FAQ: COVID-19

Many of our visa centres are now reopening as government restrictions ease. In order to check whether our visa centres are open in your country, please consult our COVID-19 updates page. You can also access this information directly on our local TLScontact websites.

Will my visa application be affected if a lockdown is reintroduced?

Working closely with our government clients, we are doing everything we can to keep operating our visa application centres during this period, while ensuring the health and safety of our customers and our staff.
In certain countries, the reintroduction of lockdown conditions has forced us to close our centres temporarily. In others, we are still able to operate. Whenever we are obliged to close a centre, we strive to provide the most accurate, timely information possible to our visa customers, either directly by e-mail or on our website.

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Why are some of your centres still closed?

Many of our Visa Application Centres for Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the UK are now open again.
The reopening of our centres is dependent on different factors: the removal of local restrictions, permission to open from local government authorities and approval from our government clients. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread around the world, restrictions have been reintroduced in certain countries.
In order to check the status of your local TLScontact visa centre, please check our COVID-19 updates page and your local TLScontact website.

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How can I know if the country I want to go to is accepting visa applications?

At the current time, international travel remains limited and some of our client countries are still not accepting new visa applications, or only applications for certain visa types. For more information, we advise you to visit the website for the visa authorities of the country that you wish to travel to. We will also update our websites as and when we receive approval from our government clients to start processing new visa applications. In order to check the status of your local TLScontact visa centre, please check our COVID-19 updates page and your local TLScontact website.

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If your visa centre is closed, is there another way to submit a visa application?

Unfortunately, for visa applications to our client countries, it is mandatory to visit one of our visa centres. There is currently no other way to apply for your visa. In order to check the status of the visa centre where you want to go, please visit our COVID-19 updates page or your local TLScontact website.

If you wish to apply for a UK visa and your local centre remains closed due to coronavirus restrictions, you can submit your application at a UK visa centre in any country worldwide, subject to that country’s entry requirements. For more information on how to do this, please visit your local website or the COVID-19 advice page on the gov.uk website.

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Is it safe to go to your visa centres?

We take the safety of our applicants and staff very seriously. Strict sanitary measures have been introduced in all our visa centres. Anyone entering our centres is required to provide a body temperature reading and must wear a facemask. We have also introduced hand sanitisers and hygiene screens and have reorganised our centres to respect social distancing requirements.

Thanks to services such as our Express Courier Return, you can also avoid having to return to our centre once a decision has been made on your application: your passport can be sent directly to you*.

*We invite you to check on our local website to see whether this service is available in your country.

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Do I have to come to your centre to submit my application?

Working closely with our government clients, we are doing everything we can to keep operating our visa application centres during this period, while ensuring the health and safety of our customers and our staff.
In certain countries, the reintroduction of lockdown conditions has forced us to close our centres temporarily. In others, we are still able to operate. Whenever we are obliged to close a centre, we strive to provide the most accurate, timely information possible to our visa customers, either directly by e-mail or on our website.

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When I arrive in the country I am travelling to, will there be any checks?

This depends on the country you are going to. You may need to go through a quarantine period in a specific location or self-quarantine for a number of days. You might also need to provide a temperature reading upon arrival, or take other sanitary measures. We invite you to check with the local authorities in your destination country before travelling.

If you wish to travel to the UK, please visit the gov.uk website for further information around self-isolation rules upon arrival at UK borders.

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Are you prioritising certain visa types at those centres that have reopened?

This depends on each individual government and TLScontact has no role in this decision.

Concerning the visa centres that we have reopened for the UK, these are open for all visa types.

Our visa centres for Belgium, France, Germany and Italy are currently prioritising certain visa types only.

We will provide more guidance for our customers wishing to travel to other Schengen countries as and when we receive this. We invite you to check your local TLScontact website regularly for updates.

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Are all of your additional services available at the current time?

Most of our additional services are now available in those locations that we are currently operating. However, certain regulated services are not currently available for our UK visa customers, such as the UKVI Priority and Super Priority Visa services. This is due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please check our website to see whether these services are available at your local TLScontact centre.

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My appointment was cancelled because of COVID-19. What should I do now?

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread, we may have to close certain centres temporarily, according to local conditions. For any customers who might be impacted by such closures, you will be informed by our team and a new appointment will be proposed as soon as we are able to reopen our centre.
In order to check the status of your local visa centre, please visit our COVID-19 updates page or your local TLScontact website.

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I applied for a visa, but it expired before I was able to travel. Can I apply for an extension?

The situation is different for our different government clients and TLScontact is not in a position to decide on this. We invite you to consult the relevant website of your destination country for more information.

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Can I get a refund if I haven’t used my visa?

The answer is likely to be different for each of our government clients. TLScontact is not in position to decide on this matter. We invite you to consult the relevant website of your destination country for more information.

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How can I reach TLScontact?

You can contact your local TLScontact centre via the Contact Us page on your local website, by completing an online form. A member of our local team will come back to you as soon as possible.

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