Dummy flights for visa: what they are, and the half of your file they don't cover
How temporary flight reservations work, and why your application also needs proof of accommodation.
What is a dummy flight?
A dummy flight is a temporary flight reservation submitted with a visa application, for consulates that ask to see a return or onward ticket. The idea is to document your travel without paying hundreds of euros for a firm ticket. The word "dummy" is misleading. A PDF built around an invented booking reference is document fraud, while a genuine reservation held on option with an airline is perfectly acceptable.
Our recommendation
GetHotelProof does not sell flight reservations. We handle the other document consulates ask for in the same file: proof of accommodation. We book a real, refundable hotel through a licensed aggregator (LiteAPI/Nuitee, over 2 million properties), deliver an embassy-ready PDF, and keep the booking live for 96 hours, for $12.90. For the flight side, use a service that makes genuine reservations with the airlines.
How to get your accommodation proof
Pick your stay
City, dates, number of travellers. Up to 9 people and 2 cities per order.
We book for real
A free-cancellation hotel is reserved in your name through our licensed aggregator.
PDF in 60 seconds
Hotel name, address, phone, dates and traveller names, in the format consulates expect.
The booking stays verifiable with the hotel for 96 hours, long enough to file your application. After that it cancels automatically under the free-cancellation window, with no hotel charge to you.
Why GetHotelProof for the accommodation side
A genuine booking the consulate can confirm with the hotel. Not a document laid out to look like one.
96 hours of validity, against the few hours a self-made free booking survives before the hotel releases it.
$12.90 for one traveller, then $5 per extra person. No per-head pricing across the whole party.
Order and PDF available in French, English, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese.
Up to 2 cities on one order (+$5), for a multi-stop Schengen itinerary.
We handle the cancellation when the window closes. Nothing to track in your inbox.
Frequently asked questions
Are dummy flights legal for a visa application?▾
A real flight reservation held on option with an airline and later released is acceptable. A PDF built around an invented booking reference is document fraud: consulates can query the airline's system, and penalties range from refusal to an entry ban.
Do consulates ask for both flight and accommodation?▾
The Schengen Visa Code requires supporting documents covering both your means of transport and your accommodation for the whole stay (Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, Annex II). Most consulates therefore expect both in the same file, and a dummy flight alone leaves the accommodation side uncovered.
Can I order the hotel proof on its own?▾
Yes, that is exactly our service. GetHotelProof only handles accommodation: you get a real hotel booking and its PDF, whatever you use to document your flight.
What happens after 96 hours?▾
The booking is cancelled automatically inside the hotel's free-cancellation window. The property charges you nothing, and you keep the PDF already filed with your application.
What if my consulate appointment is weeks away?▾
Choose the activate later option (+$2) at checkout. Payment is taken, but the booking only fires on the day you click the link we email you, and the 96 hours start from there.
Get my accommodation proof
A real, verifiable hotel booking with a PDF in 60 seconds. From $12.90.
Get my accommodation proof