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Biometrics for a visa: fingerprints, photo and who is exempt

Biometrics, for a visa, means your fingerprints and a photograph of your face. In our experience the scan itself is rarely what catches people out. It is everything around it: the wrong letter, henna on the hands, a child assumed to be exempt under another country's rule. Below is what four authorities say about their own process, and nothing about fees or how soon you can get a slot, which only the booking system can tell you.

What is collected, and by whom

The details are set by each country.

The week before

Read the appointment letter twice. It tells you which papers that centre wants on the day. Canada is specific: you must bring your biometric instruction letter and your valid passport. It warns that a letter from a previous application may cause delays or a refusal, and advises booking as soon as you receive the letter.

Look after your hands. Canada's guidance says hands must be free of henna, and that temporary injuries such as cuts or cracks on the fingers must heal before you give biometrics. If good fingerprints cannot be captured, you may have to give them again later. We have seen no equivalent line on the Schengen or UK pages we read. As a precaution of our own, we suggest booking the appointment before the mehndi, not after.

Sort your papers into two sets. This is our habit, not anyone's rule: originals in one folder and copies in another, in the order of the checklist. Our article on mistakes in lodging a Schengen application ends with a short check to run before you leave home.

At the centre

We have not found an official page that describes the door-to-counter routine at application centres in general, so we do not describe one. Check the page of the centre you are booked at for its rules on bags, phones and companions, and carry only what you need.

Where the supporting documents are handed in at the same visit, as GOV.UK describes for the UK, bring them in checklist order. If something is missing, ask what your options are before you decide whether to submit that day.

The photograph and the fingerprints

For a Schengen visa the photograph is either scanned or taken at the time of application (EU Visa Code, Article 13). For the UK and Canada the pages quoted above say a photo is taken at the appointment. Canada publishes rules for it:

  • glasses are allowed if your eyes are clearly visible and there is no glare; sunglasses and tinted lenses are not
  • hair must be off your face so that the edges of the face are visible
  • head coverings worn daily for religious or medical reasons are allowed, provided your full face is visible and no shadow falls on it

Those are Canada's rules. They are a sensible precaution elsewhere, but check the photo specification of the country you are applying to.

If fingerprinting is physically impossible, the Schengen rules exempt the applicant. Where fewer than 10 fingers can be scanned, as many as possible are taken. Where the difficulty is temporary, fingerprints are given at the next application (EU Visa Code, Article 13).

Children and older applicants

The age limits are not the same from one country to the next. For a Schengen visa, children under the age of 12 are exempt from giving fingerprints (EU Visa Code, Article 13). For Canada, children under 14 and applicants over 79 are exempt from biometrics (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Biometrics). Do not carry one country's age limit over to another. Whether an exempt child must still come to the centre is a question for the centre's own instructions.

Will you have to do it again next time?

That depends on the system. For Schengen visas, fingerprints first entered in the Visa Information System less than 59 months before a new application are copied to it. Missions can still collect them again. The German missions in India, for example, say fingerprints should be taken whenever the applicant submits in person (checklist for a Schengen visa for tourism). For Canada, temporary residence applicants give biometrics only once every 10 years (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, When to give your biometrics).

What happens to your passport

Ask before you plan another trip around the appointment. For a UK Standard Visitor visa, GOV.UK says you get your passport back on the same day, though the centre may keep some of your other documents while the application is processed. That is the UK's arrangement. Other missions have their own, so check the instructions of the one you are applying to.

Keep whatever receipt or acknowledgement you are given until the passport is back in your hands.

A short list for the morning

  • Passport, and older passports if the checklist asks for them
  • Appointment letter or biometric instruction letter for this application
  • Originals and copies, in checklist order
  • Hands free of henna, and no tinted glasses
  • A margin of time, especially if several family members have appointments together

If you applied through GoVisaX, you can track your application online, and our page on how the process works lists the stages. Families attending together may also find our notes on planning group visa applications useful.

Sources

GoVisaX is a private visa facilitation service, not an embassy, consulate or government authority. Visa decisions rest solely with the issuing authority. Requirements change, so confirm the current rules with the official source before you apply.

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