The French Embassy in London commenced its biometric visa programme on Monday 6th Feb 2012.
French Schengen Visa Applicants are now required to attend the Embassy’s visa center at TLS Contact to give their biometric data by way of fingerprints and a digital photograph. Visa applications via post are no longer an option, this was announced Janurary via the French Consulate website:
France Consulate London Ceases Schengen Visa Application Via Post
The introduction of the new VIS (visa information system) comes at one of the busiest times for travellers requiring French Schengen Visas – just before the Easter break. Historically, prior to outsourcing to TLS Contact in late 2010, the lead time required
to get a personal appointment to submit a visa application was in excess of 5 weeks.
While Embassy accredited agencies were able to get applications processed for most nationalities in 2 – 3 days, their volumes were restricted to an average of 10 visa applications per day. Such services not only aided the ‘Last Minute Taveller’ but also
alleviated much of the French Embassy’s administrative workload due to their filtering of applications that did not meet the Embassy’s stringent requirements.
It is estimated that 40 – 50% of applicants fail to provide application supporting documents that meet the criteria set out by the French Embassy. There is some speculation on the impact that the new visa process will have on the volume of visas
being able to be processed if such high levels of application failures persist.
There is also speculation on the re-introduction of agencies for the initial submission/validation of the Schengen Visa Application form and the required supporting documentation. Clearly the applicant would still have to attend to give their fingerprints and have their digital photograph put on to the VIS database, but that could be done upon approval of their application’s documents. The use of agencies would then guarantee the inital acceptance of the Schengen Visa Application, it would cut down on the time the applicant spends at the centre and and in the event of rejected applications, save on costly and time consuming trips back to the centre to submit missing documentation.
Keep a watch on this site for the progress of system and inform us of your Biometric Schengen Visa experiences as their new system progresses.
June 2004 – European Union decided to implement the Visa Information System (VIS) to be in place by the end of 2006. It has taken somewhat longer to put in place than
originally envisaged but European Embassies around the globe have been steadily installing biometric data capture systems or have outsourced the job to the likes of TLS Contact, VFS Global and Worldbridge.
VIS holds the biometric data contained in every visa issued by the Schengen States. The biometric data consists of fingerprints of both hands and a photograph of the applicant. The data is stored electronically and accessible by all countries of the Schengen States (Excludes the UK/UKBA – see »
Brussels Refuses UK Access To Biometrics Super Database)
To arrange and appointment at the French Embassy’s TLS Visa Center, first read:
Biometric Visa Appointment Requirements