Who does new visa appointment change in UK apply to?

A new appointment system has been introduced at UK TLScontact visa application centres for France, which now see slots automatically allocated. 

“Instead of selecting and booking an appointment online, applicants will be automatically allocated an appointment, based on availability,” stated TLScontact, the private company that handles visa applications for several countries. 

The automatic system was introduced to centres in Wandsworth (London) and Manchester on August 1, and in Edinburgh from September 11. 

Note that the change only applies to short stay visas, for visits to France lasting less than 90 days. 

“The new booking system should only impact applications for stays under 90 days. For stays over 90 days, visitors should be able to select an appointment,” TLScontact told The Connexion.

UK citizens only need to apply for a French visa if planning to stay for longer than 90 days, for example, on a temporary long-stay visa (visa de long séjour temporaire, VLS-T) - the visa most commonly used by UK second-home owners who wish to spend up to six months in France. 

Taking this into consideration, the automatic appointment system should not impact UK citizens, who do not require visas for short stay visits to France due to the 90/180 days Schengen rule. 

The new appointment system instead applies to non-EU foreign nationals living in the UK on the EU’s visa-required list. Note, this does not include visa-exempt non-EU nationals living in the UK, such as Americans, Canadians and Australians.  

Why is there a new booking system for short stay visas?

“This new process is being implemented to protect visa applicants from fraudulent and costly third-party agencies, and ensure fair and equitable access to visa appointments for all legitimate applicants,” said TLScontact.

The platform has issued a notice at the top of their website, alerting applicants to be aware of intermediaries fraudulently selling visa appointments.

TLScontact has also appealed for any information that can “help to combat fraud, and protect the integrity of the visa appointment and application process.”

How does the new booking system for short stay visas work?

Applicants should register on the TLScontact website and provide the required information about their application.

Once validated, applicants will receive a confirmation message indicating that their application has been received and placed in a queue.

They will then receive an email notification when an appointment has been automatically allocated. This slot is personal and non-transferable.

Applicants will then have 12 hours to pay the service fee and confirm their appointment.

TLScontact reminds applicants to check their email inbox and spam folder regularly.

If an applicant has not been allocated an appointment within 60 days, their data will be deleted from the TLScontact system and a new account must be created via the website to request an appointment. 

Rescheduling poses issues

Connexion reader 'Michael' said he had contacted TLScontact to ask what would happen if an applicant had other commitments at the time of their allocated appointment. However, he had not understood that the new automatic allocation system related only to short-stay applicants and was intersted in a temporary long-stay visa. 

He received the following response: “Please note that appointment rescheduling is no longer available. TLScontact cannot manually book, allocate, reserve, or guarantee priority appointments on behalf of applicants.

“If you are unable to attend your allocated appointment, you can cancel the appointment online and wait for the application to be automatically purged from the system. Once the application has been purged, you will be able to create a new application and book a new appointment, subject to availability.

“Please also note that once the deletion has been completed, you will need to create a new France-Visas application and a new TLScontact account to book a new appointment using the newly generated FRA reference number.”