I do like to visit Europe from time to time. I'm just trying to work out what the likely cost might be. Looking around other non-EU countries visa and consular services, I get the impression the average 90-day type C tourist visa is about Eur80. I presume being so close to the EU there would be some benefit of scale so it might not be that much for us? How does this compare to before we joined the EEC?
What worries me slightly more is that most services suggest it takes up to 2 months for an application to come through (this is even worse than the UK when colleagues try to get business visas to come to out office - that can often be done in2-3 weeks).

It's about 50/60 Euro but may vary depending on the embassy issuing the visa. The process is completed in about 2 weeks but you would have to attend an appointment to take biometrics.

I think VFS by and large are the go to company used to process applications.

http://www.vfsglobal.com/services_so...g_services.asp

Yeah, I looked at VFS but they seem to charge about another Eur26 "service fee" on top of the Eur60 visa fee. They also do "premium" sevices where you can get your visa in a few working days (if you're willing to spend a couple of hundred Euros).

I've helped relatives get schengan visas and it's never cost more than €60. The process is efficient and quick enough. They offer timed appointments, and each occasion I've done it there was no delay. In fact, the last time I did it we got there half an hour early and got seen immediately with endorsed passport returned that week.

The premium service would only be needed in case of unplanned trips.