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About this tool
Build a personalised carry, wear and leave-behind checklist for a VFS Global visa application centre appointment, with a leave-home time.
This checklist covers the day of a VFS Global visa application centre appointment — the documents to carry, how to turn up so the biometric photo and fingerprint capture actually work, and what security will refuse at the door. It adjusts to the scheme you are applying under and the applicant's age, applying the client governments' own biometric age rules: Schengen skips fingerprints under 12, the UK under 5, and Canada collects biometrics only from ages 14 to 79. It also works backwards from your slot to a leave-home time, using the roughly 15 minutes before the appointment that centres ask you to arrive.
Open VFS Global Appointment Day Checklist on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Swaps in the right reference document — GWF number, Biometric Instruction Letter or TRN — for the centre you are visiting.
Flags the items that end an appointment when missing, so you can see at a glance whether you are safe to leave.
Covers the things that quietly cause failed scans — fresh henna, hand cream, a white shirt against a white photo backdrop.
At minimum: the printed appointment confirmation, your original passport plus older ones, photocopies of the bio page and previous visas, the signed application form, the full supporting-document file unstapled, and a way to pay both the visa fee and the VFS service fee. Anything held only in your email or on your phone is a risk, because phones are frequently taken at security.
Bags, laptops, cameras, power banks and USB drives are refused at almost every centre, and most have no cloakroom or only a small paid locker. Phones are allowed at some centres and taken at others, so plan for losing access to yours and carry documents in a slim file folder rather than a backpack.
Yes — fingerprint scanners read the ridge pattern on the finger pad, and henna, dye, deep cuts or peeling skin can cause a failed capture and a repeat appointment. Let henna fade before the appointment, moisturise the night before rather than on the day, and keep fingertips clean and dry.
Generally no — only applicants are admitted. The usual exception is one adult accompanying a minor, an elderly applicant or someone needing assistance, and a minor cannot submit alone at all: bring the parent or legal guardian named in the signed consent, with their ID copies and the birth certificate.