TL;DR
Indefinite leave to remain is not a Schengen visa. If your passport is visa-required you still need a Type C visa; ILR is what lets you apply from the UK. Prove it with an eVisa share code and a printout of the status page, apply to your main destination, and bring the standard document set. The consulate decides within 15 calendar days of biometrics as standard. Our desk prepares the whole file for £99.
Does an ILR holder need a Schengen visa?
Two questions decide it, and your settled status answers neither.
- What passport do you hold? Nationality decides whether a visa is required at all. Being a permanent UK resident, however settled, does not by itself remove the requirement. If you have naturalised and hold a British passport, you travel on that and need no visa for short stays.
- Where do you live? Lawful UK residence lets you apply from the UK rather than from your country of nationality. ILR is the strongest form of that residence, and the visa centre will still want to see it.
So an Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian, Bangladeshi or Filipino national with ILR needs the same Schengen visa as a colleague on a Skilled Worker visa; the difference is only in how the UK status is shown. Unsure whether your passport is visa-required? Start with do I need a Schengen visa from the UK.
| 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 |
How to prove indefinite leave to remain at the visa centre
The UK has moved from physical BRP cards to a digital eVisa. If your card has expired as part of that switch, your leave has not: it lives in your online UKVI account, and a share code is how you show it.
- Go to gov.uk and sign in to your UKVI account.
- Select view and prove your immigration status.
- Choose to share your status and generate a share code.
- Give the code and your date of birth to the visa centre, and print the status page for your bundle.
Share codes expire, so generate the code close to your appointment and check that the page shows the right status before you print it. If you still hold a valid physical BRP, or your ILR is a vignette or stamp in an older passport, bring that as well. Our sources do not record operator-specific rules on which format each centre prefers, so the safe file has the printout, the passport and any card you hold. The general guide to UK status at the centre is Schengen visa with a UK BRP or eVisa.
Filling in the residence permit fields with an eVisa
Most application forms ask for a residence permit number and expiry date. An eVisa ILR has neither: there is no card number and no expiry. On Romania's eViza portal our desk enters "eVisa ILR settled status" as the document, the share code as the number and the passport expiry as the date, which the consulate has accepted on a live application. Other portals and paper forms are not covered in our sources, so follow the form's own guidance, and where there is none, describe the status in words and let the printout do the rest. Never invent an expiry date.
Which country to apply to
The rule is the same for every applicant: apply to the country where you will spend the most nights, or to the country you enter first if the nights are equal. A 3-night Paris and 2-night Rome trip is a France application; a Spain week with a day trip to Portugal is a Spain application. Applying wherever appointments are available is a misrepresentation that consulates recognise, and it is refused. The worked examples are in which country to apply to.
Your ILR plays no part in this choice. It does decide the centre you can use, since every UK centre and consulate accepts applications from UK residents, and Poland, Luxembourg and Romania take them in London only.
Multiple-entry visas: what to expect honestly
Many ILR holders travel often and want a long visa. The consulate decides the number of entries and the validity on four things: your prior use of Schengen visas, the purpose and frequency of your trips, your UK ties, and that your passport stays valid well beyond the visa. Under the Visa Code's cascade, a clean record on recent visas can lead to a 1-year multiple-entry visa, then 3 years, then 5.
Settled status supports the UK-ties part of that picture, and it removes one worry that other applicants have: consulates like to see UK leave running at least three months beyond the return date, and ILR has no end date. It does not shorten the cascade. First-time applicants often receive a single-entry or short multiple-entry visa, and the way to a longer one is to request multiple entry on the form, justify it in the cover letter with the pattern of travel, and keep a clean record. The detail is in multiple-entry Schengen visas from the UK.
Documents for an ILR holder
The standard Schengen document set, with the UK-status line answered by your share code:
| Category | What to bring |
|---|---|
| Identity | Passport issued within 10 years, valid at least 3 months beyond the trip, two blank pages; old passports showing travel history |
| Application | Completed and signed form; one photo to the 35 by 45 mm specification |
| UK status | eVisa share code and printed status page; any BRP or ILR vignette you still hold |
| Trip | Round-trip travel itinerary, accommodation for every night, day-by-day plan |
| Funds | 3 to 6 months of bank statements, payslips, proof of income |
| Insurance | Cover across the whole Schengen area for the whole trip, at least 30,000 euros medical and repatriation |
| Ties to the UK | Employer or university letter, tenancy or property, family, plus your settled status |
The heart of the decision is still that you will leave the Schengen area and return to the UK. ILR helps, but the consulate wants the job, the home and the bank history alongside it. Weak evidence of ties is a leading refusal reason, whatever the status.
Fees and the £99 service
The consulate fee is 90 euros for an adult, about 81 pounds, fixed EU-wide, with 45 euros for children aged 6 to 11 and nothing under 6. The visa centre adds its own fee, from nothing for Poland, Luxembourg and Romania to about 45 pounds, paid at the centre. Neither is refunded on a refusal.
Our desk prepares the whole application for a flat £99 service fee, any country: the form, the document pack with your share code printout in the right place, and the appointment on the operator's official system. The file is ready within 24 hours of your complete documents and details, and the appointment booked within 3 working days of a complete file, or the fee back. Full refund before work starts. You attend biometrics, pay the official fees at the centre, and the consulate decides. Start at the plan step, or do it yourself with the checklist generator and the Bundler.
Sources
Common questions
- 01
Do ILR holders need a Schengen visa?
Your passport decides, not your UK status. Indefinite leave to remain is UK immigration permission and gives no right to enter the Schengen area. If your nationality is visa-required, for example Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian, Bangladeshi or Filipino, you need a Schengen Type C visa for any short stay. If you have since naturalised and travel on a British passport, you do not.
- 02
Can I enter Europe with ILR and no visa?
No. A UK residence status, whether ILR, a BRP or an eVisa, is not a Schengen visa and carriers and border guards will not treat it as one. What ILR does is let you apply for the Schengen visa from the UK, at a UK visa centre, instead of from your country of nationality.
- 03
How do I prove ILR at VFS, TLScontact, BLS or GVC?
With an eVisa share code. Sign in to your UKVI account at gov.uk, choose view and prove your immigration status, generate a share code, and give it with your date of birth to the centre, along with a printout of the status page and your passport. If you still hold a valid physical BRP or an ILR vignette in an old passport, bring that too. Share codes expire, so generate the code close to your appointment.
- 04
Does ILR get me a multi-year multiple-entry visa?
Not by itself. The consulate sets the validity and number of entries on your travel history, the purpose and frequency of your trips, your UK ties and your passport validity. Applicants with a clean record on previous Schengen visas move up a cascade of 1, 3 and 5 year visas. Settled status supports the UK-ties part of that picture; first-time applicants often receive a single-entry or short multiple-entry visa whatever their status.
- 05
Which country should an ILR holder apply to?
The same rule as everyone else: the country where you will spend the most nights, or the country you enter first if the nights are equal. Your UK status plays no part in the choice, and applying to a consulate because it has appointments rather than because it is your main destination is a recognised refusal reason.
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