Romania Schengen Visa Processing Time From the UK (2026)

TL;DR

A Romania Schengen visa from the UK is normally decided within 15 calendar days of the day you lodge it in person at the Consulate General of Romania in London or in Manchester, and up to 45 days where a case needs closer examination. The fee is the Visa Code's EUR 90, charged in pounds at the counter (£78 for a short-stay visa; cash only at Manchester, card at London), with no visa centre fee. Lodge at least 2 weeks before departure and no more than 3 months before it.

How long it takes

A Romania Schengen visa from the UK is normally decided within 15 calendar days of the day you present in person at the consulate. As one of the Schengen area's newest members, Romania applies Article 23 of the EU Visa Code and its 15-day standard in full.

The clock starts on the day you attend, not when you fill in the eViza form, not when the file is marked Valid and not when you book the date. Complete, straightforward applications are often decided well inside 15 days, but the Code allows a longer examination where a case needs closer scrutiny.

We don't publish a "current Romania wait time" in days. Romania takes UK applications through its own eViza portal and its consulates general in London and Manchester (eViza assigns yours from the UK region where you live), and the portal shows dates only once your file has been validated, so what you can see depends on where your own application has reached. Our booking desk logs the earliest date it sees on each consulate's calendar and shows it when there is a current reading.

When to apply

Two limits frame your timing, and they are narrower than the Schengen norm:

• Earliest: you can lodge your Romania application no more than 3 months before your travel date.
• Latest: at least 2 weeks before you travel; the Manchester consulate's own page treats a file lodged later than 15 calendar days before the visit as inadmissible. Go earlier still if an extended case would leave you short.

Romania's UK demand builds through late spring and summer, when Bucharest, Transylvania's castles and the Carpathian mountains see most visitors, with a smaller festive bump around December. City-break traffic to Bucharest and Cluj runs year round. The bottleneck is rarely the 15-day decision: it is getting the online file validated and a consulate date taken inside that 3-month window, so start as soon as your dates are firm.

What can delay it

A decision slips past the 15-day standard for predictable reasons:

• Incomplete documents: a missing bank statement, insurance certificate or proof of UK residence triggers a request that pauses the clock.
• A file that fails validation: each request for additional information on the portal sends the application back to you before it can even take a date.
• Additional checks: borderline funds, an unclear itinerary, or a profile requiring extra background checks invites closer examination.
• Peak season: the summer months bring the year's heaviest demand.
• Weak UK ties: thin evidence that you'll return (employment, studies, family, property) is the leading trigger for scrutiny and refusal.

The strongest lever you control is completeness. Insurance must cover at least €30,000, every claim in your file should be backed by a document, and every upload has to fit the portal's limits: 2 MB per document and 0.5 MB for the photo. Run scans through the compressor and assemble the set with the bundler before you upload.

Costs and margin

Since full Schengen accession in January 2025, Romania charges the standard EUR 90 visa fee under the EU Visa Code, the same as every other member state; older guides still citing EUR 80 are out of date. Children aged 6 to 11 pay EUR 45. Its UK consulates charge the fee in pounds: the London consulate's fee page lists a short-stay visa at £78, and our desk recorded £78 for an adult and £39 for a child at the Manchester consulate on 22 October 2026. Manchester takes cash only at the counter; London takes debit or credit card, with cash only in exceptional cases. There is no visa centre fee on a Romania application, because the consulate takes the file directly, and the fee is paid at the counter on the day you lodge. Compare every country on the Schengen destinations table.

Because processing can stretch to 45 days, and because the passport is collected in person on a second visit, keep flights and hotels refundable until the visa is issued. For the full step-by-step, see the Romania Schengen visa from the UK guide and the Romania appointment guide, price your trip with the Schengen cost calculator, and check your allowance with the 90/180-day calculator.