BLS International  Reviews 

1. Informed staff that my wife’s, the applicant, knowledge of English was limited however they would not let me,her husband, accompany her into the room. Also I am the one who pre -filled out all the forms and and got all of the documents together. 2. In the room the clerk has her sign a form for value added services. Even though all we needed was the courier service the clerk added a bunch ofUNAUTHORIZED VALUEADDED SERVICES; STS notification,form filing service file,sms service and photocopy service, Check your itemized receipt before tapping your debit card. They will auto-bundle $5 SMS fees, $10 form-checking fees, and photocopy fees even if you have completely finished paperwork.
Very deceptive practices and lastly they FORCE DEBIT TRANSACTIONS SO HARDER CLAW BACK THEIR UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES.

Worst visa agent centre ever.
Find an appointment is not easy, the website is super slow with 30 minutes booking window (to complete the form) knowing that each click takes ages to move to the next one.

I thought that booking the appointment and completing the form was the worst part until I visited their centre they were really bad and not polite (except for the guy who queued us outside).

They couldn’t care less about the details and documents being submitted.

They asked me to do the changes manually on the form but they didn’t even check it and do cross reference with the documents submitted.

Almost nothing on their website works. The phone number for the "helpline" doesn't even work. A lot of the language used on the site isn't English and doesn't make sense (e.g. "liveness"!!!) emails are unanswered, the system crashes all the time. THE WORST!

Worst experience ever. Website is terrible to use, staff are the most unhelpful of any booking system. Visa has daft quotas.

Both me and my husband have been trying to book an appointment for 5-6 weeks. It is now urgent. Every single time we have tried (40 hours in total spent on this), an error occurs- either the 'liveness check' fails (we have tried everything including taking the photo in the same light/outfit/place on different devices), or the page crashes, or there is a message saying the technical team are working on something so to try again later. The technical team are clearly fixing NOTHING. We have spoken to them several times on the phone, and sent multiple emails over the last few weeks, and have had NOTHING to help, and nobody can book us an appointment over the phone. They are causing people to not be able to get their visas and lose potentially thousands of pounds paid in accomodation etc, as well as lose jobs lined up. This is actually ridiculous. It is a total scam to not offer appointment bookings online, forcing people to turn up and ask for a 'premium' appointment- this seems suspicious at this point, because it is such a serious error that it should've been fixed by their 'technical team' by now. We've been told we'd be emailed back twice after phone complaints and haven't been. We have sent a complaint and a query to their official complaint email address and had no response. Absolutely diabolical service.

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Outstanding Service from Lucas at BLS Edinburgh
​I want to give a massive thank you to Lucas at the BLS Spain office in Edinburgh for his incredible help with my son Mark’s visa application. Lucas didn’t just do his job; he truly went above and beyond. He provided amazing support and made a wealth of personal contributions to ensure we had everything we needed, making a stressful process completely stress-free. If you are lucky enough to be assisted by Lucas, you are in great hands. Thank you so much for your kindness and professionalism!

M Elsaify

I am writing to formally raise a complaint regarding my experience at the BLS Spain Visa Application Centre in London on 18 June 2026.
I had booked and paid for a Premium appointment to submit my Schengen visa application. During the online booking process, I was required to provide detailed information regarding my intended travel, including my planned travel dates (20 June 2026 to 1 July 2026), destination, and other relevant details. Based on the information provided by your system, I was offered and allowed to book an appointment for 18 June 2026, which I paid for in full.
On the day of my appointment, I travelled to the centre, took time off work, waited in the queue for approximately one hour, and proceeded through the check-in process. However, I was then informed that my application could not be accepted because the Spanish Consulate had allegedly instructed BLS not to accept applications for travel dates falling within June.
I find this situation completely unacceptable for several reasons:
1. Contradictory Information and Lack of Transparency
If applications for travel within June are not being accepted, why was I asked to provide my travel dates during the booking process?
Why was I offered an appointment on 18 June if my application was never going to be accepted?
Why was this restriction not clearly communicated on the website, during the booking process, or in any correspondence prior to my appointment?
At no point was I informed that my application would be refused for submission due to my intended travel dates.
2. Information Provided in the Appointment Letter
My appointment confirmation clearly states that the legal processing period for visa applications is 15 calendar days.
It does not state that applicants must have a minimum of three weeks before their intended travel date, nor does it state that applications will not be accepted if travel is planned within a certain period.
Had such information been clearly communicated, I would not have booked, paid for, and attended the appointment.
3. Unprofessional and Disrespectful Behaviour
I was also extremely disappointed by the manner in which I was treated by staff at the centre.
The receptionist's attitude was discourteous, dismissive, and unprofessional. Furthermore, I observed similar behaviour towards other applicants present at the centre.
As a paying customer, and particularly as a Premium service customer, I expect to be treated with professionalism, courtesy, and respect. However, the behaviour displayed by staff fell significantly below any reasonable standard of customer service.
I would strongly encourage BLS management to review the CCTV and audio recordings from the centre on 18 June 2026, as they will clearly demonstrate the manner in which applicants were being addressed and treated.
4. Financial Loss, Inconvenience, and Wasted Time
As a direct result of this failure in process and communication:
* I paid for a Premium appointment.
* I took time off work.
* I incurred travel costs.
* I spent considerable time travelling to and waiting at the centre.
* My application was not even accepted for submission.
I fail to understand why I was permitted to book and pay for an appointment when, according to the information provided on-site, my application was never eligible to be accepted.
* Why my appointment was made available despite my declared travel dates.
* Why this restriction was not communicated during the booking process.
* Why I was denied the opportunity to submit my application.
* What compensation or refund will be offered for the Premium service that I paid for but was unable to receive.
* What action will be taken regarding the conduct of the staff involved.

DONT go to BLS MANCHESTER. Horrible service , cheating public of their money . Only sell premium slots despite knowing consulate has a backlog . Staff told me she escalated the matter and sent me a copy of the email . The email address she sends to bounces emails back as I have tried and it’s a complete lie . Rude staff who don’t care and think they doing us a favour by replying . So much attitude they should actually fear god and their karma . All 3 Indian ladies absolute rude .

I went there for my passport renewal in Abudhabi but the lady on the 2 no counter (don’t remember the name) i clearly told her to change my address and to add my spouse name but she only add my spouse name but the address she didn’t change now i have problem for police verification in india and she didn’t explain anything after doing everything she gave me the form only for sign.
We addressed everything to their supervisor but they didn’t give any solution just saying that if you want to change you have to pay full amount they are not helpful at all..
Bad service

Very Frustrating Appointment System
I have tried to book an appointment through BLS Spain 7 times, and every single attempt failed during the camera/liveness verification stage. I used different devices, browsers, internet connections, and followed all instructions, but the system kept rejecting my verification.
After spending hours trying to complete the process, I am still unable to book an appointment. I have seen many other users reporting the same issue, which suggests this may be a system problem rather than a user error.
BLS Spain should urgently review and improve its verification system, as it is preventing applicants from accessing visa services.
Very disappointing experience.

Terrible service finally got a appointment a month before travel paid extra . It's been 6 weeks missed and lost money for first holiday. They emailed me a week after I was supposed to go on holiday asking for new holiday bookings. Booked and sent a new holiday to them it's been a week and still not received anything back still saying mission in progress

Terrible customer service, had to wait 3 hours even after booking an appointment. Front desk is very rude and they tried to gaslight me. The people assisting me tried to shout at me for reviewing information. The person assisting tore my passport application in front of me while processing the application. Overall a terrible experience. I strongly advice anyone reading the review to be cautious of BLS, and as there is no alternative way to BLS to process Indian passport. It was a complete waste of time.

The worst visa appointment booking website ever!! Been trying to book an appointment for hours- it shows invalid captcha errors, countless number of OTP verifications and repetitive errors while submitting.

Disorganized, uncomfortable, and predatory hidden fees. Needs total restructuring. BLS is not deserving for a one star.

I had a completely unacceptable experience at this BLS International center. I was forced to wait for more than 2 hours just to handle a standard passport renewal. The entire workflow is deeply flawed and desperately needs a structural overhaul.

To make matters worse, the waiting area is terrible—the chairs are incredibly uncomfortable for the long wait times they subject you to, and the information provided by staff and signage is confusing and unhelpful.

On top of the awful service, the pricing feels incredibly predatory. They tack on a ridiculous amount of hidden charges under the guise of "service fees," "SMS fees," "BLS service fees," and "portal fees." If customers are being forced to pay this much money, the very least BLS can do is provide a fast, comfortable, and transparent experience. Right now, it feels like a cash grab with zero regard for people's time or comfort. Highly disappointed.

they are scammers same for Manchester consulate, if you plan to apply for Schengen VIA go to another consulate, my mistake didn't read the reviews beforehand. applied for a business VISA on 01 of May, until today (9 June 2026) still showing processing at mission. they don't care and make it on purpose so you miss your flights.

the whole Schengen visa process is a complete nightmare nobody has appointments customer service is a joke vsf bls dosnt matter who you use the process is made difficult from the start ive had to cancel a family cruise because of this and makes my wife feel bad as she needs the visa, im so angry, wasted so much time on the BLS website i cant even finish a simple booking process website keeps crashing nobody willing to help its ridicules. tried vsf for a different country no appointments your expected to check every day in hope one becomes available rendering any pre booked holiday useless unless you book a year in advance just so you can get through this bloody process.

Absolutely shocking experience. After having to apply for an appointment multiple times because of their website’s ineffectiveness and rudimentary nature, our family of 3 had to make different appointments. We have to travel 2 hours to the appointment and after contacting support to request that my 4 year olds appointment could accompany the rest of the family - we were met with the response “you are lucky you got 2 appointments- most people dont get one”. However they were very happy to accomodate the £90 premium fee appointment to see us all together. The appointment took 3 hours and with small kids it was the most horrific experience and enough to put someone off travelling to Spain completely.

The website doesnt work.
I mean it is absolutely shocking the amount of times the website freezes. Wont accept uploads, cant process payments. The people in charge should be ashamed of themselves

Joke of a company. Their website glitched when I was trying to book a second appointment for a NLV and I lost my spot. No error code given besides “previous payment pending”. That shouldn’t matter. I’m trying to give more money to you. The call center is a joke. No one higher up to speak to get this resolved. A shame the European countries use this scam.