# Schengen Visa Fees from the UAE 2026: Consular Fee vs VFS Service Fee (EUR + AED) Source: https://visaforma.ae/from-uae/schengen/fees/ > Schengen consular fee: EUR 90 adult, EUR 45 child, free under 6 — EU Visa Code since 11 June 2024. VFS charges a separate AED service fee. Both split, both dated. # Schengen Visa Fees from the UAE 2026: Consular Fee vs VFS Service Fee (EUR + AED) The Schengen consular fee is EUR 90 for an adult, the EU Visa Code rate in force since 11 June 2024. [VFS Global](/from-uae/appointments/vfs-abu-dhabi/) adds a separate service fee in dirhams. Two bills, two recipients. Most pages ranking for schengen visa fees uae blend them into one number. This one splits them, and flags every figure you must re-check before you pay. ## The total, itemised: consular fee, VFS service fee, and the optional add-ons An adult pays EUR 90 to the consulate and a separate VFS service fee in dirhams. Children aged 6 to 11 pay EUR 45. Children under 6 pay nothing. Optional add-ons (courier, SMS, lounge) are extra, and you can decline them. The EUR 90 fee has applied since 11 June 2024. The schengen visa fees uae residents pay come in two mandatory parts, plus optional extras. Here is the whole bill, split by charger. | Charge | Set by | Paid to | Amount | Refundable if refused? | |---|---|---|---|---| | Consular fee, adult (12+) | EU Visa Code | Consulate, in AED | EUR 90 (~AED 360) | No | | Consular fee, child 6–11 | EU Visa Code | Consulate, in AED | EUR 45 (~AED 180) | No | | Consular fee, child under 6 | EU Visa Code | — | Free | — | | VFS service fee | VFS Global | VFS, in AED | Set by VFS — verify per consulate | No | | Courier passport return | VFS Global | VFS, in AED | Optional — verify | n/a | | SMS / status updates | VFS Global | VFS, in AED | Optional — verify | n/a | | Premium / prime-time lounge | VFS Global | VFS, in AED | Optional — verify | n/a | Three costs are not on this table, because they are not the visa fee. Travel insurance sits on the [insurance page](/from-uae/schengen/insurance/). Your bank balance is a document, not a charge. Inbound UAE visit-visa costs live on [/uae-visa/fees/](/uae-visa/fees/). This page is the outbound fee only. ![A printed itemised receipt and a bank card on a service counter, the figures left blurred, a hand reaching for the card.](inline-1.webp) *Ask the counter to itemise the consular fee, then the VFS service fee, then each optional add-on on its own line.* ## Consular fee vs service fee: two different bills, two different recipients The consular fee EUR 90 is the first bill. It goes to the consulate and is fixed by the EU Visa Code, the same across every Schengen country. Your fingerprints add nothing: there is no separate biometrics enrolment fee, it sits inside the consular fee. The VFS service fee is the second bill. VFS sets it, you pay it in AED, and it changes by consulate. Do not add them into one "Schengen fee". They are two charges to two parties. The split matters when you compare quotes. hellosafe.com puts the all-in Dubai or Abu Dhabi application at AED 550 to 750; oravisa.com, dated 21 February 2026, at AED 550 to 900. Neither shows you where the consulate stops and the service desk starts. The EUR 90 is fixed. Any number above it plus the published VFS line is service or markup. The consular figure itself is contested. One of the stale numbers is VFS's own. The VFS Global Czech Republic FAQ for the UAE, captured 20 July 2026, still publishes the pre-June-2024 schedule: "80 EUR standard visa fee, 40 EUR children aged 6-12". That sits on the same site that takes your payment. Gulf News put the adult fee at EUR 90, about AED 380, on 26 August 2025. travl.ae published EUR 90, near AED 360, on 19 May 2026. Against those, zabeeltravel.ae still prints EUR 80 and about AED 346. The EU Visa Code settles it: EUR 90 since 11 June 2024, up 12.5% from EUR 80. That 12.5% is the exact gap the stale pages are stuck on. We read these competing figures in a search-results snapshot taken 20 July 2026, not by opening each page. Re-check the live page before you rely on any of them, VFS included. The EUR to AED conversion is the one figure that moves, though the incumbents print it as static. The dirham has been pegged at AED 3.6725 to the US dollar since 1997. The euro floats against it. So the consular fee is fixed in EUR, yet collected in AED at a reference rate the consulate sets through VFS. That rate is often reviewed monthly rather than tracking the market daily. The dirham figure drifts with it, which is why the published equivalents spread from AED 346 to AED 390 across the pages above. At an illustrative EUR 1 = AED 4.0 used here on 21 July 2026, EUR 90 lands near AED 360. Confirm the exact AED on the VFS payment page on the day you pay. There is a reduced fee for children — EUR 45 for ages 6 to 11, free under 6 — but no cheaper adult fee for the passports common in the UAE. A reduced EUR 35 consular fee exists, but only for nationals of countries with an EU visa-facilitation agreement. Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian and Filipino passports are not on that list. A UAE resident applying on any of those passports pays the full EUR 90. ## The add-ons VFS offers at the counter, and which are optional Six add-ons sit on the VFS counter menu, and all six are optional: the courier passport-return fee, the SMS and premium-lounge add-ons, plus photo, photocopy and form-filling help. None is required to lodge the application. Decline what you don't need. The visa decision does not change either way. Staff may offer them as a bundle. A courier return saves a second trip to collect your passport. A premium lounge only saves waiting time. Photo and photocopy services duplicate what you can bring from home. Ask for the payment at the VFS counter to itemise the consular fee, then the VFS service fee, then each add-on on its own line. ## The fee is non-refundable if you are refused: plan around it EUR 90 is gone whether you are approved or refused. The consular fee pays to process your file, not to issue a visa. The VFS service fee is non-refundable too. Applicants refused at VFS Dubai lost the full amount, then paid again to reapply. Budget for that risk before you file, not after. The refusals in this market hit strong files. One UAE resident of nine years, with more than USD 100,000 in the bank and 20-plus countries stamped, was refused by Sweden for assumed "visa shopping" (r/SchengenVisa, 10 May 2026). Another was refused for Netherlands after submitting "an entire book of my existence" — lease, Ejari, NOC, six months of statements (r/SchengenVisa, 24 June 2026). Each lost the fee, and paid again to reapply. One refusal trigger is avoidable. The Sweden applicant said the consulate flagged his itinerary because it "looked template like" — he had used ChatGPT to format it (r/SchengenVisa, 10 May 2026). Consulates now penalise a recognisably AI-generated itinerary or cover letter. A machine-written template can cost you the visa and the non-refundable EUR 90 in one decision. Write it in your own words. The fee non-refundable on refusal, not the EUR 90 sticker alone, is what should shape your timing. File only when the file is complete and the itinerary is your own. A reapplication costs a second EUR 90 plus a second VFS service fee, and the appointment clock resets with it.
How these figures were sourced. We did not re-fetch these fee pages live for this draft. The EUR 90 adult / EUR 45 child figures are the statutory Schengen consular fees set by the EU Visa Code, in force since 11 June 2024, when the adult fee rose 12.5% from EUR 80. The reduced EUR 35 facilitation fee and the under-6 exemption are from the same Visa Code schedule. The VFS service fee and the add-on prices differ by consulate and change over time, so we do not print a dirham figure we cannot re-check — we tell you to read the current line on your country page at visa.vfsglobal.com. The EUR-to-AED figures are an illustrative conversion at EUR 1 = AED 4.0 as of 21 July 2026; the counter uses its own reference rate. The competing EUR 80 and EUR 90 figures come from VFS's Czech Republic FAQ, Gulf News, travl.ae, zabeeltravel.ae, oravisa.com and hellosafe.com. We read each in a search-results snapshot captured 20 July 2026, from the publisher's own published text, not by opening every page. Each is quoted with the date it carries. Verify each figure at the linked official source before you pay. The editorial desk maintains this page; our sourcing rules and correction log live at /editorial-policy/.
So verify any schengen visa fees uae figure this way: open the EU Visa Code rate for the consular fee, read your consulate's VFS page for the service line, and check the date on both. Found a receipt or a VFS fee line that contradicts us? Write to us at [/contact/](/contact/). We will re-check the source and publish a dated correction. Definitions of *consular fee*, *service fee* and *VFS Global* sit in the [glossary](/glossary/). The full route to applying from Dubai or Abu Dhabi sits on [/from-uae/schengen/](/from-uae/schengen/). ## Questions people ask about Schengen visa fees in the UAE ### How much does a Schengen visa cost in the UAE? An adult pays EUR 90 to the consulate, near AED 360 at a EUR 1 = AED 4.0 rate, plus a separate VFS service fee in dirhams. Children aged 6 to 11 pay EUR 45. Under 6 is free. The EUR 90 consular fee has applied since 11 June 2024. ### Is the Schengen visa fee refundable if I am refused? No. The consular fee pays to process your file, not to issue a visa. You lose the full EUR 90 on a refusal, and the VFS service fee with it. Reapplying means paying both again. Budget for that risk before you file. ### Is a Schengen visa free for UAE residents? No. Only children under 6 pay nothing. Everyone else pays the EUR 90 adult fee or the EUR 45 child fee for ages 6 to 11. The reduced EUR 35 fee does not apply to Indian, Pakistani, Egyptian or Filipino passports — those have no EU facilitation agreement. ### How much is the VFS service fee in Dubai? VFS sets its own service fee per application, separate from the EUR 90 consular fee and paid in AED. It differs by consulate and changes over time. Read the exact line on your country VFS UAE page before you pay. We do not restate a figure we cannot re-check. ### What extra VFS charges can I decline? All of them. Courier passport return, SMS updates, premium or prime-time lounge, photo and photocopy services are optional. None is required to lodge your application, and declining them does not change the visa decision.

We are not affiliated with any Schengen consulate, the European Commission or VFS Global. We quote no price of our own and we process no applications. The figures above are published statutory and third-party figures. We reproduce each with its source and the date it applies, and we flag every figure you must confirm at the counter.

> *Sources cited only — expert review pending. For individualized advice, consult a licensed professional.*