Spain
Spain 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 Spain, this is what the application asks for, what it costs, where you go, and what most commonly goes wrong.
Written and kept current by a UK consultancy that prepares Schengen applications every week.
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- Registered in England, Companies House 16891200
- ICO registered ZC149216
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Independent consultancy. Not affiliated with any government, embassy, consulate or BLS International, who are Spain's appointed visa processor in the UK. Official fees are paid directly to the relevant authority.
Who this is for
Do you actually need a Spanish visa?
If you hold a British passport, no. You can travel to Spain 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. From October 2026 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 Spain 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 the centre, on the day | EUR 90 adult · EUR 45 child aged six to eleven · free under six |
| BLS International service fee | BLS International, on the day | Set and published by BLS; 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 |
Optional extras such as courier return, premium lounges or SMS tracking are sold at the centre and are not required. Decline them if you do not want them.
We never collect, handle or forward official fees.
The BLS route
How a Spanish application works
Spain handles UK applications through BLS International, which operates visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. BLS is not the decision-maker. They collect your file and your biometrics and pass them to the Spanish consulate, which decides.
1. Work out whether Spain is the right country.
This is genuinely first, and it is where files most often go wrong. See the main destination section below.
2. Complete the application form and gather your documents.
Spain publishes its own checklist per centre and per visa type, and it is not identical to other Schengen countries.
3. Attend your appointment in person.
You give fingerprints and a photograph and hand over your file. Nobody can attend in your place.
4. The consulate decides.
BLS returns your passport by collection or courier once the decision is made.
You may apply up to six months before you travel. Applying early is the most useful thing you can do and it costs nothing.
BLS International operates Spanish visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh, and publishes the current address, opening hours and a separate checklist for each. Use the one for the centre you will actually attend, not a generic list from elsewhere.
Four attention points
What a Spanish 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 Spanish files.
Accommodation evidence must cover the whole stay, with no gaps.
A booking covering six nights of an eight-night trip is an obvious question waiting to be asked. If you are staying with friends or family for part of the trip, that part needs its own evidence rather than being left blank.
Your itinerary has to reconcile with your bookings.
Dates, cities and the movement between them should agree with your accommodation and travel reservations. Contradictions between documents cause more trouble than missing documents do.
Proof of UK status now usually means an eVisa share code.
Biometric residence permits have been replaced by the online eVisa, so most people generate a share code rather than presenting a card.
A no-objection letter may be requested.
BLS's own London checklist lists one. It is typically a letter from your employer or place of study confirming they have no objection to your travel and stating your return dates. It is the document most commonly missed by people working from a generic Schengen list.
The main destination rule
Applying to Spain when your trip covers more than one country
Apply to Spain only if Spain is your main destination, meaning the country where you will spend the most nights. If you will spend more nights in Portugal, France or Italy, your application must go to that country's consulate instead, even if you fly into Madrid or Barcelona first. Where nights are split equally between two countries, it goes to the one you will enter first.
This catches people out constantly, because Spain is a common first stop on a wider European trip and its flights are often the cheapest. A fortnight split between Spain, Portugal and Morocco is not automatically a Spanish application.
Applying to the wrong consulate can have your file refused before anyone reads it properly, and that refusal stays on your record and is visible to every Schengen consulate afterwards.
Count your nights before you do anything else.
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, 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 Spanish 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.
Gaps in accommodation.
Covered above, and it remains the most common Spanish-specific problem.
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 do. We confirm Spain is the correct country for your trip before you spend anything. We build your document set around your actual status in the UK and check it against the current BLS checklist for your centre. We draft your cover letter and itinerary so they reconcile with your bookings. We read your financial evidence the way a consular officer will. And we audit the complete file 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
Rated 4.5 out of 5 based on 27 reviews
- September 2026
Lalian Sen
My Schengen visa just got approved. The agent helped me throughout the process. Just respond with the info they ask and they’ll sort out everything else for you in no time!
Verified Trustpilot review - August 2026
Mahesh Patil
Excellent and prompt service! Very efficient team with quick responses, smooth booking, and all documents handled professionally. Really pleased with the overall service.
Verified Trustpilot review - July 2026
Nayya Hassan
It was my first time applying for a Schengen visa and Fly Pass Holidays made the process so easy and seamless. I got a multiple entry Italy visa for 4 months within just two weeks of application. Highly recommend their services!
Verified Trustpilot review
Straight answers
Spain visa questions, answered plainly
Official references: EU Home Affairs, Schengen visa policy · 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. From October 2026 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. A UK biometric residence permit proves your right to live in Britain. It is not a Schengen visa and it does not permit entry to Spain. If your nationality requires a Schengen visa you need one regardless of your UK status. BRPs have also been replaced by the online eVisa, so you will usually prove your UK status with a 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. BLS charges its own service fee on the day, 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 BLS International, which runs Spanish visa application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. You attend in person to give your fingerprints and photograph. BLS collects the file; the Spanish consulate makes the decision.
Only if Spain is your main destination, meaning where you will spend the most nights. If more nights fall in Portugal or France, the application goes there instead, even if you fly into Spain first. Where nights are equal, it goes to your first point of entry.
Evidence covering the whole stay, with no gaps. Hotel bookings, a rental confirmation, or for stays with friends or family, evidence for that portion too. A booking that covers part of the trip and leaves the rest blank is one of the most common problems on Spanish files.
A letter from your employer or place of study confirming they have no objection to your travel and stating the dates you are expected back. BLS lists one on its London checklist. It is the document most often missed by people working from a generic Schengen document list rather than Spain's own.
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 Spanish consulate. What we control is the quality of what reaches them.
Ready when you are.
Tell us where in Spain you are going and when. You will get a straight answer the same working day about whether Spain 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 · [email protected]