Do not assume one Spain visa booking covers everyone travelling together. Check which applicants the official booking arrangement includes before relying on the date. For the London tourist route, BLS requires individual documents and attendance for each applicant, including children under 12.

Repeated calendar checks can be awkward when several people's diaries need to align. Check family notification options for the supported London tourist route if you want paid notifications of matching openings. Spain Visa Alerts does not reserve group appointments; you still complete the booking with BLS.

Start with applicants, not simply travellers

Make a short list of the people who actually need to submit visa applications. Do not assume everyone on the holiday booking needs the same visa: nationality and applicable exceptions matter.

Also check that you are using the right category. A family taking a tourist trip is not necessarily applying under the separate procedure for qualifying family members of EU or EEA citizens.

Once that is clear, keep three things distinct: your travelling party, each person's visa application and the appointment arrangement. Sharing a journey does not establish how the booking system accommodates your applications.

Read the booking person by person

Before accepting a date, work through your applicant list. Establish whether the current booking covers each person, uses the correct application category and centre, and gives you an attendance arrangement you can follow.

Read the official instructions and whatever confirmation BLS issues. If those do not make the position clear, ask BLS before treating the family as booked. One time displayed on a screen is not enough information on its own.

Keep a simple record beside each applicant's name: booking coverage confirmed, attendance possible and application ready. This helps you spot the difference between finding a promising opening and having a usable arrangement for everyone.

If the screen will not accommodate the whole family

Imagine two adults and two children all need tourist visas, but the booking process does not clearly let you include them together. The next step is to obtain current BLS instructions, not assume that another family member can attend unlisted.

Do not turn somebody else's past experience into a rule about today's group limit. Nor should you assume separate bookings will be accepted together or that adding the same adult twice is an approved workaround.

Explain the applicant count and the point where the process becomes unclear when seeking help. The question is how to arrange valid submissions, not how to make the screen appear complete.

Children may need to attend without giving fingerprints

BLS London's tourist guidance expressly requires every applicant to attend, including children under 12. The Spanish consulate's Schengen guidance separately exempts under-12s from fingerprint taking.

These instructions address different things. A child being exempt from fingerprints does not remove the London attendance requirement. Check school arrangements and travel to the centre before selecting a date.

Each applicant also needs their own documents. Organising a child's application separately helps you avoid mistaking a parent's complete file for a complete family submission.

Choose dates around what must be ready

A technically available appointment can still be unsuitable if a required applicant cannot attend or the relevant evidence is not ready. Agree realistic dates before you start responding to openings.

For children travelling with both parents, the London tourism checklist lists relationship evidence and copies of parents' passports and visas where applicable. For one-parent travel or travel without the parents, check the relevant authorisation and custody requirements.

Use the current checklist for your circumstances rather than assuming every family needs identical consent documents. Resolve uncertainty early enough to choose dates you can genuinely use.

Treat the notification as the start of a check

When a notification arrives, review the opening through BLS and check the family coverage again. Paying for independent notifications does not confirm that enough places remain for your group.

Only rely on an arrangement once you have completed the official process and understand who it covers. Keep the resulting confirmation separate from the notification message. Neither a notification nor a submission appointment guarantees a visa.

Frequently asked questions

Does one BLS appointment cover a family of four?

Do not assume so. Confirm the current booking arrangement with BLS and check which applicants it covers. The public London guidance does not establish a universal group-booking capacity.

Must my child under 12 attend in London?

Yes, BLS London's tourist guidance requires attendance by every applicant, including under-12s. Their exemption from fingerprint taking is a separate matter.

What if only one parent is travelling?

Check the London tourism checklist's parental-authorisation and custody requirements for your circumstances before choosing an appointment. Do not assume the documents for two-parent travel are sufficient.

Do family notifications reserve appointments for everyone?

No. Spain Visa Alerts provides independent notifications for your chosen city and visa type. You must complete the official booking and verify its applicant coverage yourself.

Official sources