A dummy ticket for an Austria visa is a round-trip flight reservation held in the airline's system without paying the fare, with a PNR you can check on the airline's website. The Austrian Embassy in New Delhi lists round-trip flight reservations on its tourism checklist and says a paid ticket is not required. Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) charges ₹699 per passenger.
- The Austrian Embassy's tourism checklist for India (updated August 2026) asks for "Round-trip flight reservations", and its visa page says a paid ticket is not required.
- The embassy in New Delhi decides Austria visas for India, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Schengen applicants in Bangladesh go to the French Embassy in Dhaka.
- If your file reaches the embassy less than 15 working days before travel, it goes back to VFS with your passport. The embassy advises applying at least 1 month ahead.
- The visa fee is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 11 (September 2026), paid in rupees at the current exchange rate, plus a VFS service fee capped at €45.
On this page
- What the Austrian Embassy asks for: flights and accommodation
- Who handles an Austria visa application in India
- Austria visa fee and VFS service fee (September 2026)
- Processing time and the 15-working-day cut-off
- Other documents on Austria's tourism checklist
- Routing ideas from India to Vienna
- Combining Austria with Czechia or Hungary
- Dummy ticket for Austria visa: ordering it for the right day
A dummy ticket for Austria visa applications is a round-trip flight reservation: a booking held in the airline's system in your name, with a PNR you can look up on the airline's website, sent to you as a PDF. It is not a paid ticket, and you do not need one: the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi lists round-trip flight reservations on its own tourism checklist, and its visa page says a paid ticket is not required. Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) charges ₹699 per passenger for the reservation.
The reservation is one item on a checklist of eleven. It shows the embassy a concrete, checkable travel plan. It does not decide the visa, and nobody can tell you how a particular officer will read your file.
What the Austrian Embassy asks for: flights and accommodation
The embassy asks for a round-trip flight reservation, not a purchased ticket. Item 6 of its Visa for Tourism checklist, updated August 2026, reads "Round-trip flight reservations - travel itinerary", and adds "proof of other means of travel within Austria/EU in case of onward travel". The embassy's visa page is plainer still: proof of transport can be a reservation or a booking, and "presentation of a paid ticket is not required".
The same checklist item asks for proof of accommodation: a "hotel reservation / letter of tour organizer and / or other appropriate documentation" showing your plans in Austria and the rest of the EU. Item 5 asks for a cover letter giving your purpose, duration, fellow travellers, and your transport and accommodation details. So the flight dates, the hotel dates and the cover letter need to tell the same story.
This matches EU guidance. The Visa Code Handbook tells consular staff that "A paid return ticket should not be required upon lodging", although one may be requested in exceptional cases once the visa has been issued.
A flight reservation is a real booking in the airline's reservation system, with a PNR you can look up on the airline's "Manage booking" page while the hold is live. It is not an edited PDF and not an e-ticket, and it cannot be used to board a flight. If an officer asks what it is, say it is a reservation.
Who handles an Austria visa application in India
VFS Global takes your file, fee and biometrics at its Austria desk, and the Austrian Embassy in New Delhi makes the decision. The embassy describes its reach this way: "The Austrian Embassy in India is responsible for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka." For Schengen visas the Bangladesh part has an exception: the embassy's how-to-apply page says the French Embassy in Dhaka is competent there.
Austria has no separate consular districts for visas inside India. Every Austria Schengen file from an Indian resident ends up at the one embassy in New Delhi, which matters for timing: the 15-working-day cut-off explained below counts from the day the embassy receives your file, so a file lodged at a VFS centre outside Delhi needs transit time on top. The tourism checklist also notes that you agree to use VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd. "to apply for a Schengen Visa at the Austrian Desk".
VFS changes its centre list and opening hours from time to time, and we could not confirm a current list of cities from an official source. Check the VFS Austria site for India for the centres open now. If you live outside India, apply in your country of residence; our page for Indians living abroad covers ordering from there.
Austria visa fee and VFS service fee (September 2026)
Austria charges the standard Schengen fee: €90 for an adult, €45 for a child aged 6 to 11, and nothing for a child under 6. These amounts have applied since 11 June 2024. The embassy's how-to-apply page says consular fees "have to be paid in INR at the current exchange rate", so the rupee figure moves with the euro. VFS adds its own service fee on top, and EU law caps it at half the visa fee.
| Item | Amount | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Visa fee, adult | €90 | Paid in INR at the current exchange rate |
| Visa fee, child 6–11 | €45 | Paid in INR at the current exchange rate |
| Visa fee, under 6 | Free | No visa fee |
| VFS service fee | At most €45 | Legal cap (Visa Code Art. 17(4)); the actual figure is on VFS Austria's India site |
| Both fees, adult | At most €135 | A ceiling worked out from the two figures above, not a quoted price |
The €135 line is simple addition of the fixed visa fee and the legal maximum for the service fee. The real VFS charge may be lower, so check it on VFS's site before you pay. The visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. Our Schengen visa fee guide covers waivers and rupee conversions.
Processing time and the 15-working-day cut-off
Allow up to 15 working days for processing once the embassy has your file, and apply at least a month before you fly. The embassy's visa page gives the legal standard, that processing "should not exceed 15 calendar days" and "may increase to 45 calendar days" if further checks are needed. Its tourism checklist is more cautious: processing "can take up to 15 working days after receiving the application".
The deadline to watch is on the same checklist. If the embassy receives an application "less than 15 working days before the intended travel date", the application and your passport are returned to VFS, and the embassy advises applying "at least 1 month prior to the intended travel". This is stricter than the 15 calendar days in the Visa Code, which the how-to-apply page also cites.
| Point | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Earliest you can apply | 6 months before departure | How-to-apply page and checklist |
| File returned to VFS | Reaches the embassy less than 15 working days before travel | Tourism checklist |
| Embassy's advice | Apply at least 1 month before travel | Tourism checklist |
| Processing | Up to 15 working days; up to 45 calendar days in individual cases | Checklist and visa page |
| Appointment waits | No figure published; longer in peak season | How-to-apply page |
A worked example: say you fly on Monday 30 November 2026. Counting back 15 working days, Monday to Friday, lands on Monday 9 November, and the file has to be at the embassy in New Delhi by then. Embassy holidays and the transfer from your VFS centre push that earlier. The embassy's one-month advice puts your VFS appointment on or before Friday 30 October.
The embassy does not publish how far ahead VFS slots are booked. Its how-to-apply page says waits "may be somewhat longer during the peak season" and recommends applying as early as possible. Our guide to booking a VFS slot explains how to look for one.
Other documents on Austria's tourism checklist
Besides the flight and hotel bookings, Austria's checklist asks for a signed form in English or German, three months of salary certificates and bank statements, and two years of ITRs, among other items. The embassy wants the documents arranged in the checklist's order. The table picks out the items with Austria-specific detail; our Schengen documents checklist covers the common ground.
| Item | What the checklist asks for |
|---|---|
| Application form | Fully completed in English or German, and signed |
| Passport | Valid 3 months beyond your departure from the Schengen area, 2 blank pages, issued within the last 10 years, no handwritten changes to the data page |
| Cover letter | Purpose, duration, names of fellow travellers, transport and accommodation details |
| Travel medical insurance | At least €30,000, valid in all Schengen states for the whole stay |
| If employed | Salary certificate for the last 3 months, employment contract and a company NOC; an official email address on the form or a business card |
| Funds | Original bank statements for the last 3 months |
| Income tax | ITR with barcode for the last 2 years |
| Travel history | Copies of earlier Schengen visas and entry and exit stamps, from old passports too |
Two details are easy to overlook: the ITR copies must carry the barcode, and the embassy wants an official email address for you or your HR department. If your returns are not to hand, our ITR guide explains which copy to download. For the cover letter, our Schengen cover letter guide has a structure that covers every point the checklist names. For the stay itself, a hotel reservation voucher costs ₹699 per hotel, per passenger; for a multi-city trip or a long stay, ask on WhatsApp before ordering.
Routing ideas from India to Vienna
Book the reservation into Vienna (VIE), Austria's main international airport, unless your stay starts somewhere else. The first flight should arrive on or before the first night of your hotel booking. From Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru or elsewhere, a Vienna itinerary may be non-stop or connect through a Gulf or European hub, depending on the season and which airlines fly the route. The booking desk chooses the airline and routing; you can name a preferred airline in the notes box as a request.
If you fly into Vienna and home from another city, the itinerary is two separate one-way flights. A multi-city itinerary costs ₹699 per two flights, per passenger, the same as a return.
Combining Austria with Czechia or Hungary
You apply to Austria if it is your only destination or the one where you spend the most days; if the days are equal, you apply to the country you enter first. The full rule, with more cases, is on our main destination guide. Two examples show how it plays out on a Vienna trip:
- Five nights in Vienna, three in Prague. Austria is the main destination, so you apply to Austria. The flight reservation can run Delhi to Vienna and Prague to Delhi, and the Vienna to Prague leg needs its own proof, such as a train reservation, because Austria's checklist asks for "other means of travel" on onward trips.
- Four nights in Budapest, then four in Vienna. The stays are equal and you enter Hungary first, so the application goes to Hungary, not Austria.
Getting this wrong wastes an appointment. A consulate that is not competent will not examine the file. Under the Visa Code the fee is refunded in that case, but you lose the slot and have to book again with the right country. General Schengen rules on insurance and the 90/180-day limit are on our Schengen visa page.
Dummy ticket for Austria visa: ordering it for the right day
Order the reservation for the dates on your application form, ask for it to arrive the day before your VFS appointment, and check the PNR before you submit. How long a hold stays live depends on the airline, which is why the delivery date matters.
Fix your dates and route
Match them to your application form, cover letter, insurance and hotel booking, and to the Austrian city where your stay begins.
Fill in the booking form
Enter names exactly as in the passport, the route and the dates on the booking form. You do not need a passport scan or an account.
Choose the delivery date
The form asks when you want to receive it. Pick the day before your appointment. Delivery is by email or WhatsApp, typically 10–20 minutes after payment is confirmed, with possible delays at weekends, on holidays and in busy periods.
Check the PNR
Look the booking up on the airline's own website before you go to VFS, using our PNR check guide.
Before you leave for the appointment, run through this list:
- Reservation dates match the form, cover letter, insurance and hotel dates
- Every passenger's name matches the passport
- The PNR opens on the airline's website
- Onward travel inside Europe has its own proof
- The file reaches the embassy at least 15 working days before you fly
Orders are final once the reservation is issued. DTV is not affiliated with the Austrian Embassy, VFS Global or any airline.
Frequently asked questions
Can one reservation cover my whole family's Austria applications?
Yes. One DTV order covers up to 9 passengers, all on one itinerary, at ₹699 per passenger. Each family member still submits a full file of their own at VFS, so print a copy of the reservation for each file. Our family bookings page explains how to enter several passengers.
What if my VFS appointment moves after I have ordered?
Send us your order ID on WhatsApp and we will tell you the quickest way to get a reservation for the new dates. Do not submit a reservation whose dates no longer match your application form, cover letter and insurance. Our guide to changing dates on a dummy ticket covers the options.
Would a refundable ticket be better than a reservation for Austria?
Austria's checklist names round-trip flight reservations and its visa page says a paid ticket is not required, so you do not need to buy one. A fully refundable fare is another option, but it ties up the full fare until the refund arrives and refund rules vary by airline. Our comparison of reservations and refundable tickets sets out the cost and risk of each.
I live in Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. Where do I apply for an Austria visa?
The Austrian Embassy in New Delhi also covers Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and it publishes separate checklists for Nepal and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh is different: the embassy states that the French Embassy in Dhaka handles Schengen visas there. Indians living in the Gulf or the UK apply where they legally live.
Does an Austria visa let me visit other Schengen countries?
Normally yes. A Schengen C visa issued by Austria is valid across the Schengen area unless the sticker says otherwise, within the limit of 90 days in any 180. Our explainer on the 90/180-day rule shows how the days are counted.
I want to stay in Austria for more than 90 days. Is this the right page?
No. The embassy's checklist says a C visa covers up to 90 days and a D visa covers 91 to 180 days, and neither can be extended or renewed in Austria. A stay of more than 6 months needs a residence permit. D visas have their own checklists on the embassy site. For work routes, see our work visa page.
- Austrian Embassy New Delhi: Visa for Tourism checklist (updated August 2026, PDF)
- Austrian Embassy New Delhi: visa categories, fees and processing
- Austrian Embassy New Delhi: how to apply for a visa
- Austrian Embassy New Delhi: jurisdiction and appointments
- VFS Global: Austria visa application, India
- European Commission: Schengen Visa Code Handbook I
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.