Dummy ticket for Schengen visa: what your file needs

A dummy ticket for a Schengen visa is a flight reservation held in an airline's own system, not a ticket you have paid for. That is what the rules ask for. The harmonised document list for applicants in India calls for a "flight reservation of return or round ticket", and the EU's Handbook for consular staff says "a paid return ticket should not be required upon lodging".

The visa fee, the application window and the €30,000 insurance minimum are the same for all 29 Schengen states. What differs by country is the application centre, the rupee amount you pay and how each consulate words its own checklist. Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) issues the reservation as a PDF itinerary with a PNR you can check yourself, for ₹699 per passenger.

What Schengen consulates ask for instead of a paid ticket

They ask for a reservation that shows your planned flights into and out of the Schengen area. The Visa Code itself does not list a flight ticket as a required document. Transport appears only in Annex II of the Visa Code, the non-exhaustive list of supporting evidence, as proof that you intend to leave: "reservation of or return or round ticket". The Commission's harmonised list for India turns that into one line under "Proof of means of transport": "Flight reservation of return or round ticket." If your trip covers more than one Schengen country, the same list asks for proof of the legs in between as well: an intra-Schengen flight reservation, a train itinerary or a car rental.

The Visa Code Handbook, the operating instructions for consular staff, is more direct: "A paid return ticket should not be required upon lodging but may be requested in exceptional circumstances when the visa has been issued." So a consulate can ask for a bought ticket, but only exceptionally and only once the visa is granted. Some consulates say this to applicants too. The Dutch checklist for India states: "You do not need a paid travel ticket." Spain and Slovakia tell applicants in writing not to buy the ticket until the visa is granted.

The Handbook guides staff; it is not a right you can enforce, and a consulate can still ask for more. The Italian Embassy in New Delhi, for example, invites applicants to look for refundable tickets and hotel bookings, because a visa can be refused. Our article on the flight itinerary for a Schengen visa explains the requirement in more depth.

No official Schengen source uses the term "dummy ticket". The official words are "flight reservation" and "flight booking", and that is how to describe the document on your form and at the counter.

Which Schengen consulate to apply to

You apply to the country that is your main destination. On a one-country trip, that is the country you visit. On a multi-country trip, it is the country where you will spend the most days, or the one that matches the main purpose of the trip. If no country stands out, you apply to the country you enter first.

Two examples. Say you plan 6 nights in Paris and 3 in Lucerne: you apply to France. Say you plan 4 nights in Rome and 4 in Barcelona, landing in Rome, and neither city is the reason for the trip: you apply to Italy, the country of first entry. Your flight reservation should show the same entry point and dates that you give on the form. Our main destination guide covers harder cases.

This choice also decides whose checklist applies on top of the shared rules on this page, because the consulate of your main destination reads your file. If you live outside India, see the section on applying from abroad further down.

When to apply, and how long the decision takes

Apply no earlier than 6 months before you travel and, as a rule, no later than 15 calendar days before. The European Commission's page on applying for a Schengen visa sets out both limits, and a consulate may accept a later application in a justified urgent case. The legal standard for a decision is 15 calendar days from an admissible application, extendable to 45 days in individual cases. Appointment waits and courier time come on top, so treat 15 days as a legal minimum, not a plan. Our processing time guide covers waits from India.

A worked example: you fly on 20 November. The earliest you can apply is 20 May, and the latest, as a rule, is 5 November. Because the decision alone can take 15 days, an appointment in the second half of October leaves room for the file to travel and your passport to come back.

Time the reservation to the appointment, not to the start of your paperwork. A held reservation is temporary and how long it stays live depends on the airline, so have it issued the day before your appointment rather than on the day you start the online form.

The visa fee and travel insurance you will need

The visa fee is €90 for an adult and €45 for a child aged 6 to 11, as of September 2026; children under 6 pay nothing. These amounts took effect on 11 June 2024 and are the same at every Schengen consulate. The visa centre adds its own service fee, which by law cannot be more than half the visa fee (€45). For France, for example, VFS charges €22 per applicant.

In India you pay in rupees at a rate the consulate sets, so the rupee figure differs by country and moves with the exchange rate. The German missions in India listed the adult fee as ₹10,100 on their fee page dated 27 August 2026. Our Schengen visa fee page tracks the rupee amounts by country.

Travel medical insurance is a separate, compulsory document: at least €30,000 of cover, valid in every Schengen state for your whole stay, including repatriation, urgent medical care, emergency hospital treatment and death. For a multiple-entry visa, only your first trip needs cover when you apply. Some consulates add conditions: Germany accepts Indian policies only from approved Indian insurers, and Switzerland's checklist also refers to a list of approved insurers. Our travel insurance guide explains what a compliant policy looks like.

Keep the dates on your flight reservation, insurance certificate and hotel booking the same as the dates on your application form. Three documents with three different date ranges give the officer an easy reason to ask questions.

Ordering a dummy ticket for Schengen visa applications

Order it for the dates on your form, have it delivered the day before your appointment, and check the PNR before you hand it in. The reservation is one supporting document among several (passport, form, photo, insurance, proof of funds, and proof of purpose and accommodation). It shows that your travel plan is concrete and checkable. It says nothing about your finances, your ties to India or the purpose of your trip, and it cannot make up for weak evidence elsewhere in the file.

1. Fix your travel dates

   Match them to your main destination, the length of stay on your form, and your insurance and hotel dates.

2. Order the reservation

   Enter the passenger names exactly as they appear in the passport, the route and the dates on the booking form. No passport scan and no account are needed.

3. Choose your delivery date

   The form asks "When do you want to receive it?". Pick the day before your VFS appointment.

4. Check the PNR

   Look the booking up on the airline's own "Manage booking" page while the hold is live. Our PNR check guide shows how.

5. Describe it as a reservation

   If an officer asks, say what it is: a flight reservation, not a purchased ticket.

DTV books the reservation in the airline's reservation system and holds it without paying the fare. You receive it by email or WhatsApp as a PDF itinerary, typically 10–20 minutes after your payment is confirmed. It costs ₹699 per passenger, the same for one-way or return, and one order covers up to 9 passengers on one itinerary. It is not an e-ticket and cannot be used to board a flight. Our sample dummy ticket shows the layout, and the page on flight reservations for visas explains how a hold works.

Visa application centres in India, country by country

Most Schengen states take applications in India through VFS Global. Spain uses BLS International, Greece uses Global Visa Center World (GVCW), Slovakia lists both BLS and VFS (its embassy recommends BLS), and no external provider is listed for Romania. The table covers the ten countries that have their own page on this site, with what each one's official India page says about flights.

The other Schengen states follow the same harmonised list, and our consulate-by-consulate comparison covers them. As of September 2026, neither the common information sheet for India nor the embassy pages name TLScontact as a Schengen provider in India.

Applying from outside India

If you legally live outside India, you apply to the consulate responsible for your country of residence, through its own appointment system and visa centre. An Indian passport holder living in Dubai or London applies there, not in India. The Visa Code applies at every Schengen consulate and the Handbook guides staff everywhere, so the advice against requiring a paid ticket is the same wherever you apply. The checklist wording and the visa centre are set separately for each country of residence.

One India rule does not travel with you: the two-year multiple-entry visa after two lawfully used visas in three years is for Indian nationals living in India and applying there. Our pages for UAE residents, UK residents and Indians living abroad cover ordering a reservation and paying by PayPal, debit or credit card.

Schengen visa guides by country

Each country page below covers that consulate's own checklist wording, its visa centre in India and the usual routings from Indian cities. Open the one for your main destination.

• 🇫🇷France visa
• 🇩🇪Germany visa
• 🇮🇹Italy visa
• 🇪🇸Spain visa
• 🇨🇭Switzerland visa
• 🇳🇱Netherlands visa
• 🇬🇷Greece visa
• 🇵🇹Portugal visa
• 🇦🇹Austria visa
• 🇵🇱Poland visa

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.