Schengen Visa for Algerians in the UK (2026 Guide)

TL;DR

Algerian citizens need a Schengen visa. If you legally live in the UK, you apply in the UK with your BRP or eVisa share code, not in Algiers. If France is your main destination, that means the France-Visas form, then TLScontact in London, Manchester or Edinburgh, and a host form if you stay with relatives. Algeria is on the EU's prior-consultation list, so allow more than 15 days. We prepare and book it for £99. The fixed facts:

Schengen short-stay visa key facts, 2026

Schengen short-stay visa (Type C)	2026
Visa fee (adult)	€90
Visa fee (child 6 to 11)	€45
Visa fee (child under 6)	Free
Maximum stay	90 days in any rolling 180-day period
Standard processing	15 calendar days (up to 45 in some cases)
Travel insurance, minimum cover	€30,000
Passport	Issued within 10 years; valid 3+ months beyond your trip
Member states	29 countries

Do Algerian citizens need a Schengen visa?

Yes. Algeria is on the EU's list of nationalities that need a visa to cross the Schengen external border (Annex I of Regulation 2018/1806), so every Algerian passport holder needs a short-stay (Type C) visa for a family visit, a holiday or business, however long they have lived in the UK. A UK visa or ILR never waives it. What UK residence decides is where you apply.

If you live in Algeria, you apply in Algeria, through the operator your destination uses there; the UK consulates do not take files from people who are only visiting the UK. See parents visiting the UK for the visitor case.

Proving you live in the UK

Consulates take an application from a non-EU national who legally resides in their district. You prove that with:

• an eVisa share code from your UKVI account on gov.uk ("view and prove your immigration status"), with the printed status page and your date of birth. Generate it close to the appointment; codes expire. See the eVisa share code guide.
• a valid BRP card, front and back, if you still hold one
• the visa vignette in your passport, for a recent arrival

Your UK permission should run well beyond the trip; many consulates look for at least three months after you return. We do not advise on UK immigration status.

Applying to France from the UK: the steps

France decided 129,940 UK applications in 2025, all through its London consulate, with the three TLScontact centres feeding it. France states there is no consular district inside the UK, so you may use any of the three centres.

1. Complete the online application at france-visas.gouv.fr. It produces the application reference TLScontact needs and a personal document checklist built from your nationality, UK status and purpose.
2. Create a TLScontact account on the France portal and link the France-Visas reference.
3. All three UK centres allocate automatically (London and Manchester since 1 August 2026, Edinburgh since 11 September 2026). Your validated application joins a queue, TLScontact emails a date, and you have 12 hours to pay for it; it cannot be rescheduled. If nothing is allocated within 60 days the registration is deleted and must be redone. There is no France calendar to pick from.
4. Attend in person: fingerprints, photo, documents and fees. Allow around an hour.
5. The passport comes back by courier or by collection after the decision.

The TLScontact service fee is about £35 to £48, an estimate because the UK figure is not published; the consulate fee is €90 (about £81). Full detail: France visa from the UK, TLScontact France appointments and the France document list. If your main destination is another country, the main-destination rule decides: the country with the most nights, or the first entry if the nights are equal.

Staying with family: the host form

For a private visit France asks for proof of where you will stay. When that is a relative's home, the proof is an attestation d'accueil: your host applies for it at their mairie and posts you the original to include with your file. Add a copy of the host's ID and their residence permit if they are not French, and a short invitation letter. For a hotel stay, the booking is enough. Other Schengen countries have their own host forms; see invitation letters.

Why Algerian applications can take longer: prior consultation

Under Article 22 of the Visa Code, a Schengen state may require other states' central authorities to consult it before a visa is issued to nationals of certain countries. The European Commission's list includes Algeria, which means at least one member state asks to be consulted on every Algerian application lodged anywhere in the Schengen system, with seven calendar days to reply. The 15-day standard is therefore more likely to stretch, the Visa Code allows up to 45 days, and the consulate may ask for extra documents. Lodge up to six months before travel, and at least four weeks ahead, longer for summer and the end-of-year holidays.

What documents do Algerian nationals need?

The standard Schengen document set, with the points that matter for Algerian applicants:

Which consulate, if not France?

Every country is in the cost index. Guides: Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium.

How do you prove you will return to the UK?

Consulates refuse when they doubt the applicant will leave Schengen and come back to the UK. The evidence that answers it is a life here on paper: an employer letter with approved leave and a return date, a tenancy or mortgage, children at school, UK status with months to run, and a travel history of trips you returned from. Thin or inconsistent ties and funds evidence is the leading refusal reason from the UK, not nationality. See why Schengen visas are refused and the proof of funds guide.

Fees from the UK for an Algerian passport

The consulate fee is set EU-wide: €90 for an adult (about £81 at the consulate's own rate), €45 for a child aged 6 to 11, free under 6. Poland's embassy charges £79 and £40 in pounds with no centre fee. The centre adds its own fee, from £15 for Spain to about £45 for France, and insurance costs from about £12. Applying yourself costs about £91 to £138 per adult, paid at the centre on the day; a refusal generally does not refund the consulate fee.

If we prepare and book it, our service fee is £99 for the first applicant and £69 for each extra person on the same trip, up to five per order: £168 for a couple, £306 for four. Official fees are paid per person at the centre and never through us.

Refusal rates and timing

The Commission's figures are by consulate, not by nationality. For files lodged in the UK in 2025: France refused 8.5% of 129,940 (6.0% in 2024), Spain 6.1% of 138,195, Italy 6.0% of 18,956, Germany 3.2% of 32,725, Belgium 14.8% of 12,135, the Netherlands 1.0% of 25,711 and Switzerland 10.6% of 16,123; see the UK refusal rates page. Standard processing is 15 calendar days from the appointment, up to 45; with prior consultation, plan for the longer figure.

Want it prepared and booked for you?

Our France visa service and the wider Schengen visa service for the UK complete the France-Visas form and the document pack to the TLScontact checklist and register you in the TLScontact queue in your own name, for a £99 service fee, £69 for each extra traveller. Two written promises: prepared within 24 hours of your complete documents and details, or your service fee back; and your appointment booked, or your place on the queue registered, within 3 working days of your complete file, subject to availability, or your service fee back. We do not promise a visa, we do not sell slots, and the €90 fee and the centre fee are paid by you at the centre. findmyvisa.co.uk is run by WayaNerd Ltd, company number 16269713, and a person answers on WhatsApp.

Other country service pages: Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal.

Doing it yourself? Use the checklist generator, then the bundler and compressor, and start from the Schengen visa from the UK hub.