uses its own system — France-Visas for France, applyvisa.um.dk for Denmark, the form on the Global Visa Center World site for Greece. The country guides link to the right one.
2. 2

   Book the appointment, or join the waiting list

   On the website of the company your destination uses, in the city its rules allow. See how booking works.
3. 3

   Prepare the documents

   Against the destination's own checklist, with copies of everything and a fresh share code.
4. 4

   Attend the appointment

   Hand in the documents, pay what was not paid online and give fingerprints and a photo. Fingerprints given for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months can be reused, so a repeat applicant may not need to give them again.
5. 5

   Wait for the decision

   The consulate decides within 15 calendar days as a rule, and up to 45 in individual cases. The centre returns the passport, or sends it by courier if you paid for it.

Getting the appointment

On the busy routes the calendar is often empty. New dates appear when a centre releases them or someone cancels, without a published schedule, and they can go within minutes. These are the ways to get one, ours among them:

The routes we check, city by city, are on the UK appointment board page. For waiting lists, walk-in days and the rules of each booking system, see how to book a Schengen visa appointment in 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

Do I need a Schengen visa if I live in the UK?

It depends on your nationality, not your UK status. British and Irish citizens do not. Nationals of countries on the EU’s visa-required list, such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria or China, need a Schengen visa even with a UK residence permit.

Can I apply for a Schengen visa in the UK on a visitor visa?

As a rule you apply where you legally live. The EU Visa Code lets a consulate accept an application from someone only legally present in its area if they justify applying there, so a visitor should normally apply in their country of residence.

What proof of UK status do I need now that BRPs have gone?

Your eVisa. Consulates and visa centres ask for proof from the Home Office’s view and prove service, usually a share code, which lasts 90 days. Make sure your eVisa is linked to the passport you will travel on, and that your permission runs beyond your return.

How early can I apply?

Up to six months before the trip and no later than 15 calendar days before it. Because appointments in the UK can be scarce, or allocated from a waiting list, start as soon as your dates are fixed.

How much does a Schengen visa cost from the UK?

The visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11, collected in pounds; children under 6 pay nothing. The visa centre adds its own service fee, which differs by country.

How long does the decision take?

As a rule 15 calendar days from the application, extendable to 45 days in individual cases.

Sources

• 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: applying for a Schengen visa
• Regulation (EU) 2018/1806: the EU visa lists (Annex I, visa required; Annex II, visa-free), consolidated text
• European Commission: the Schengen Area
• European Union: ETIAS
• European Union: the Entry/Exit System
• European Commission: the Entry/Exit System
• European Union: what is the EES?
• GOV.UK: eVisas
• GOV.UK: view and prove your immigration status
• Embassy of Greece in London: visas
• Global Visa Center World: Greece visas in the UK
• Global Visa Center World (Greece, UK): copy of the UK eVisa and share code
• German Missions in the UK: where can I apply for my visa?
• German Missions in the UK: what documents do I need for a C visa?
• German Missions in the UK: appointment waiting lists from 1 June 2026
• France-Visas: applying from the United Kingdom
• Embassy of Belgium in the UK: short-stay Schengen visa
• TLScontact Belgium, London: visa application fees
• BLS International: Spain visa application centres in the UK
• VFS Global Portugal, UK: how to apply and the two consulates’ counties
• VFS Global Denmark, UK: applying by post

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.