A blocked ticket for visa is a flight reservation made in the airline's system and held without paying the fare, which Indian travel agents call "blocking" a seat. It has a PNR you can check on the airline's website while the hold is live, but no e-ticket number, and it cannot be used to board. Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) makes one online for ₹699 per passenger.
- "Blocked ticket", "held reservation" and "dummy ticket" all mean a booking with a PNR and no paid fare.
- The airline's ticketing time limit decides how long a block lasts. It can be hours or several days, and the person who made the booking cannot extend it.
- A blocked ticket has no e-ticket number and cannot be used to board a flight.
- DTV charges ₹699 per passenger, one-way or return. A local agent sets their own fee.
- A travel portal's price lock fixes a fare but does not put your name on a booking, so it cannot stand in for a reservation in a visa file.
On this page
- What "ticket blocking" means
- How a travel agent blocks a ticket, and what it costs
- How long a blocked ticket lasts
- Ways to block a ticket, compared
- Blocked ticket for visa from DTV: the agent's hold, ordered online
- How to order a blocked ticket online
- When a blocked ticket is not enough
- Checklist before you pay anyone to block a ticket
A blocked ticket for visa is a flight reservation made in the airline's system and held without paying the fare. Indian travel agents call this "blocking" a seat. The booking has a PNR (booking reference) that you can look up on the airline's website while the hold is live, but it has no e-ticket number and it cannot be used to board a flight.
Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) makes the same kind of reservation online for ₹699 per passenger, one-way or return. Before you order one from us or from an agent, read your visa checklist. Schengen checklists ask for a flight reservation. For UK, US, Canadian and Australian visitor visas a flight booking is generally not a required document, and including an itinerary there is your choice. Our summary of what visa checklists say about reservations covers the main destinations.
What "ticket blocking" means
Blocking a ticket means creating a booking and deliberately leaving the fare unpaid. Amadeus, one of the reservation systems travel agents use, describes the passenger name record as the internal record of a booking, which comes before the fare is priced and a ticket is issued. A blocked ticket stops at that first step. Your name, flight numbers and dates sit in the airline's system under a booking reference, usually six characters, and nothing has been bought.
Every unpaid booking carries a ticketing time limit: the deadline by which the airline wants the fare paid. If no ticket is issued by then, the airline can cancel the booking, and it can cancel earlier. That deadline decides when a block ends, whatever an agent or a website tells you. Our flight reservation for visa page explains the difference between booked and ticketed, and the glossary defines PNR, record locator and the other terms.
How a travel agent blocks a ticket, and what it costs
An agent blocks a ticket by making the booking in a global distribution system such as Amadeus or Sabre, or in the airline's own agency tool, and then not issuing the ticket. You give the passenger names as in the passport, the route and the dates, at the counter, by phone or on WhatsApp. The agent hands over or emails an itinerary with the booking reference. When the airline's time limit runs out, the agent can make a fresh booking, which gets a new reference.
Because no fare is charged, what you pay is the agent's service fee. It varies from shop to shop. Public listings from Indian agents in September 2026 ranged from about ₹350 to ₹1,500 per passenger. Ask for the total for everyone on the booking before you agree. Also ask whether the code on the printout opens on the airline's own website: a booking made in an agency system can carry a different reference from the one the airline creates, and only the airline's code works on its "Manage booking" page. Our comparison of local agents and online orders goes further.
How long a blocked ticket lasts
A blocked ticket lasts until the airline's ticketing time limit, which can be a few hours or several days depending on the airline and the fare. Neither an agent nor DTV can extend it. That is why we do not publish a fixed validity period. If a seller quotes you a number of days, ask what happens if the airline cancels sooner.
So plan around the day you need the reservation, not the day you pay. Say your VFS appointment is on Thursday 15 October. Choose Wednesday 14 October as the receiving date on our form, check the PNR on the airline's website that evening, and take the PDF to the appointment. Our PNR check guide shows where to enter the code, and the article on how long a reservation stays live covers timing for longer processing periods. If your dates change after the reservation is issued, send your order ID on WhatsApp and we will tell you the quickest way to get a reservation for the new dates.
Ways to block a ticket, compared
There are five common ways to hold a flight without buying the fare, and only the ones that put your name on an airline booking help a visa file.
| Method | How it is made | What you pay | How long it holds | Your name on a booking you can check? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local travel agent | Agent books in a reservation system or the airline's agency tool | The agent's own fee; about ₹350 to ₹1,500 per passenger in listings seen | Until the airline's ticketing time limit | Yes, if you get the airline's own reference |
| Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) | Online form, with a receiving date you choose | ₹699 per passenger, one-way or return | Until the airline's ticketing time limit | Yes |
| Airline's paid fare hold | You hold the fare yourself on the airline's website or app, where it is offered | A fee set by the airline | Typically one to three days; check the airline's page | Yes |
| US 24-hour hold | Offered by some airlines selling flights in the United States, for bookings made at least a week before departure | Nothing for the hold | At least 24 hours | Yes |
| Travel portal price lock | You lock today's fare and finish the booking later | A lock fee set by the portal | From a few hours to about two weeks, by product | No, not until you complete the booking |
For a visa file, the last column is the one that counts. A consulate can only check a booking that exists under your name. The Dutch checklist for applicants in India, for example, asks for a reservation in your name and states: "You do not need a paid travel ticket."
A price lock does not give you that. One large Indian portal's terms, read in September 2026, describe its lock as a price guarantee rather than a seat guarantee, with traveller names entered only at final booking. More on portal products is in our article on booking through MakeMyTrip or Yatra. Airline holds are a real option where your airline sells one; our guide to 24, 48 and 72 hour airline holds covers them. The US rule, 14 CFR 259.5, lets an airline offer free cancellation instead of a hold, and 24 hours only helps if your appointment is the next day.
Blocked ticket for visa from DTV: the agent's hold, ordered online
A DTV reservation is a blocked ticket ordered through a form instead of at an agent's desk. The booking is made in the airline's reservation system and held without paying the fare, and you receive it as a PDF itinerary with the booking reference. You give the passenger names exactly as in the passport, date of birth, nationality, route, travel dates, and an email address or WhatsApp number. We do not ask for a passport scan or an account.
The price is ₹699 per passenger for one-way or return, and ₹699 per two flights on a multi-city trip. Outside India it is about US$8.50 per passenger by PayPal or card. One order covers up to 9 passengers on one itinerary. Our booking desk chooses the airline and flight for your route; you can name a preferred airline in the notes box, and we treat it as a request, not a promise. DTV is not affiliated with any embassy, consulate, visa application centre or airline, and no reservation can decide how a visa application goes.
How to order a blocked ticket online
Ordering a blocked ticket from DTV takes four steps, and you do not need to visit anyone.
Fill in the booking form
Enter the route, travel dates, passenger names as in the passport, dates of birth and nationality on our booking page. Pick the date you want to receive the reservation.
Pay
In India, scan the UPI QR code and send the payment screenshot on WhatsApp. Everywhere else, pay by PayPal, debit card or credit card.
Receive the PDF
It arrives by email or WhatsApp, typically 10–20 minutes after payment is confirmed. If you chose a later date, the reservation is issued on that date. Delays can happen at weekends, on holidays and in busy periods.
Check the PNR
Open the airline's "Manage booking" page, enter the booking reference and surname, and confirm the names, route and dates match your PDF. There will be no e-ticket number, because no ticket has been issued.
Our step-by-step ordering guide covers each stage in more detail.
When a blocked ticket is not enough
A blocked ticket does not meet a rule that asks for a paid ticket. New Zealand is the clearest case. For visa-waiver travellers on an NZeTA, Immigration New Zealand states, as of September 2026: "Your onward tickets must be paid for before your travel." Indian passport holders are not on the visa-waiver list and apply for a visitor visa, but if you travel on another passport with an NZeTA, a held reservation does not fit that wording. Our New Zealand onward ticket guide sets out what to use instead.
Where a paid ticket is required, the honest options are a refundable fare or a cheap onward flight you will use. The cost and risk of a refundable fare are compared in dummy ticket vs refundable ticket. Wherever you use a blocked ticket, call it what it is. If an officer or an airline agent asks, say it is a reservation.
Checklist before you pay anyone to block a ticket
Go through these six points before you pay an agent, a website or us.
- Your visa checklist asks for a flight reservation, or you have decided to include one
- The passenger names match the passports letter for letter
- The travel dates match your cover letter and hotel booking
- You know whether the code you receive opens on the airline's own website
- You have asked what happens if your dates change
- The reservation arrives a day before you need it, and you check the PNR before you submit it
Block a seat online for your visa file
Order a reservation for ₹699 per passenger. It typically arrives 10–20 minutes after payment is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Is a blocked ticket the same as a dummy ticket?
Yes. Both names describe a flight reservation made in the airline's system and held without paying the fare. Indian travel agents say "blocked ticket", most websites say "dummy ticket", and consulates usually write "flight reservation" or "flight itinerary". Whatever it is called, it should carry a booking reference that you can look up on the airline's own website.
Can I choose the airline for my blocked ticket?
You can ask. Our booking desk chooses the airline and flight for your route, and you can name a preferred airline in the notes box on the form. That is a request, not a promise. If one airline matters to you, for example because you plan to buy that fare after the visa, message us on WhatsApp before you order.
Can I block a flight ticket without paying anything?
Sometimes, for a short time. Airlines selling flights in the United States must, for bookings made a week or more before departure, offer either a 24-hour hold without payment or 24-hour free cancellation. Some airlines sell a paid hold lasting a few days. Free PDF generators do not block anything; they print an invented reference. Our free dummy ticket guide compares the free routes.
Will the embassy know my ticket is blocked and not paid?
It can, and that is expected. A blocked booking shows your name and flights in the airline's system but no e-ticket number, and a reservation is what most Schengen checklists ask for. Never describe it as a paid ticket. How consulates check bookings is explained in do embassies verify dummy tickets.
Is blocking a ticket for a visa application legal?
Holding a reservation without paying is a normal step in how airline booking systems work, and Schengen checklists for applicants in India ask for a flight reservation, not a paid ticket. What matters is honesty: submit a real reservation, call it a reservation, and never edit a PDF. Our guide to whether a dummy ticket is legal has the detail.
What happens to a blocked ticket after my visa is approved?
Nothing, unless you act. The hold lapses when the airline's ticketing time limit passes, and you owe nothing for the fare. To travel, you buy a real ticket, on the same flights or different ones, within the dates and entries your visa allows. See what happens to a dummy ticket after visa approval.
Last reviewed by the DTV Editorial Team. Visa requirements change, so confirm the current checklist with the embassy, consulate or official application centre before you apply. A reservation supports a visa file and cannot guarantee a visa decision.