Work out whether Germany is the right country.
This is genuinely first, and it is where files most often go wrong. See the main destination section below.
Germany Visa from the UK: The Complete Guide for Non-UK Nationals
If you live in Britain on a visa or with settled status and you are travelling to Germany, this is what the application asks for, what it costs, where you go, and what most commonly goes wrong.
Written and kept current by an independent Schengen visa consultant in the UK. It is the same advice we give a client before a Germany application is prepared.
Had a Schengen visa refused before? That changes what your file needs. See our refusal reapplication FAQ below, or read what to do after a refusal.
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Independent consultancy. Not affiliated with any government, embassy, consulate or TLScontact, who are Germany’s appointed visa processor in the UK. Official fees are paid directly to the relevant authority.
Flypass Holidays is a private consultancy, not a government body.
Who this is for
Do you actually need a German visa?
If you hold a British passport, no. You can travel to Germany and the rest of the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. This page is not for you. Once ETIAS starts, you will need an ETIAS travel authorisation, which is applied for online and is not a visa.
If you are a non-UK national living in Britain, it depends on your passport, not your UK status. If your nationality requires a Schengen visa, you need one, and indefinite leave to remain, a work visa, a student visa or an eVisa does not exempt you.
What your UK status does decide is where you apply. Because you live here, you apply from here.
The rest of this page is for that second group.
Three separate costs
What a Germany visa costs from the UK
The official Schengen visa fee is EUR 90 for an adult and EUR 45 for a child aged six to eleven. Children under six are free. The fee is set by the European Union, is identical for every Schengen country, and is not refunded if your application is refused.
| What it is | Who you pay | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Official Schengen visa fee | The consulate, via TLScontact, at your appointment | EUR 90 adult · EUR 45 child aged six to eleven · free under six |
| TLScontact service fee | TLScontact, when you confirm your allocated appointment | Set and published by TLScontact; check their current figure when you book |
| Our consultancy fee, if you use us | Flypass Holidays | From £95, confirmed in writing before any work begins |
Under the allocation system, TLScontact asks for its service fee when you confirm the appointment it offers you, and you have a short window to do it. Optional extras are sold separately and are not required.
We never collect, handle or forward official fees.
The TLScontact route
How a German application works
Germany handles UK short stay applications through TLScontact, which runs German visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland come under the Embassy in London; residents of Scotland come under the Consulate General in Edinburgh. TLScontact collects your file and your biometrics and passes them to the German mission, which decides.
Complete the VIDEX form online, print it with its barcode, and gather your documents.
Germany uses its own online application form. The printed copy carries a barcode that the centre scans, so it must be printed from the final version and signed.
Register with TLScontact and wait for your appointment to be allocated.
Since 1 June 2026 in London and Manchester, and since 1 August 2026 in Edinburgh, you no longer choose a slot. Your registration is checked, placed in a queue, and an appointment is offered to you by email in turn. In London and Manchester you then have 12 hours to pay the service fee and confirm; in Edinburgh, 24 hours.
Attend in person. The German mission decides.
You give fingerprints and a photograph and hand over your file. The Embassy publishes its processing time in working days, so plan to three working weeks rather than a fortnight. TLScontact returns your passport by collection or courier.
You may apply up to six months before you travel. With allocated appointments, registering early is the only lever you have, and it costs nothing.
The allocation system applies to short stays of up to 90 days for tourism, medical treatment, visits to family or friends and business. The Embassy describes it as a waiting list set up because demand exceeds the visa section’s capacity. Nobody can move you up it, and anyone who offers to is selling something they do not control.
Four attention points
What a German application asks for
The core Schengen document set applies: a valid passport, the completed application form, a compliant photograph, travel medical insurance with at least EUR 30,000 of cover, proof of your UK residence status, financial evidence, and evidence of your travel plans.
Four things deserve particular attention on German files.
The VIDEX form, printed with its barcode.
Germany’s online form generates a barcode on the printed copy. Print the final version, check every page carries it, and sign where indicated. A printout without the barcode is turned away at the centre.
Watch your email once you are in the queue.
The allocation arrives by email and the window to pay and confirm is 12 hours in London and Manchester and 24 in Edinburgh. If it lands while you are away from your phone, the slot goes to the next person.
A formal obligation letter when someone in Germany is paying.
If a host in Germany is covering your costs, the German side expects a formal obligation declaration, issued by their local foreigners authority, rather than a plain invitation. Family visit files most often stumble here.
Working days, not calendar days.
The German Embassy states its processing time in working days. Fifteen working days is three full weeks, more with a bank holiday, so plan to that figure and keep margin for the appointment wait on top.
The main destination rule
Applying to Germany when your trip covers more than one country
Apply to Germany only if Germany is your main destination, meaning usually the country where you will spend the most nights. If you will spend more nights in the Netherlands, Austria or Czechia, your application must go to that country’s consulate instead, even if you fly into Frankfurt or Berlin first. Where nights are split equally between two countries, the main purpose of the trip decides, and failing that, it goes to the one you will enter first.
This catches people out constantly, because Frankfurt and Munich are major hubs and a German flight is often the cheapest way into central Europe. A fortnight split between Germany, Austria and Czechia is not automatically a German application.
Apply to the wrong consulate and your file is sent back unexamined. The visa fee is refunded, but the appointment, the visa centre’s service fee and the time are lost, and in a busy season that can cost you the trip.
Count your nights before you do anything else.
Flypass Holidays is a private consultancy, not a government body.
A separate route
If you are the family member of an EU citizen
There is a separate route for spouses and family members of EU or EEA citizens, and it is not the same application. The requirements differ, and in many cases the visa fee does not apply at all.
If you are married to or the close family member of an EU or EEA national and you are travelling with them or to join them in Germany, check this route before you start a standard tourist application, because the evidence you need is different from the beginning.
We prepare EU family member applications as one of our standard services, so if this is your situation, say so in your first message and the file is built on the correct basis from the start.
Casework patterns
Where German applications run into trouble
Most refusals are not caused by a missing form. They are caused by a file that does not hold together.
Financial evidence that does not support the trip.
Not whether you have money, but whether the trip you have described fits the financial picture your statements show. A large unexplained deposit shortly before applying invites more questions than a modest balance does.
A VIDEX printout without its barcode, or an unsigned one.
Covered above. It is the most common reason a German file is turned away at the desk.
A stated purpose that the documents do not match.
If your letter says tourism and your itinerary is a week of meetings, the file contradicts itself.
The wrong consulate.
Covered above.
A previous refusal that has not been addressed.
Refusals are recorded and visible to every Schengen consulate. The notice states the grounds, and those grounds tell you what has to be answered rather than repeated.
Registering too late for the queue.
With allocated appointments, the wait before the appointment is the binding constraint. Register the moment your plans are firm, and see our Schengen visa processing time page for the full picture.
Honest service
How we can help, and what we cannot do
What we cannot do. We cannot issue a visa, influence a decision, or obtain or accelerate an appointment. Anyone who tells you otherwise is describing something they do not control.
What we help with.
- The right consulate. We confirm Germany is the correct country for your trip before you spend anything.
- Appointment strategy. Which centre your address falls under, when to apply within the windows, and what to have ready. The booking itself is yours to make.
- Your document set. Built around your actual status in the UK and checked against the current TLScontact checklist for the mission that covers you.
- Cover letter and itinerary. We draft your cover letter and itinerary so they reconcile with your bookings.
- Your finances. We read your statements the way a consular officer will and tell you what needs explaining before you apply.
- Employer letter and insurance. What your employer’s letter must say, and the cover Germany requires.
- The final audit. Line by line before you attend, because catching a problem then costs an afternoon and catching it afterwards can cost the trip.
This is what we prepare.
Abdul Mateen, who founded the practice, reads the cases himself. Our fee starts from £95, confirmed in writing before any work begins.
And when you do not need us, we say so. If your case is straightforward, your finances are settled and you have time in hand, applying on your own works and plenty of people do it.
What travellers say
Reviews from people who sat where you are sitting
Read genuine, unedited client reviews on Trustpilot.
- August 2026
Emmanuel Lawal
Great customer service and explains every process clearly.
Review on Trustpilot - August 2026
Louie
Good customer service and with a well detailed information given each step of the way.
Review on Trustpilot - July 2026
Collin Moore
A great help in explaining the process and guiding us through all the required documents
Review on Trustpilot
Frequently asked questions
Germany visa questions, answered plainly
Official references: EU Home Affairs, Schengen visa policy · German Embassy London, visa information · Companies House, Flypass Holidays Limited
No. Flypass Holidays Limited is a private consultancy registered in England and Wales, company number 16891200. We are not affiliated with any government, embassy or consulate, nor with VFS Global, TLScontact, BLS International or Global Visa Center World. We cannot issue a visa and we cannot influence a decision.
If you hold a British passport, no, not for stays up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Once ETIAS starts, you will need an ETIAS travel authorisation, which is applied for online and is not a visa. If you are a non-UK national living in Britain, whether you need a Schengen visa depends on your nationality, not on your UK status.
No. Your UK eVisa proves your right to live in Britain. It is not a Schengen visa and it does not permit entry to Germany. If your nationality requires a Schengen visa you need one regardless of your UK status. You will usually prove your UK status with an eVisa share code rather than a card.
Yes, if your passport requires one. Indefinite leave to remain is UK immigration status and it does not change what the Schengen area asks of your nationality. It does strengthen your application, because it is strong evidence that you will return.
The official Schengen visa fee is EUR 90 for an adult and EUR 45 for a child aged six to eleven, free under six. TLScontact charges its own service fee, paid when you confirm your allocated appointment, and optional extras such as courier return are sold separately and are not required. If you use a consultancy that is a third and separate cost. Ours starts from £95.
Through TLScontact, which runs German visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland come under the Embassy in London; residents of Scotland come under the Consulate General in Edinburgh. You attend in person to give your fingerprints and photograph. TLScontact collects the file; the German mission makes the decision.
Since 1 June 2026 in London and Manchester, and since 1 August 2026 in Edinburgh, short stay appointments are allocated rather than booked. You register with TLScontact, your registration is checked and placed in a queue, and an appointment is offered to you by email in turn. You then have 12 hours in London and Manchester, or 24 hours in Edinburgh, to pay the service fee and confirm it. Nobody can hold a slot for you or move you up the queue.
Germany’s online Schengen visa application form. You complete it online, print the final version, which carries a barcode, and sign it. The centre scans the barcode, so a printout without one is not accepted.
Only if Germany is your main destination, meaning usually where you will spend the most nights. If more nights fall in the Netherlands, Austria or Czechia, the application goes there instead, even if you fly into Germany first. Where nights are equal, the main purpose of the trip decides, and failing that, it goes to your first point of entry.
A formal obligation declaration issued by their local foreigners authority, rather than a plain letter of invitation. It is the document family visit files most often lack.
The consulate’s decision follows the standard Schengen timeframe, and the appointment you attend beforehand is usually the longer wait. We set out the full timeline on our Schengen visa processing time page.
Yes. You need cover valid across the Schengen area for the whole of your stay, with a minimum of EUR 30,000. It is checked when you submit.
Yes. A previous refusal makes preparation more important, not less. The refusal notice states the grounds. We read those grounds, work out what was doubted, and rebuild the application to answer it rather than resubmitting the same file.
No, and no honest agency can. Decisions are made solely by the German consulate. What we control is the quality of what reaches them.
Flypass Holidays is a private consultancy, not a government body.
Ready when you are.
Tell us where in Germany you are going and when. You will get a straight answer the same working day about whether Germany is the right country to apply to, whether your timeline works, and whether your case needs us at all.
Flypass Holidays Limited · 50 Princes Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 1RJ · info@flypassholidays.co.uk