Applying for a visa to Spain.

[MaprangHolmes]

When applying for a visa to Spain do you have to apply through VFS London or can you apply direct to the embassy in London?

Thank you

[Donutz]

In accordance to the Schengen Visa Code (to which all Schengen members are bound), you are entitled to a direct application without ever having any contact with a serviceprovider such as VFS Global or TLS Contact. Sadly not all Schengen embassies/staff seem eager to apply the rules properly...

Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, Community Code on Visa, Article 17, item no. 5 dictates:

"5. The Member State(s) concerned shall maintain the possibility for all applicants to lodge their applications directly at its/their consulates."

And the Visa Handbook:

4.3. The service fee
Legal basis: Visa Code, Article 17
As a fundamental principle, a service fee may be charged to an applicant using the facilities of an external service provider only if the alternative is maintained of direct access to the consulate incurring the payment of just the visa fee (see point 4.4).

4.4. Direct access
Maintaining the possibility for visa applicants to lodge their applications directly at the consulate instead of via an external service provider implies that there should be a genuine choice between these two possibilities.

EN 22 EN
Even if direct access does not have to be organised under identical or similar conditions to those for access to the service provider, the conditions should not make direct access impossible in practice. Even if it is acceptable to have a different waiting time for obtaining an appointment in the case of direct access, the waiting time should not be so long that it would render direct access impossible in practice.
The different options available for lodging a visa application should be presented plainly to the public, including clear information both on the choice and the cost of the additional services of the external service provider (see Part I, point 4.1).

See also: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/703486-spanish-schengen-visa-new-rule/

[BIGJIMMY]

Mrs E did hers at the Spanish Embassy in Bangers!!

[Bpuumike]

Agree withe the above.

Applying at the Spanish Embassy in BKK is very straightforward.

You need to email them first to ask for an appointment but Spanish time seems to apply and you can turn up any time of the morning on the day given. The appointment is merely to hand in your paperwork.

[Donutz]

The OP is inquiring about the Spanish embassy in London and not Krungthep, but that is (or should be) irrelevant: all "Schengen embassies" need to abide the Visa Code and thus you could go to any embassy anywhere in the world that is a member of the Schengen area without going through an external service provider such as VFS GLobal or TLS Contact. Those are entirely optional but might prove to be practical for some applicants (for instance: VFS is around the corner and the embassy or consulat is many hours traveling away, thus making it either/both time and cost effecient to apply at VFS. But if both VFS and the embassy are practical to reach there really is no reason to apply at VFS (service fee, staff may not be aware of all the rights and obligations dictated by the Visa Code etc.).

The only reason to apply at VFS would be an incompitent/lazy/arrogant/rule-breaking embassy staff that tells you (politely?) to bugger off and go to VFS or TLS instead -which violates the rules the embassy has to abide to!-. This might be the case with the Spanish embassy in BKK:

1) the English website ( http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/BANGKOK/en/Pages/inicio.aspx) doesn't really provide you with a lot of information such as where or how to apply, the contact page is broken -the Spanish contact page does mention an e-mail adres for visa related questions/matters- ).

2) People here report that even though at the VFS Global site it mentions that you can apply without going through VFS, the embassy does tell people who inquire about a direct application to go to VFS (see the post #8 by CiaranO in the topic I linked to earlier -here- ).

3) Silly new rule for EU citizens (who wish to excersize their freedom of movement rights) which doesn't seem to be in line with the Visa Code.

Hopefully the embassy in London provides a better level of service to the OP, if not DO escalate it (wrote a complain to the embassy, the Spanish MoFA, SOLVIT etc.).

Edited February 22, 2014 by Donutz