TLScontact / UK Visas & Immigration UKVI Review

Rude staff, would highliy NOT recommend. Chaos eveyrwhere, no one to attend on time upon arrival and very bad facilities/arrangements. Not sure on what bases French embassy had contracted such agency. Previously we applied through VFS through Italy Consulate, was much better and their website is also user friendly for appointments rescheduling, etc. In many ways, worse.. Better be prepared if you are choosing this centre Good luck to exp rude ones.

I am amazed by the assistance I have received from Anna and melaina in premier lounge. Both were amazing and helped me through out the process. Made the whole process so simple with their calm and professional approach.

Excellent service, friendly staff. Recommended.
Advice:
1. The service fee and the fees for the delivery (passport) service should be mentioned somewhere explicitly during the application.
2. Suggestions should be given explicitly for the applicant to make amendments to their application form after they booked the appointment. For example, the application form has been submitted online then the applicant found an error before his/her appointment.

Pushing you to use premium service.it was my wrost experience so far very bad service rude people never try them

Worst experience ever! Very Rude and unfriendly staffs. The total process is unorganised and it takes hours and hours of time.
The worst thing is they are not allowing kids inside at the same time they want both parents inside for the visa process. How it is even possible???? I went with my one year kid and they said the premium service is also closed. We went much earlier than our appointment time. I really don t know what premium service means...
at last with no other option we left our 1 year old kid with a stranger (who came for Belgium visa) outside. And it took 3 hours to complete the process with worst organised system. I never ever want to be in a situation like today and no other parent to be.
Very very worst visa processing office.
Change the process for kids at least allow parents individually so that other can take care of the children. Try to understand parents situation.
I should really thankful to the person who took care my child totally unknown to me

Great Service!!!!!!!
Ignore the comments of bad service, come with all your documents, have them in order and don't use your phone. No problem!! Make sure you have all the documents as the Internet cafe next door is OVERPRICED!!!

Don't take instructions with regards to your applications from the security staff, only listen to the TLS staff. I had a great experience with the staff being very helpful even though I was late by 2 hours!!!!

Bravo!!!

Excellent service. very friendly staffs, must mention the names of " Aron ( Harun ) main building and Fernanda at the premium service. appreciate your help. MUMINA

This was one of the worse experience I've ever had. I had all the documents complete and they sent me back because my hotel booking duration wasn't long enough(Was planning to travel around France, but haven't booked tickets for last 3 nights). They said the earliest appointment available is tomorrow morning but when I re-registered myself it's next two weeks. Luckily I bought refundable tickets because I had a feeling that something like this would happen. They're a bunch of liars. Very disappointed.

Rubish service. Can't imgine it's in the U.K. The service staff look quite hierachical and don't share any sumpothy to customers. Who gave you the power to belittle visa applicants? Wish Brexit and want to see what it may bring to a new visa procedure by new agency/institute probably.

Update on 1/7/2019

Continue to confirm my review as it is the worst service ( I wish there is a No Star ranking). The staff is extremely unfriendly (I think her name is Veronica).

There is a a huge problem with the website and the application system at the same time. Not clear at all what to put in to apply for the minor applicant (who is not the account holder but the traveler).

My story is that I have started preparing for the Application from TLScontact THREE MONTHS earlier in prior of departure, in effort of two appointments but stuck with the bureaucracy and long queuing. So be mindful. Don t be optimistic unless you have plenty of time wandering around by their rules. At least I don t have.

I have given up using TLScontact based on the two recent experiences with it. It won t bother my trip as I manage finally to get around from other ways but I have learned a lot from it. Will avoid it whenever possible.

Embassies of France, Switzerland and Belgium should all be ashamed of outsourcing the visas to this horrible middleman. What kind of corrupt arrangement is going on there at the highest level?

Oh, and for the employees there - lose the attitude towards applicants, really. I lost 200 pounds, but France and Switzerland lost MUCHmore in revenues because of my and my families cancelled visit. But of course TLS ripped me off in various small fees - 5 here, 6 there - all adds up, I guess.
The website is inefficient and difficult to navigate - most likely on purpose too.

The TLS service is really fast, friendly, and efficient. The staff were very understanding when I came unprepared and helped me resolve my missing documents so that I could still make the registration time that day. Thank you!

I've enlisted the services of TLS twice, most recently last week. Excellent customer service especially from Michelle who went above and beyond in arranging an alternative earlier date due to an error in category selection when filling out the form. She was patient , attentive and very helpful.

So rude, horrible service, they have no idea what they are doing!!!!

Very bad service and slow. Booked appointment for 11.00 AM at time is writing it's 2:15, still waiting.

Worst possible customer service in entire UK even beat talk talk hands down

Very old fashioned on payment methods only cash and card accpected and is not suitable if people want to pay in different currency.

I was applying for Swiss visa. The lady who did preliminary check for the documents spoke English with a very strong Swiss-French accent and could not express herself using full sentences. I was applying for multiple entries and filled in the date of leaving Schengen area as the leaving date of the last entry, and she kept saying "one time only" to let me guess what she actually meant was the leaving date of the first entry. And then kept repeating "collect or deliver" to make me confused. Please recruit someone who is able to speak English in full sentences!

French Schengen visa application: The application centre falsified my application date- when I submitted the application on 23rd, they made me sign the acknowledgment form dated 29th - I did not notice the date I was signing the form for . The application was sent to the embassy after 29th and did not get my visa on time . I lost a huge amount spent on a pre booked climbing trip, which are very expensive. Anyone submitting their application should be attentive to the application acknowledgement form date because they will falsify that to queue your application to the embassy.

Crappiest place ever. Very disorganised and could provide better services instead of sending people away. Have applied through vfs for euro visa and they were so much better.

Horrible experience. They were just being captious and rude and trying to earn as much money as possible from us. They don't deserve the money I paid.

i would give zero star if it was possible...worst eva

We came to the Edinburgh visa application. And we are very happy about the service. It is quick and they speak Chinese. Only 2 applications. We came late due to the train's delay. but we were still accepted. Very happy!

Very nice service good experience..took 10 days to get visa

Many complaints during my visit today

1) There was a system down related issues in TLS, hence 12.15 pm appointment got delayed up to 3 pm.
2) Drinking Water was not available.
3) I was standing for all the times (all the 3 hrs). Previous Schengen visa holders were asked stand in a different area today, hence I was standing all the times. Even during the document collection process, there was no seating arrangement. Applicants are made to stand throughout the entire process- it would be convenient to have a proper facility.
4) The lady instructor (in the outside queue) was shouting at me for not informing about old Schengen visa which was never asked.
5) We had recently (within 3 months) taken another Schengen visa and it is already expired. We used the same photo for this visa as well, as this photo is taken recently. Nowhere in the website, it was mentioned that we can't use the same picture which was used in the previous Schengen visa. It caused so much inconvenience for many of us. Especially when you have younger kids to take photo from their photo booth.
6) The lady in the counter seemed frustrated as I was doing three applications (myself and my kids) at the same time, though that was not my fault. She didn't do proper help and delayed the process very long.
Luckily later I got a different person who processed my application towards the end, and he was very courteous.

Overall very bad experience for me today. I was expecting much more.

Easy to find, no quew. I was aplying for UK settlemens pouse Visa 3 Nov 2020. They gave me the right info at how to proceed. Great service

0 wasn t an option. There are many faults with TLS, Im disappointed with the service.

1) my documents were not checked properly before sending it to the visa office.
2) the emails are not replied with in 24hrs
3) call are never answered .
We pay a fortune to get the visa application process smoothly, but TLS makes it a stressful process..

If my circumstances mirror yours?

- UK Citizen living in London with South American wife and child.
- Visiting Europe during pre-permanent UK visa period (BRP Status)
- Holiday

Arrived at visa centre 10 minutes early. Queued for 15 minutes. Not permitted to accompany applicants despite being local passport holder. Disappointed.

However, I was very impressed that the staff permitted our daughter to come outside in order to correct a minor error with our paperwork.

Thank you TLS it is these little moments of flexibility that makes a service human and benevolent.

Well done. Stay human please x

NOTE: April 2018
If at all possible, I recommend you do NOT use the DX Courier Service for return of your documents.
Have you taken a look at THEIR Google Maps rating?
(It's 1 Star for good reason)

On the day of my application, I think there was a new staff member on board. He was friendly but quite slow in checking documents compared to the other member of staff in another counter, there was also a error made on his part which slowed me down a few minutes. But in all, I was out in about a hour. Just make sure to be on time and things should go smoothly.

Suggestion: You should amend your rules to allow usage of phones inside your premises. It will keep your customers busy while they wait. and Come on guys, its 2017. We can use cell phones on airplanes!

The quality of the service is just horrendous. Doesn't deserve even 1 star

Extremely friendly staff, always happy to help. Even though it was terribly busy, they were very welcoming and patient. London

Was Rubbish. They are a bunch of Asians secured contracts to provide service and their service is Sh...t
The business process isn t as great as one would think as processing visas documents for the top embassies. And surprisingly these guys are growing.

Inconvenient location, I came on time and should to wait 30 mins outside in Q. Staff is unfriendly, service is inefficient. Prepare to spend at least 1,5 hour inside. Next time will try go to directly to the embassy instead of using TLScontact service.

Good service. The staffs are very patient.the security guard is nice too. Edinburgh French visa application centre is the best!

Edinburgh.Please be aware of the size of required photos. They should be UK passport size, and not the visa size.

Can only be said to be average. . The attitude of the first few staff members was pretty good. The last one was so angry that I took off. I did n t talk about it. I just talked to other employees. I put the visa materials in the basket and left it in the basket. get in a word. . . I don't know how to offend him. When re-photographing, the girl who directed the line was very good, barely added a star.

Great service! Much better than before, especially the waiting time.

Useless service, tried to call a few times but could not get through, sent emails but REPLY, asked us to leave our contact number for call back service but they NEVER CALLED, very frustrating....

Come to this place without waiting! Good sevice! Edinburgh I got the visa. Yeah!

Mileina was superb, excellent service and she exactly what she was doing. I would not have coped without her as I am clumsy and had many documents to hand in

Service is shocking it's like their been forced to work against there will. Try get visa with another eu country if possible

I am having a very bad experience with them. I had to withdraw my application at their center as i had missed a document.. the cancellation was done by their employees only , but when i came back home and try to book a new appointment it never allowed me to schedule a new one.. i tried reaching out to them on multiple occasions on their phone and form on their website but never received a call back.. it's been a week now since the application has been withdrawn but i don't get the option to book another appointment.. my travel date is fast approaching and looks like i might have to completely give up hopes of getting a visa to France due to these guys and loose all the booking fees.. I don't understand why French government has appointed them!! Extremely gutted by the overall experience..

After going through the reviews i was bit worried when I went to Tlscontact for the biometric yesterday, I booked 8:30 slot and was among the first three to enter the premises. I found everything perfect, staff was professional and helpful. Would suggest everyone to book morning slot and reach before time to avoid waiting in queue. My doc verification and biometric process was completed by 8:50.

Certainly a lot to be improved, e.g. staff attitude and waiting time etc.

Me and my family went to TLS centre in Edinburgh to apply for schengen visa for a tour to Disneyland in Paris nearer to Christmas vacation. We got an excellent service, staff was very helpful and we were able to complete the application process very smoothly. Overall it was a very good experience.

Literally the worst service I've ever used. It's impossible to reschedule an appointment and forget trying to get a representative on the phone. Would NOT recommend.

If it was possible to give TLS a lower rating I would.

I've lived abroad for many years and have completed complicated visa applications - so I was prepared in advanced for my appointment - little did I know TLS was going to be the worst part of this whole process!

The TLS representative who reviewed my documents was unclear on the visa requirements and had insufficient knowledge to be in her role. In the process of reviewing my application, she scattered my documents - taking them out of order and splitting up the pages. She also seemed confused by the original documents and the copies, and at one stage tried to hand back some of the required documents. It became apparent I had a better understanding of the visa application, and so I ensured that the documents were included.

A word of advise - TLS will combine all of your documents and remove any dividers, so there is no point in presenting them in a folder or holding together relevant pages with paperclips. I am still concerned that the representative may have lost one of my pages amongst the chaos she created on her desk.

With regards to TLS extra services - Luckily, I had read TLS' terrible reviews before my appointment and had also sought advise from an immigration specialist - so I was semi-prepared for TLS' attempts to coerce money - however, the force with which they do it, and to hear other applicants being filled with fear and then paying for TLS' thinly veiled additional services, was very upsetting.

I had read that they reject your passport-style photo regardless, and so I printed the French Consulate in London's official photo guide - when TLS tried to reject my photo, I produced the document and said that it was perfectly in line with international passport standards, as well as the the French Consulate's guidance. A manager was then brought over to speak to me - who was not only rude, but then said 'well, Madam, your visa will be rejected' and then whispered to her colleague, in front of me, 'make sure you mark her photo' - I was shocked. The photo I provided was an official passport photo - and yet, they wanted me to pay to use their booth?! They also tried to make me re-photocopy my documents (which, surprise, surprise, would require me to use their premium lounge at an additional cost).

I had official copies of my documents, so they were unable to force this service on me.

If you are going to this awful centre:

- Read through all of the official guidance from the country you applying to and take PRINTED COPIES with you This is important, as had I not known my visa requirements, the representative could have unwittingly removed crucial documents which could have resulted in a rejected visa. This is also important as they will try to bully you, so you need to be sure of the facts and have evidence this is especially important for the photographs, original documents and your photocopies

- They have to accept what you provide It s actually your choice, so if you believe what you have provided is sufficient, then tell them you are happy to proceed do not let them intimidate, or instil fear, in you

Im not really impressed by this agency, Im a South African but also a EEA family member and I ended up paying for the full service because I did not have the other halfs passport.My travel dates on my travel insurance was wrong and they told me I might not get my visa if I send it that way.So the consultant offered me their premium service stating I can bring the updated documents later, wich I refused as I felt that im already paying for their service this should be included.So I wrote a cover letter woth my documents that I have changed my travel dates and if the consulate needs the documents they should contact me, wich they did through Tlscontact and I didn't pay a penny when I took those outstanding documents.So there you have it, if you outstanding documents, dont pay ask to write a cover letter and bring those documents the next day to their office where you have to collect the passport from!

Be aware of bank holidays. The centre is closed without any notice.

Happy with their services, everything went smooth and fast.
Edinburgh

The receptionists are not that nice but probably because they have to talk to thousand of people all day. The others are nice and remind you not to forget to check your documents. The queuing system still need to be fixed a bit.

The most wasted, unreliable place to apply your visa to France, the staff have no knowledge whatsoever about other countries, a very low class people who work like idiots and very rude. They even managed to make mistake on my application!!!! never again, you been warn, don't waste your time, avoid them, better than visit other Schengen members!

Very good and the counter officer very helpful. Keep on the performance. Edinburgh French visa application center is very good!

Had a terrible experience thanks to the systems and existing of 2 sites in the process. Premium lounge solved the issue. Melina in the lounge was the hero. She saved the day!

I had an early appointment (8.30) to complete my French visa application. The experience was nowhere near as bad as described in the comment section. I completed my whole visa application within 1 hour due to some errors on my application form. One thing to note though: at the first documentation check, the staff just assumed I was Chinese because of my look - I am Vietnamese. She wrote down China, instead of UK as I wrongly put down, in my application form. For a visa application centre, I expected staff to be trained better to avoid such mistakes as it could easily be interpreted as casual racism.

It was alright except there was a lot of confusion regarding me and my wife's visa type. I would prefer if the agents are a bit more informative about the "non-standard type" of visa like the short stay scientist and spouse visa we applied for.

Otherwise the agents were very helpful and courteous.

The staff are not trained properly, because of this I lost my holiday to Paris . I was informed the wrong information. They quick to take your money . Please do not use these company

A little bit of a wait, but the staff were helpful and very patient. Particularly since there were a lot of people whose first language was neither English nor French, or any good for that matter.

Great people who has offered all the help needed. Pretty organised and it took less time than I expected.

Good experience! Waiting time is long but staffs are friendly and helpful! London

the experience is very good, the employees are so kind to help us to solve the problems we igonored. The process is fast and smoothy. Hope see u guys soon as I really like France!

Absolutely dreadful experience. If there is more then one TLS centres in your country, and before booking you just want to look up the dates in one centre, you NEVER CAN CHANGE CENTRE AGAIN!!! Yes, even if you were just looking! To change that, you need to cancel your whole application, wait up to 28 days to get your money back, make the new application!!! That all can delay your application process for months! It all could be avoided if there was a warning message saying that once you click on one centre, you can never change it back. Im going to find my way to place a complain about this.

You should prepare your documents before you arrive, otherwise you ll pay more and spend more time. If you prepare documents before you arrive the service is quick, the staff are friendly and helpful.

Horrible - There is nothing to indicate where to go in terms of booking appointment. The website is poorly constructed with everything being put in so many other tabs.

please note that Google's first result in TLSContact directs to this place in Wandsworth, whereas all the pics here refer to the place in Kensington. Wandsworth is the new correct address (this change was made less than a week ago). i have attached some pics of the new place

Friendly staff and very helpful but the submission took longer than expected (c. 2.5 hours), Collection was pretty easy and quick.

review to veronica at the customer service she was very patience with me and stayed with me even after they had closed and guided me through step by step of the visa application form she deserves a medal x

According to my experience, great service and very professional staff. My family and I spent less than 20 minutes to finalize the visa process. TLS checklist , in web, is very clear. Hope TLS opens several offices to cover London areas. I am from East London - my travel time was one hour ( by rail )to reach TLS office. Thanks

Do not delivery My friend's passport is lost in post and dx telephone call fee is very high. She cannot go out with us. So angry.

Everything is good. The only thing is I had to wait for the appointment for a month period. Don 't forget to print correct and new application form on French visas web.

Use Nexus Visa if you want a better experience. Eric sorted out my schengen visa within a week despite TLScontact stating that it could take a month. I went to the centre to do my biometric and saw people queuing for more than an hour in the rain while I went straight in with Nexus service. The security guards were extremely rude not to mention.

I submitted my visa application for France today at TLS London office today. I have to say it was pathetic experience I have ever faced in UK. The supervisor/incharge officer was extremely unprofessional and rude as we have our 6 month old baby accompanied us the centre. We already knew that under 12 are not allowed in the office (which is ridiculous).
He told us that we can t even submit our application one-by-one so that one of us can remain with our child in the waiting area and this way we both will be able to submit our application. But unfortunately that guy didn t allow us to do so however I told about his attitude to the lady who was dealing with my application and she was also very shocked about his attitude. It seemed I was in an organization where only one person is being rude and nobody can even ask him about his ridiculous decision.
I wish there was any other option where I can submit my visa application and avoid this office.