Dummy ticket for Portugal visa: what the Portuguese checklists ask for

A dummy ticket for a Portugal visa is a flight reservation: a booking made in the airline's reservation system and held without paying the fare, with a PNR you can look up on the airline's website. Both of Portugal's document lists for applicants in India ask for a flight reservation, not a bought ticket. Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) issues this kind of reservation for ₹699 per passenger.

Rules shared by all 29 Schengen countries, such as the 90/180-day limit, the €30,000 insurance minimum and which country to apply to, are on our Schengen visa page. Portugal adds rules of its own, and its hotel rule is the one most likely to catch you out.

What Portugal's checklists ask for: a flight reservation

Both lists ask for a reservation, not a paid ticket. Item 5 of the VFS Global tourist visa checklist for Portugal, effective 9 August 2023, reads: "Reservation of Onward / Return Flight Travel Ticket." The Embassy's own list of supporting documents is the common EU list for India, and it asks for a "Flight reservation of return or round ticket".

Item 6 of the VFS checklist covers travel beyond Portugal. If you visit more than one Schengen country, it asks for bookings for the legs between them: flights, buses, rail or a hire car. If you also visit a country outside Schengen before or after Portugal, it asks for the reservation for that trip too. A multi-city reservation can put all of those flights on one booking.

The EU's handbook for consular staff says "A paid return ticket should not be required upon lodging". Our guide on why consulates ask for a reservation explains the background. Buy the real ticket once the visa is granted.

Portugal's hotel rule: no bookings made by a travel agent

Portugal's VFS checklist does not accept a hotel booking made by a third-party travel agent. Item 8 asks for a booking "directly from Hotel or from any booking sites", names three well-known booking websites as examples, and adds: "Hotel bookings done by any third party travel agent are not acceptable." The booking has to cover every night from arrival to departure.

That affects our own hotel product. A DTV hotel reservation is arranged by us, a third party, so it may not meet item 8 as written, and we do not recommend it for a Portugal file. Book directly on the hotel's website or on a booking website instead, and pick a rate with free cancellation so a refusal does not cost you the room. Our guide to hotel reservations without payment compares the ways to do that.

If you are staying with family or friends, the Embassy's list asks for proof of sponsorship or private accommodation from your host. The VFS checklist also wants the host's full address and contact details in your covering letter and your employment letter.

Portugal visa fee, VFS service charge and decision time

The Portugal visa fee is €90 for an adult, €45 for a child aged 6 to 11, and nothing under 6. VFS Global's Portugal page for India showed these as ₹9,736 and ₹4,868 in September 2026, plus a VFS service charge of ₹3,384 that includes 18% GST. Rupee amounts change with the exchange rate, so check the page on the day you pay; our Schengen visa fee guide explains the conversions. The visa fee is not refunded if the visa is refused.

Treat 15 days as the shortest likely wait, not a promise. VFS quotes the EU rule: a decision within 15 calendar days of an admissible application, extendable to 45. The Embassy's visa page is more cautious: "If all documents are OK, the decision period for a Schengen visa is at least 15 days." A file accepted on 5 October reaches the 15-day mark on 20 October and the 45-day limit on 19 November. Courier time for your passport comes on top.

Where to apply: VFS Global, under New Delhi or Goa

You apply through VFS Global, which the Embassy's visa page calls the only service provider authorised to file Portuguese visas. Which Portuguese office handles your file depends on where you live. The Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi covers "the entire Indian territory, except for Goa, Maharashtra and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu". Those areas belong to the Consulate General of Portugal in Goa.

So a Pune or Mumbai resident falls under Goa, and a Bengaluru or Kolkata resident under New Delhi. The pages we read do not list VFS centres by jurisdiction, and centres open and close, so check the current list on the VFS Portugal India site before you book.

The 2023 checklist also says first-time applicants, and anyone who has not travelled to a Schengen country in the last 3 years, "are subject to go for a personal (skype) interview" with the Consulate General in Goa. Microsoft closed Skype in May 2025, so ask VFS at submission how interviews are held now. If you live outside India, apply where you legally live; our page for Indians abroad covers ordering from outside India.

How far ahead to book your VFS appointment

If your dates allow, submit about 45 days before your flight. You may apply from 6 months before travel until 15 days before it. Neither the Embassy nor VFS publishes a typical wait for a slot, so the VFS calendar is the real guide, and our appointment guide explains how slot booking works.

Here is how that works for a flight to Lisbon on 20 November 2026:

• 5 November is the last day you may apply under the 15-day rule, and even a 15-day decision would leave no margin.
• Late October covers the Embassy's "at least 15 days" with a little time to spare.
• 6 October leaves room for the full 45 days, or for an interview.

Lisbon and Porto routings from India

A Portugal file usually shows a return to Lisbon (LIS) or Porto (OPO), or a trip that flies into one and home from the other. Itineraries from India usually change planes at a Gulf hub such as Doha, Dubai or Abu Dhabi, or a European one such as Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam or Madrid. The booking desk chooses the airline and the connection; you can name a preferred airline in the notes box, as a request rather than a promise.

Item 5 asks for an "Onward / Return" flight, so a same-city return matches it most literally. Flying into Lisbon and home from Porto still shows fixed arrival and departure dates, but we cannot tell you how a particular officer will read it; choose the same-city return if you want no room for doubt. A Portugal-plus-Spain trip also needs proof of the Lisbon to Madrid leg. Apply to the country of your longest stay: 8 nights in Portugal and 3 in Spain means Portugal. Our main-destination guide covers ties.

Getting a dummy ticket for Portugal visa applications

1. Fix your dates and every leg

   Include any stop outside Schengen, and use the same dates on the visa form, insurance and hotel booking or host details.

2. Order on the booking form

   Enter each name exactly as in the passport, with date of birth, nationality, route and dates, on the booking form. No passport scan and no account are needed.

3. Choose the delivery date

   Pick the day before your VFS appointment in the "When do you want to receive it?" field.

4. Check the PNR

   Look the booking up on the airline's website before you submit it, using our PNR check guide.

We send the PDF itinerary by email or WhatsApp, typically 10 to 20 minutes after payment is confirmed; weekends, holidays and busy periods can be slower. It costs ₹699 per passenger, one way or return, with up to 9 passengers on one itinerary, and the sample dummy ticket shows the layout. DTV is not affiliated with the Embassy of Portugal, VFS Global or any airline.

• Onward and return flight reservation in every applicant's name
• Reservations for any other country on the trip, inside or outside Schengen
• Hotel booked directly or on a booking website, not through an agent, or host details in your letters
• Insurance from the insurer list on the VFS Portugal site, or bought directly from Portugal
• Six months of original bank statements and three years of ITR-V
• Your jurisdiction checked: New Delhi or Goa

Frequently asked questions

Last reviewed 27 September 2026 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.