Work out whether Italy is the right country.
This is genuinely first, and it is where files most often go wrong. See the main destination section below.
Italy 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 Italy, 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 an Italy 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 VFS Global, who are Italy’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 an Italian visa?
If you hold a British passport, no. You can travel to Italy 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 an Italy 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 VFS, at your appointment, in pounds, cash or card | EUR 90 adult · EUR 45 child aged six to eleven · free under six |
| VFS Global service fee | VFS Global, in advance, before your appointment | Set and published by VFS Global; 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 |
The Consulate General says visa fees at the VFS centres are paid in British pounds, by cash or card. Optional extras such as courier return or premium lounges are sold at the centre and are not required.
We never collect, handle or forward official fees.
The VFS route
How an Italian application works
Italy handles UK applications through VFS Global, which runs Italian visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. VFS is not the decision maker. They collect your file and your biometrics and pass them to the Italian consulate, which decides.
Check your consular district, then complete the form and gather your documents.
England, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar come under the Consulate General in London. Scotland and Northern Ireland come under Edinburgh.
Attend your appointment in person.
You give fingerprints and a photograph and hand over your file. Nobody can attend in your place.
The consulate decides.
The Consulate General says a decision takes at least 15 days and can take up to 45, and that the system is automated and cannot be rushed. VFS returns your passport by collection or courier.
You may apply up to six months before you travel and no later than 15 calendar days before it. Applying early is the most useful thing you can do and it costs nothing.
VFS Global runs Italian visa application centres at 8 to 20 Pocock Street, London SE1, 50 Devonshire Street North, Manchester M12 and 1 Rennie’s Isle, Leith, Edinburgh EH6. Appointments are booked only through VFS. Use the checklist for the consulate that covers where you live.
Four attention points
What an Italian 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 Italian files.
Your consular district decides where the file goes, and a UK visit visa rules you out.
The London Consulate General accepts applications only from residents of its district, and it says that holders of a UK short visit visa are not eligible to apply from the UK at all. If you are here on a visit visa, you apply from your country of residence.
Staying with family or friends needs the host’s own paperwork.
Italy expects a signed declaration of hospitality from your host with a copy of their identity document and evidence of their address, in place of a hotel booking for those nights. Leaving those nights blank is the most common gap on Italian files.
Proof of UK status now usually means an eVisa share code.
Your permission to live in the UK should run comfortably beyond your return date. Most people now generate a share code rather than presenting a card.
The 15 day minimum and the 45 day ceiling are real.
You cannot lodge later than 15 calendar days before travel, and the consulate says a decision can take up to 45 days when further checks are needed. Plan the trip to the longer figure, not the shorter one.
The main destination rule
Applying to Italy when your trip covers more than one country
Apply to Italy only if Italy is your main destination, meaning usually the country where you will spend the most nights. If you will spend more nights in France, Switzerland or Austria, your application must go to that country’s consulate instead, even if you fly into Rome or Milan 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 Italy is a common first stop on a wider European trip and a Rome or Milan flight is often the cheapest way in. A fortnight split between Italy, France and Switzerland is not automatically an Italian 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 Italy, 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 Italian 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.
Nights with friends or family left uncovered.
Covered above. Without the host’s declaration and documents, those nights read as unaccounted for.
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.
Applying too late.
Appointment availability, not the decision itself, is usually the binding constraint. We set out the full picture on our Schengen visa processing time page.
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 Italy 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 VFS checklist for the consulate 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 Italy 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
Italy visa questions, answered plainly
Official references: EU Home Affairs, Schengen visa policy · Consulate General of Italy in London · 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 Italy. 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. VFS Global charges its own service fee, paid in advance, before your 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 VFS Global, which runs Italian visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Residents of England, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar come under the Consulate General in London; Scotland and Northern Ireland come under the Consulate General in Edinburgh. You attend in person to give your fingerprints and photograph. VFS collects the file; the Italian consulate makes the decision.
Only if Italy is your main destination, meaning usually where you will spend the most nights. If more nights fall in France or Switzerland, the application goes there instead, even if you fly into Italy first. Where nights are equal, the main purpose of the trip decides, and failing that, it goes to your first point of entry.
A signed declaration of hospitality from your host, with a copy of their identity document and evidence of their address, covering the nights you are with them. Hotel bookings cover the rest. Nights left blank are the most common gap on Italian files.
No. The Consulate General in London says that holders of a UK short visit visa are not eligible to apply from the UK. You apply from the country where you live.
Up to six months before you travel, and no later than 15 calendar days before. The consulate says a decision takes at least 15 days and can take up to 45, and that the automated system cannot be rushed.
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 Italian 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 Italy you are going and when. You will get a straight answer the same working day about whether Italy 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