Schengen visa from Northern Ireland (Asian citizen)

Dear all, happy new year 2023!

I am a non-UK (Asian) citizen living in Northern Ireland with ILR and want to get a Schengen visa.

Is there any way I could apply for a Schengen visa without going to London or Edinburgh or Manchester or Glasgow etc?

I am planning a holiday and do not care where it is as long as it is in the Schengen country; but at the same time, I do not want to travel outside the island of Ireland just for the visa application.

Thank you in advance.

nbhitesh wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 04, 2023 6:33 pm

outside the island of Ireland

The obvious option would be to drive a few hours down to get a visa in Dublin, but if you need a visa for Schengen area, you, most likely, need it for Ireland as well, plus they may not accept your British residence permit as a proof of residency, since you'd be going from ROI.
You can still try, as the last option, reach out to embassies in ROI, get confirmation you, as a UK resident, can apply there and they'll accept your documents, get an Irish visa, get there and apply, wait or the decision and come back for a passport. But it'll take a long, long time.

To get a Schengen visa you have to give your biometrics, for which you'd have to be present at the consulate/application center regardless. Plus very likely they'd want to get documents from you in person.

According to Wikipedia, there's a Polish consulate in NI, but you still have to go to London if you want to get a tourist visa.
What prevents you from going to Great Britain?

According to Wikipedia, there's a Polish consulate in NI, but you still have to go to London if you want to get a tourist visa. What prevents you from going to Great Britain

Thank you for your helpful suggestion. Seems like a trip to Grt Britain is in order. I wanted to avoid a trip purely to bring down the overall cost (e.g flight/ferry; overnight stay as traveling with family; etc)

nbhitesh wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 04, 2023 8:50 pm

I wanted to avoid a trip purely to bring down the overall cost (e.g flight/ferry; overnight stay as traveling with family; etc)

If you're worried about it timewise, the appointment in VFS centers I was in doesn't take a crazy amount of time, took me 30 min/an hour at most to get things done last time. One working day turnaround is certainly possible.

The good news is that after one appointment, you may be able to submit documents for your other family members for the next 5 years.
https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/vis ... ed-kingdom

When you submit your application your fingerprints will be taken. These will remain valid for 59 months. Some applicants, such as children under the age of 12, do not need to have their fingerprints taken. Did you provide biometric data (fingerprints and photo) within the last 59 months prior to your current application? Then you can choose to have someone else submit your application for you. You do not have to appear in person. This also applies if you had your fingerprints taken within the last 59 months for a visa application submitted through another Schengen member state.

meself2 wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 04, 2023 10:12 pm

One working day turnaround is certainly possible

Realized that could be confusing, apologies: to get biometrics done, not for a decision.

Also you'd usually have to give the passports to an embassy/VFS, but in some places you can either pay more money and have it mailed back to you, so you don't have to come back to collect it, or collect it on family members' behalf, going there alone.

Thank you meself2; this is super helpful. Will look into those options. Probably saves some of my family members a trip as some of us have applied and got schengen visa within the past 59 months.