Schengen Visa from Saudi Arabia 2026: Where Iqama Holders Apply, Appointments, Fees and Processing Times

Schengen Visa from Saudi Arabia - 2026 Quick Answer

If you live in Saudi Arabia on an iqama, you apply for a short-stay Schengen visa inside the Kingdom, not in your home country, at the consulate of your main destination (EU Visa Code, Articles 5 and 6).

• Who collects files, as of October 2026: BLS International for Spain, an Almaviva and VFS consortium for Italy, TLScontact for Germany, VFS Global for the Netherlands. France works through the France-Visas portal and an external visa centre.
• Visa fee: EUR 90 for adults, EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11, free under six, plus a service charge.
• Timing: a decision within 15 calendar days by law, up to 45 in individual cases. Apply no earlier than six months and, as a rule, no later than 15 days before travel.
• Saudi citizens still need a visa. The EU is only at the stage of launching a visa waiver process.

Schengen consulates in Saudi Arabia received 553,967 applications in 2025 and 5.17% were not issued, according to European Commission statistics, against a 14.6% refusal rate worldwide. The figures mix Saudi citizens and residents of every nationality, so they say nothing about your personal chances.

Visarun helps iqama holders prepare and check the file and pick the right consulate. The decision belongs to the consulate, and no agency can promise an outcome.

Which Consulate - Main Destination and Jurisdiction (Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar)

Residence decides where you apply, and for an expat with a valid iqama that is Saudi Arabia. Visitors on a Saudi visit visa are in a weaker position. Article 6(2) lets a consulate accept a file from someone present but not resident only with a justification. BLS takes only Saudi nationals and legal residents for Spain, and the Dutch VFS centres take residents only.

Under Article 5(1), the main destination is the country with the longest stay in days or the main purpose of the trip. Seven nights in Madrid and three in Paris means Spain. Only when no main destination can be determined does the country of first entry decide.

Consulates here enforce this. Italy issues visas only when it is the sole or main destination and warns that other states may turn rule-breakers away at the border. Germany applies the same test, may verify hotel bookings and refuses files with cancelled or fake ones, even if a travel agent made them.

Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province

• Italy: the Consulate General in Jeddah covers Mecca, Bahah, Asir, Jaizan, Najran, Medina, the Northern Region and Qurayyat. The embassy lists no districts, so Riyadh appears to handle the rest. The Eastern Province centre is in Dammam.
• France: EC statistics show decisions made in both Riyadh and Jeddah.
• Germany: the embassy in Riyadh decides. TLScontact also has a centre in Al Khobar.
• Netherlands: VFS centres in Al Khobar, Dhahran, Jeddah and Riyadh. The EC lists only Riyadh as a deciding consulate, which suggests files from other cities are decided there.
• Spain: BLS lists centres in Riyadh and Jeddah only, with nothing in Al Khobar or elsewhere in the Eastern Province.

Visa Centres - VFS, BLS and TLScontact in Saudi Arabia

Visa centres are private contractors. In the German Embassy's words, the provider accepts the application, checks it for completeness, collects the fees and returns the passport, but has no influence on the decision.

• Spain: BLS International, named by the Spanish Embassy for Riyadh and Jeddah. Riyadh is in Andalus Mall on Olaya Street, Al Wurud. Jeddah is in the Al Ruwais district, but BLS and the embassy give different addresses, so confirm it on the BLS website first. Submissions run Sunday to Thursday, 8:00 to 14:00.
• Italy: an Almaviva and VFS consortium with centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, booked on the consortium's website.
• Germany: TLScontact only, since October 2022, in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar, Sunday to Thursday. Germany does not use VFS in Saudi Arabia.
• Netherlands: VFS Global in Al Khobar, Dhahran, Jeddah and Riyadh, for residents only.
• France: you fill in the form on France-Visas, the official portal, then lodge the file at the visa centre that serves you. A third-party guide from October 2026 names VFS Global, but we could not confirm it on an official page, so check France-Visas for the current provider and city.

Booking rules worth knowing

• Spain, Italy and the Netherlands all warn about middlemen. BLS says slots are booked only on its website and calls agents selling them a fraud. Italy's Jeddah consulate does not recognise paid intermediaries. The Netherlands asks you to book VFS yourself, one appointment per person.
• Since 1 July 2026, BLS has required children under six to have an online appointment too. Domestic workers travelling with a family book their own.
• BLS applies a 15-day rule: the travel date has to be at least 15 days after the appointment, or the file is turned away with no refund.
• By Article 9 of the Visa Code, an appointment should, as a rule, come within two weeks of the request. No centre publishes real waiting times, so we recommend booking once your dates are fixed.

Documents Checklist for Iqama Holders

Lists differ by consulate. This one combines what Germany, Spain and Italy ask of non-Saudi residents as of October 2026.

• Passport valid at least three months after you leave the Schengen area, with two blank pages, issued within the last 10 years.
• Iqama valid at least three months after your return (Germany, Italy). BLS sets a lower bar for Spain, residency covering the whole trip. The three-month margin meets every country's rule.
• Exit re-entry visa covering the trip. Germany wants the official Absher or Muqeem excerpt in English with exact dates.
• Absher reports: the "family services" excerpt for Germany, the Resident Report for Spain.
• Iqama copies of family members living in Saudi Arabia, translated into English.
• Employer letter attested by the Chamber of Commerce (Spain applies this to private-sector employers and wants a guarantee of return in the letter). Germany adds a GOSI certificate.
• Six months of bank statements showing salary, stamped by the bank. Spain accepts online statements with a QR code.
• Travel medical insurance valid across the Schengen area for the whole stay, with at least EUR 30,000 cover.
• Real hotel bookings, which Germany may verify.
• Translations: Germany accepts no documents in Arabic, only English or a German or English translation. Spain wants a certified translation office.

Dual nationals applying to Spain use the passport registered under their iqama and exit re-entry visa.

The Dutch checklist available online dates from 2019 and has asked for an iqama valid three months after return, a re-entry visa valid beyond your Schengen departure and three months of bank statements. The Dutch government now sends applicants to the VFS website checklist, so check it before booking.

Fees and Service Charges

The Visa Code fixes the fee in euros: EUR 90 for adults, EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11 (under 12), nothing under six. The service fee may not exceed half of EUR 90. Each consulate converts at its own rate, which is why Spain and Italy quote slightly different riyal amounts. Figures below are as of October 2026.

• Spain: SAR 396 for adults and SAR 198 for children aged 6 to 11, paid at the centre in cash or by debit or Mada card. The BLS service fee is SAR 85.10 (SAR 74 plus 15% VAT), paid online when you book. Children under six pay neither.
• Italy: SAR 393 for adults, SAR 197 for children aged 6 to 11, free under six, plus a mandatory SAR 52.09 service fee with VAT. Fee sheet effective 30 June 2026. Premium lounges are optional and do not speed up processing.
• Germany: EUR 90, or EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11, paid in local currency at submission. Check the TLScontact site for its service charge.
• Netherlands: EUR 90, EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 11, free under six, by debit or credit card. Cash in riyals at the day's rate only if card systems fail. A VFS service charge comes on top in every case.
• France: the standard EUR 90. Check France-Visas for the service charge.

Nothing is refunded after a refusal, at any of these four centres.

Processing Times by Country - October 2026

Article 23 of the Visa Code gives a consulate 15 calendar days from an admissible application, extendable to 45 in individual cases. Article 9 sets the filing window at six months to 15 days before the trip.

• Germany: normally up to 15 calendar days. The embassy keeps your passport meanwhile.
• Italy: 15 days from submission, according to the visa centre.
• Spain: BLS estimates 12 to 15 working days for non-Saudis and 10 to 15 for Saudi nationals. With a Sunday to Thursday week, that is roughly two and a half to three weeks.
• Netherlands: an average of 18 to 21 calendar days, on a page updated on 12 October 2026, with a high-season warning and a possible stretch to 45 days.
• France: the embassy says delays vary with place and season. It gives no figure for Saudi Arabia.

Real cases can run longer. According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, a Dutch conference visa lodged at VFS Jeddah on 21 September was still pending a month later, with the flight set for 24 October. That is above the average but inside the 45-day limit. We advise applying early in the six-month window, not near the 15-day minimum.

2025 numbers by consulate

EC statistics for 2025 count every applicant, Saudi citizens and residents of all nationalities together, so the "not issued" share is not a refusal rate for iqama holders.

• France: 234,331 applications. Riyadh 146,125 (2.72% not issued), Jeddah 88,206 (5.58%).
• Italy: 83,189, 2.38% not issued.
• Spain: 58,670, 2.77%.
• Germany: 50,921, 7.96%.
• Netherlands: 18,930, 15.01%.

Saudi Citizens - Multi-Entry Visas and the EU-GCC Visa Talks

Saudi Arabia is in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, the list of countries whose nationals need a Schengen visa, while the UAE sits in the visa-free Annex II. As of October 2026, that has not changed.

Five-year multiple-entry visas

Since April 2024, according to an Arab News report on a European Commission decision, Saudi nationals normally receive five-year multiple-entry visas when their application succeeds, first-time applicants included. We could not open the decision text, so read this as usual practice, not a guarantee. The EU ambassador said the process stays the same.

A law-firm summary says the rule covers nationals applying in their own country. Iqama holders fall outside that wording and follow the standard Visa Code cascade:

• one year, after three visas obtained and lawfully used within two years
• two years, after lawful use of a one-year multiple-entry visa within two years
• five years, after lawful use of a two-year visa within three years

Where the EU-GCC visa talks stand

Council of the EU document 14363/26 of 16 October 2026 listed "Visa waiver process with Saudi Arabia" for the Council meeting of 19 October: conclusions on launching the process and an action plan, approved by Coreper on 7 October. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar had matching items. We found no published outcome of that meeting at the time of writing.

On 9 October, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi told Arab News the five remaining GCC states were "very close to reaching the beginning of the process" to waive the visa, with news expected at the EU-GCC summit in Riyadh on 24 October. On 15 October the GCC General Secretariat postponed that summit, citing Houthi attacks and the suspension of flights at King Khalid International Airport.

Visa-free travel needs an amendment to Regulation 2018/1806 by the European Parliament and the Council. That is slow: the 2022 proposal for Kuwait and Qatar still awaits Parliament's first reading.

For applicants nothing has changed. No waiver has been adopted and there is no date. Any future exemption would follow nationality, so expats keep the rules of their own passport.

Recent Changes (2025-2026)

• 1 July 2025: Germany abolished remonstration, the informal re-examination of refusals. Legal recourse remains.
• 10 April 2026: the EU Entry/Exit System became fully operational. Biometrics are recorded at the border and passports are no longer stamped. Entry conditions are unchanged.
• 30 June 2026: a new fee sheet took effect at the Italian visa centres.
• 1 July 2026: BLS started requiring online bookings for children under six.
• 12 October 2026: latest update of the Dutch processing page, which now shows an 18 to 21 day average and a high-season warning.
• 15 October 2026: the EU-GCC summit in Riyadh was postponed, with no new date as of 22 October.

We recommend re-checking fees, provider rules and the status of the talks before you book.

FAQ

Can I apply in Saudi Arabia on a visit visa?

Only in limited cases. A consulate may accept a non-resident only with a justification, and BLS for Spain and VFS for the Netherlands take residents only. Most visitors apply in their country of residence.

Does Germany use VFS Global in Saudi Arabia?

No. Since October 2022, German Schengen applications go only through TLScontact in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar, whatever some third-party guides say.

How long should my iqama be valid?

At least three months after your planned return for Germany and Italy. Spain asks only for residency covering the trip. The three-month margin plus an exit re-entry visa works everywhere.

Can an agent get me an earlier appointment?

Official sources warn against it, and BLS calls slot-selling under its name a fraud. Visarun does not sell appointments. We help to prepare the documents and choose the right consulate.

Are fees refunded if the visa is refused?

No. The visa fee and service charges are non-refundable at the Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch centres, and a new application means paying again.

What can I do after a Dutch refusal?

Object to the IND within four weeks of the decision. A family member or friend in the Netherlands can lodge it online for a family visit. According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, one such objection from a Kuwait resident succeeded after about two months.

Can someone else submit my file?

For the Netherlands, yes, if you are 12 or older and gave fingerprints for a Schengen visa within the past 59 months. You sign an authorisation for that person.

Do Saudi citizens still need a Schengen visa in 2026?

Yes. Conclusions on launching a visa waiver process were on the Council agenda for 19 October 2026, but no exemption has been adopted and there is no date.

Will a GCC visa waiver cover iqama holders?

No. Waivers follow nationality, not residence. An expat in Riyadh would still apply under the rules for their own passport.