TLScontact Germany Visa Appointment UK: The Waiting List

TL;DR

Germany Schengen visa appointments in the UK go through TLScontact. Since 1 June 2026 the German embassy has allocated London and Manchester appointments from a waiting list: you register online with TLScontact, dates are allocated first come, first served, and you pay the TLScontact fee within 24 hours of an allocation. Edinburgh serves applicants living in Scotland. You pay the 90 euro consulate fee (about 81 pounds) on top. Standard processing is 15 calendar days after biometrics.

How to get an appointment

To get a Germany Schengen visa appointment in the UK, start with where you live. The German missions' page says the London and Manchester centres serve applicants living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Edinburgh centre serves applicants living in Scotland. TLScontact runs all three, and the German mission decides your application.

In London and Manchester there is no calendar to pick a slot from. Since 1 June 2026, because demand exceeds capacity, the embassy has run an appointment waiting list through TLScontact there. Registration is online on TLScontact's site only, for your visa category (tourism or planned medical treatment, business, visiting family or friends, or an organised school trip), and appointments are allocated first come, first served. When one is allocated you must pay the TLScontact service fee within 24 hours, or the appointment is cancelled and you rejoin the list. Your registration details must match your passport exactly, or the appointment is lost.

Edinburgh is not named in the waiting list notice. If you live in Scotland, check what TLScontact shows for Edinburgh when you register. The embassy states the current process at uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/visa.

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

Step by step

1. Read the embassy's current process on uk.diplo.de, where any change appears first.
2. Use the centre for where you live: London or Manchester for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Edinburgh for Scotland.
3. Register online with TLScontact for the right visa category. In London and Manchester this puts you on the waiting list. Register as early as your plans allow: an application is accepted up to 6 months before travel.
4. Pay within 24 hours of an allocation: the TLScontact service fee, or the appointment is cancelled and you rejoin the list.
5. Attend in person to give biometrics and submit your documents, and pay the 90 euro consulate fee for an adult (about 81 pounds). Standard processing is 15 calendar days after biometrics.

The appointment date starts the clock, not the day you register. If the allocated date is three weeks out, your realistic decision date is that date plus 15 calendar days, and up to 45 in some cases, so work backwards from your travel date before booking anything non-refundable.

TLScontact Germany at a glance

The service fee above is an estimate: TLScontact does not publish the exact UK figure openly, so treat it as a range and check the total shown when you pay.

While you are on the waiting list

The embassy publishes no waiting time and says it will not answer emails about one, so treat any quoted number with suspicion. What genuinely helps:

• Register early, as soon as you know the purpose and rough dates of the trip.
• Register under the right category. The embassy says applicants who book the wrong category cannot be served.
• Keep your file ready so you can pay within 24 hours of an allocation and attend on the date given.
• Ignore slot-bot services and paid "guaranteed slot" offers. The embassy says the list is meant to protect applicants from fraudulent and expensive appointment booking agencies, and that it is not necessary to engage an agency.

What our booking desk does. For a customer living in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the desk registers them on the London or Manchester waiting list as soon as the file is complete, keeps the file ready, and the day an appointment is allocated confirms it with the customer, who pays the TLScontact fee within the 24 hours. For a customer living in Scotland, the desk uses Edinburgh and works with what TLScontact shows there. Our appointment availability index lists the earliest Germany slot we have actually seen and the day we saw it: our own dated reading, never scraped. While the waiting list runs, the index shows "Waiting list open" for Germany rather than a date: it means registration was open when the desk last looked, and the embassy issues the date from the list. The done-for-you service is a £99 service fee, official fees paid by you, and we book within three working days of your complete file, subject to availability, or the fee comes back; on a waiting list, booked means registered (our booking promise).

Before your appointment

The centre checks your file at the counter, so a gap found there costs you the appointment. Prepare with:

• Checklist generator: a tailored document list for a Germany application
• Bundler and Compressor: assemble and size your file
• Travel insurance covering at least 30,000 euros of medical costs, valid across Schengen
• Accommodation proof and a flight itinerary that match your dates
• Bank statements covering the recent months

Visiting more than one country on the trip? Confirm Germany is the right country to apply to before you register.

After the appointment is allocated: the application

With the appointment secured, the file you bring decides everything. Read the Germany waiting list guide, the complete Germany visa from the UK guide and Germany processing times. Total every cost with the cost calculator. Or hand the work over: our done-for-you Schengen service prepares the application, builds the document file and registers or books the appointment for a £99 service fee; you attend biometrics and pay the official fees yourself.