VFS and BLS authorisation letter format for agents

Your runner reaches the VFS centre with twelve passports and one authorisation letter covering four of your clients. The counter rejects the whole file. A VFS or BLS authorisation letter only works when it's one original per applicant, signed, with the right passport numbers, for a client whose file doesn't need the applicant in person that day.

The letter is the easy part. The question that comes first: does this mission need fingerprints or an interview today, or can a representative lodge it? This post gives you the sorting rules, the master letter (annotated), the minor and group variants, and a mission-by-mission table.

Before the letter: what decides whether a runner can take this file

Answer first: a representative can only lodge an application where the applicant's fingerprints, interview or presence aren't required that day. For Schengen states, fingerprints must already sit in the EU's Visa Information System and have been entered there less than 59 months before the new application; a first-time applicant must appear in person (EU Visa Code, Arts 10(1) and 13(2)). That clock runs from when prints were first actually taken, not the client's last visa; a visa that reused old prints doesn't restart it (Arts 13(3) and 47(1)(ab)). Children under 12 are fingerprint-exempt (Art. 13(7)), and field 28 of the Schengen form asks for the date of any earlier prints, if known, so check the client's file first.

Germany's missions in India say it plainly: if prints were collected in the last 59 months for a Schengen visa in India, "you can authorize someone to submit your application" (india.diplo.de). Italy's embassy says the same in its own words, that later applications within the 59 months needn't come in person, and adds that from 11 January 2025 national visas need fingerprints too (Ambasciata d'Italia). The UK, US and Canada leave little room for a runner at all: a UK Standard Visitor applicant attends their own appointment and gets the passport back the same day (GOV.UK), and US nonimmigrant applicants have generally needed an in-person interview since 1 October 2025, with narrow exceptions such as certain B1/B2 renewals within 12 months of expiry (travel.state.gov).

Example: A German Schengen file, lodged 17 Oct 2026. The cut-off is 17 Nov 2021 (59 months back). Father's prints (12 Jan 2022) sit inside the window, which for him stays open only until 12 Dec 2026. Mother's (3 Sep 2021) fall outside it, so she attends in person, as does grandmother on her first application. Their 14-year-old, fingerprint-exempt at 10 when she last travelled, has no prints on record and must attend for first-time prints: a trap agents miss.

The master authorisation letter, one per applicant

One original, signed letter per applicant, never one sheet for a family or group. One trade guide says each client needs their own letter, and lists name mismatches, missing passport numbers and unsigned letters among the common mistakes (TerraTern). Where the mission publishes its own form, use that instead: it's the format the centre expects.

[Place], [Date]

To: The Centre Manager
[VFS Global / BLS International] Visa Application Centre, [City]

Subject: Authorisation for [mission/country] [visa category] application
of [Applicant's full name as in passport]
Appointment/reference no: [ ]

I, [Applicant's full name, exactly as printed in my passport], born
[DD/MM/YYYY], holder of Indian passport no. [ ], issued at [ ] on
[DD/MM/YYYY], valid until [DD/MM/YYYY], hereby authorise [Representative's
full name, exactly as in their ID], holder of [passport/ID type] no. [ ],
employed by [Agency legal name and address], to act on my behalf at your
centre for this application only, for the following:

[ ] Submit my application form and supporting documents
[ ] Pay the centre's service charges on my behalf
[ ] Receive the acknowledgement/receipt
[ ] Collect my passport and decision envelope
    (strike out unless this centre allows third-party collection)

This authority is limited to the application named above and is valid
from [date] to [date]. I can be reached directly at [mobile] / [email]
to confirm this letter if required.

Signature: _______________________        Date: ____________
[Applicant's printed name]

Enclosures: copy of my passport bio page; copy of the representative's ID

What each part is doing:

• Passport numbers on both sides. Germany's template asks for the representative's passport number too, so a runner without their own passport can't be named on it (india.diplo.de).
• Tick, don't assume. Strike out "collect" wherever third-party collection isn't allowed, which includes BLS Spain and Canada (see below).
• No stamp paper, no notary. None of the checked formats ask for either, and it isn't a power of attorney. Sign in ink, matching the signature in the passport.

Minors, families and groups

Your own letter stays one per traveller, even within a family. A minor's letter is signed by the parent(s):

We, [Mother's full name], passport no. [ ], and [Father's full name],
passport no. [ ], parents/guardians of [Child's full name], born
[DD/MM/YYYY], passport no. [ ], hereby authorise [Representative's name
and ID as above] to act on our child's behalf for this application only.

Where the centre publishes its own minor form, use that. BLS Delhi's for Spain is signed by both parents and has room for up to three minors on one sheet, each with name, DOB and passport number (BLS Delhi authorisation form). It's a different document from your runner's letter: it authorises BLS's own staff to submit at the Embassy, receive communications and collect the passport from the Embassy after processing.

For groups, BLS wants you to contact the VAC first with your contact details, the travellers' contact details and purpose, numbers, flight details and route, and a final list of applicants in alphabetical order with passport numbers (india.blsspainvisa.com FAQs). For travel-consent paperwork, see the child travel consent letter formats.

Mission by mission: what changes

Mission (centre)	Runner can submit?	Runner can collect?	The catch
Germany Schengen (VFS)	Yes, if prints under 59 months	Not stated; check VFS	Template asks for the rep's passport number
Spain Schengen (BLS)	Yes, with a letter signed by the applicant (stated for Delhi jurisdiction)	No, except immediate family, one group member, or the applicant's company	Group lists must be alphabetical with passport numbers
Italy Schengen (VFS)	Only if prints under 59 months	Check VFS	First-time prints need an in-person visit
Schengen first-timer, or prints 59+ months old	No	N/A	Applicant must attend
UK Standard Visitor (VFS)	No, each applicant attends	Nothing to collect	Visa is issued as an eVisa, not a sticker
Canada (VFS)	No, only applicant, parent for a minor, or one family/group member	Same	One consent form per application, or courier
US	No, in-person interview (narrow renewal exception)	Check the appointment site	Required from 1 Oct 2025

Rules as published by each mission and centre in October 2026. Confirm the centre's own page before every submission; these change without much notice.

Collection is the stricter leg

Submission and collection are different permissions. It's easy to assume one covers the other. It doesn't.

At BLS's Spain centres, collection "will no longer be possible" for third parties: permitted collectors are an immediate family member, one group member collecting for everyone, or a company representative with letterhead authorisation (india.blsspainvisa.com). Everyone else chooses courier at submission, to the applicant's own home or office address, never the agency's. BLS's FAQ isn't fully consistent here; one older line still mentions collection by "an authorized representative". Treat the stricter rule as current, and confirm with the BLS helpline before promising a runner can collect.

Canada has been just as strict since 9 October 2023: passports go in only from the applicant, a parent for a minor, or one appointed family/group member, only applicants and accompanying family may collect decision envelopes, and two-way courier is the alternative (VFS Global Canada). The UK has nothing to collect: the passport comes back the same day.

Decide the pass-back method at submission, not after the decision lands and nobody can reach the passport. What happens once it's in hand is its own discipline; see the passport custody and courier playbook.

The runner's kit and the 30-second check

What the runner carries, every time:

• One original, signed authorisation letter per applicant
• The mission's own form, where one exists, filled and signed
• A photocopy of each applicant's passport bio page
• The runner's own original ID, plus a photocopy (a passport, for German files)
• Appointment confirmation and the filled application forms
• For collection runs, the original acknowledgement receipt per applicant

The 30-second check before the runner leaves:

1. Count letters against passports: one each, never a sheet covering two or more people.
2. Match every name and passport number to the passport, not the booking form.
3. Confirm the runner named on the letter is the runner actually going.
4. Confirm each applicant's prints were taken less than 59 months before the lodging date.
5. Strike "collect" on any letter for a mission that bars third-party collection.
6. Record the pass-back choice, usually courier to the applicant's address, before leaving.

Passport copies and numbers here are personal data under the DPDP Act. See the DPDP guide for passport data for how long to keep them.

Common questions

Can one authorisation letter cover my whole family?

Not your runner's letter. Germany's template names a single applicant, Canada wants one consent form per application, and a trade guide says each client needs their own letter (TerraTern). The one exception seen is a centre's own form: BLS Delhi's minor form lets both parents list up to three children on one sheet.

VFS se passport kaun collect kar sakta hai?

Mostly not your runner. At BLS's Spain centres it's the applicant, an immediate family member, one group member, or the applicant's own company representative, each with a govt ID copy, the original receipt and the applicant's authority letter (india.blsspainvisa.com). Canada limits collection to applicants and accompanying family. Germany's template covers submission only, so check with VFS before sending anyone to collect.

Does the letter need stamp paper or a notary?

Not in any mission format checked here; it isn't a power of attorney. If a centre's own form asks for more, follow that form.

Can my runner give the client's fingerprints at the counter?

No. Biometrics are collected only by the consulate or its own service provider, never by a travel agency (German missions' Schengen FAQ). A runner can carry the file; they can't stand in for the applicant's face or fingers.

The short version

• A runner can only lodge a file the mission doesn't need the applicant in person for; for Schengen, that means prints under 59 months old, counted from when they were first taken, not the last visa.
• One original, signed letter per applicant, never a family or group sheet; the mission's own form, where published, beats this one.
• Collection is the stricter leg: BLS Spain and Canada limit it to the applicant's own circle, and Germany's template covers submission only; plan courier to the applicant's own address at submission.
• The UK leaves no room for a runner: each applicant attends, gives biometrics and gets the passport back the same day; a successful visa comes as an eVisa.
• Minors get a parent-signed letter, groups get BLS's pre-notified, alphabetical passport list.
• Run the 30-second check before the runner leaves: letters match passports, fingerprints checked against 59 months, collection struck where it isn't allowed.
• Rules differ by mission and change; this reflects what was published as of October 2026, so confirm the centre's page before every submission.