How to book flights for a visa. How to book an air ticket without paying for a visa

Often, in the package of documents for any visa, they are asked to provide round-trip tickets. But booking tickets for a visa is a risky business, as a visa can be denied. In this case, the tourist needs to consider options for booking a flight without paying.

How to get a visa if you have a flight reservation

As a standard for any visa, you are asked to provide a bank statement, photographs, questionnaires, accommodation reservations, a tourist voucher and air tickets.

It is best to buy tickets online on the airline's website, after payment, a confirmation of purchase or reservation with data will be sent to the mail, this is what you need to provide to the visa center.

In order to make a booking you need:

  1. Go to the airline's website;
  2. Choose direction and dates;
  3. Select the number of passengers and flight;
  4. Start filling in the passenger data;
  5. Be sure to include your phone number and email address as confirmation will be sent there.
  6. Make the payment, do not forget to click the checkmark under "I agree to the terms ...".

Important! When choosing a date, keep in mind that the review of documents can take a long time, so do not take tickets for the next week in the United States, for example, it is better to take such tickets six months before the intended trip.

After payment, you can safely print the tickets and carry them to the consulate for approval. It is important to know that in case of refusal, some airlines agree to return tickets and money for them. But for this it is worth buying return tickets and not using a low-cost airline. It is better to book air tickets for a visa in major airlines, where about 30% of tickets can be returned and money back. In Aeroflot, for example, tickets are returned in the following categories:

  • Premium Business;
  • Premium Comfort;
  • Premium Economy;
  • OPTIMUM tariffs - return with a fine from 50 to 200 euros/dollars;*
  • Budget and Economy tariffs are non-refundable (including taxes and fees).

Visa for Schengen

You can also get a visa to Italy, Spain, France or other countries that are part of the Schengen zone after purchasing tickets. To do this, remember a few conditions:

  • You can buy a ticket to any city in the country, even if you later return from another city. For example, if it’s cheaper to fly to Barcelona from Moscow, but a tourist needs to go to Madrid, then it’s better to buy cheap tickets, and only then get to the capital by Spanish transport.
  • Often Schengen is issued by travel agencies, they do not guarantee that a visa will be given, but they will help to properly process the documents after ordering.

Additional Information! Some airlines allow up to 72 hours for payment, among these, for example, Turkish Airlines. After the reservation, time is given, which means that it is not necessary to pay immediately.

How to make a flight reservation without paying for a visa

Experienced travelers have long learned to use various life hacks, so they know that you can provide a ticket reservation for a visa without paying.

To get a treasured piece of paper, for which it is not necessary to pay, you can use various methods that will help to accomplish this.

You can book a plane ticket online without paying.

To do this, use the airlines that have a long period of free booking. These include:

  • EuropeAir up to 7 days
  • Korean Air up to 10 days
  • Lufthansa up to 2 days
  • Qatar up to 10 days
  • SAS up to 2 days
  • Turkish Airlines up to 10 days
  • United Airlines up to 7 days
  • AirBerlin up to 4 days
  • AirFrance up to 4 days
  • Aeroflot up to 2 days

The main thing to remember is that many airlines make reservations only for a day, this period is not enough to apply for a visa.

Some Airlines and low-price websites may extend your booking. In AirFrance for 5-15 euros you can extend the time up to 7 days. OneTwoTrip will extend the term for 200 rubles. On Anywayanyday, you can extend the deadline if you choose to pay in cash.

Use a dedicated agency.

Some services will help you make a long-term visa reservation. Such an agency is, for example, agent.ru.

All you need to do is:

  • Go on the website.
  • Choose a flight and direction, you can ignore the price.
  • Fill in the data and click "Checkout", payment can be delayed for a certain period, but immediately a confirmation email arrives, which you can print out and storm the visa center.

If you wish, this reservation can be canceled ahead of time or it will automatically disappear, it is worth remembering that sometimes the airline itself can reduce the retention period for tickets, so you need to book them in advance.

What if the reservation doesn't get through?

Sometimes the verification site itself may fail and not show tickets, there is no need to panic, for this:

  1. Check on similar sites
  2. Go to the airline's website and check there
  3. Try to check the next day after purchase

In any case, you should reload the site several times until the tickets are found.

Risks

Of course, there is always a risk of not getting a visa, even for experienced travelers. To reduce it, you should take out travel insurance. You can buy it directly on the airline's website, where you should carefully read the conditions for receiving money back.

Some companies for a small amount will turn non-refundable tickets in refundable, with such a fare it will be possible to return almost 100% of the ticket price. But the cheapest promotional tickets are usually non-refundable, so it is better to give preference to proven national companies.

You can also purchase a ticket from airlines that can cancel a booking if the passenger has not received a visa, such as KLM, MAY.

It is important to remember that a live person makes a visa decision, many consuls simply do not check the authenticity of vouchers and bookings, so many tourists cheat and submit false documents, sometimes it works, but it is too risky, as it is illegal, and they will certainly not give a visa with such tickets.

Some tourists go even to the most extreme measures, realizing that the decision is made by a person who is already loaded with work, they think that he will not want to check each ticket for validity, which means that you can create it in Photoshop or show an old printout. But this is very dangerous, as they may not let anyone into this country at all or issue a fine.

To protect yourself, you can also:

  • Pay for the ticket and bring a real confirmation;
  • Book another transport;
  • Buy a tour.

Even if you have real tickets, there is always a risk that a tourist will not be given a visa. Therefore, before going to the visa center, it is worth checking not only air tickets, but also other certificates, especially if the country is not famous for the easy issuance of visas.

Note! You need to be especially careful when collecting documents for countries such as the USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, Great Britain. All of them are very difficult to give visas to Russians, besides, the package of documents is many times larger than for Schengen visas.

How to apply for a visa and provide proof of a flight reservation

The procedure for applying for a visa is quite simple:

  1. You should register at the Consulate of the country where you plan to go. You can also contact the visa center, where the procedure will be faster and more pleasant, but an additional fee is charged for their services.
  2. collect all required documents. Their list depends on the specific country, but the standard is a photograph, special requirements for each visa, certificates from work, registration, bank statements, booked hotels and round-trip tickets.
  3. For some visas, you need to be fingerprinted, this will be helped directly at the consulate.

Mandatory documents must be - an extract from the bank, registration and tickets. You can print them from the airline's website or from the same site where tickets are checked for validity.

It is important that tickets can be round-trip, while you can present a circular route, for example, show tickets Moscow - New York, and return tickets Los Angeles - Moscow, the main thing is that the consul sees that the tourist, in any case, will return home .

Or you can present tickets to another country, for example, Moscow - New York, New York - Paris, which also indicates that the tourist will leave the country at the specified time.

It is realistic to book an air ticket without payment for a visa, besides, the consulates themselves do not insist that it be fully paid, it is enough for them to present a printout of the reservation, and you can do the same with the hotel. But with accommodation everything is easier, just find a hotel that does not require prepayment and which can be canceled free of charge before the specified date.

The main thing is to convince the consul that the passenger has a reason to return back, for this, submit as many certificates from work, study, bank statements as possible - this all confirms that the tourist will return and will not illegally live and work in a foreign country.

*Prices are current as of July 2018.

Many travelers at visa processing at the embassy of a particular country, you may have already faced such a problem as the availability of air ticket reservations in the package of documents provided. It happens that sometimes, even with complete package documents, the applicant is denied a visa. And what to do then in this case with non-refundable air tickets if you failed to get a visa? Only one thing - throw it away and say goodbye to the money spent in vain on them.

In this article we will tell you where and how to apply booking air tickets for a visa without payment, so that in case of refusal to obtain an entry document into the country, not to return money for unused plane tickets.

By the way, this method is useful for those who have a scheduled flight without return air tickets. You will need them at the check-in counter at the airport or when flying to a third country.

Where can I book flights without paying?

The most popular online agent where you can book air tickets without paying is - Agent.ru. Unfortunately, for short-term options it is difficult to say how long your free reservation on this site will last, but if you consider an option with a flight of more than 3 months, then according to the rules of some airlines, you may be given a payment period for air tickets up to 10 days.

Flight booking procedure:

1. Find this agency through our search in the desired direction (or enter the Agent.ru address into the line of your browser and select the date and route).

2. Choose a flight that suits your price.

3. Fill in the required information and accept the user agreement.

4. Check the completed data and click on "Checkout", after which you will receive a reservation code, as well as find out the maximum period for its payment.

Booking times for different airlines

If you are planning apply for a visa to Europe, you can see below maximum terms some airlines during which they hold for you free flight booking:

Where can I check and print my flight reservations?

You can check your flight booking on the website. checkmytrip.com. To print them on a printer and take them to the embassy for a visa, you need to click on the "Print" button.

Don't want to spend time visiting a consulate or embassy to apply for a visa? Then you can use online service for the provision of services in obtaining a visa to a particular country - ! Service specialists will do everything for you!

VISAtoHOME - Visa online with home delivery


Travel planning is a responsible task. You need to think through everything to the smallest detail so as not to run into various troubles. Booking tickets is one of the stages of this planning. Many are interested in whether it is possible to book air tickets and pay for them later. Indeed, often such documents are needed to obtain a visa, but there is no guarantee that it will be issued. It may be necessary to note the trip.

Booking on the airline's website

To do this is quite simple. You need to go to the official website of the air carrier, select the desired item in the menu, and book a plane ticket without payment. It can be done later. Many airlines make concessions to their customers. They offer to make a reservation and pay for it either on the website or directly at the airport.

Turkish Airlines booking example

Important! Each air carrier has certain periods of validity of the reservation.

So, the less time left before departure, the shorter the validity period of the reservation. Tourists need to remember that the airline has the right to unilaterally terminate the reservation. In this case, the passenger will be notified by e-mail or contact phone number. That is why when booking, you must provide real data about yourself. It will not be superfluous to first study the terms of deferred payment that are set by the carrier. Some airlines charge fines and penalties for the fact that the client refuses to pay for booked tickets.

Booking expiration dates for different air operators

Airline name Booking expiration date
AirBerlin Up to 4 days
AirBaltic Up to 3 days
Aeroflot Up to 2 days
AirFrance Up to 4 days
EuripeAir Up to 7 days
AliItalia Up to 24 hours
Korean Air Up to 10 days
KLM Up to 24 hours
Qatar Up to 10 days
Lufthansa Up to 2 days
Turkish Airlines Up to 10 days
SAS Up to 2 days
United Airlines Up to 7 days

Booking on the site of ticket agencies

This method is also considered common among tourists. It allows you to book a plane ticket without payment in companies that do not provide such a service. The cost of booking depends on the pricing policy of the agency.

Search for an air ticket on agent.ru

Important! It is worth considering that the client will be given a little time to pay for the reservation. Usually less than a day. Therefore, this option is not suitable for booking flights for visa purposes.

Some agencies offer to pay for the reservation within 72 hours. This period directly depends on the date of departure. For example, if the trip is planned in a few months.

How to book a ticket? To do this, you need to perform a few simple steps:


After that, the client will have a six-digit code that can be used when paying for the reservation or for printing a document.

How to print an air ticket without payment

To do this, you need a PNR code. It consists of six digits. It is entered in a special field of the selected Internet service. After the ticket information is displayed on the screen, you must click on the "Print" button. On the websites of some companies, it may be called differently. The ticket is being printed. Opposite it will be the status "Confirmed".

Ticket printing without payment

In some cases, it is possible to send the document by e-mail. It can be printed at a convenient location. AT in electronic format the ticket is not suitable for issuing any documents.

I can't find my booking, what should I do?

It is worth considering that in order to book air tickets, they are registered through certain global distribution systems. A few of them: Saber, Amadeus, Galileo. They are used to check booking documents. If the reservation is not determined on one service, it can be checked on another.

Note. In some services, to determine the reservation, you need to enter a five-digit ticket code, and not a six-digit one.

In addition to these services, the client can go to the website of the airline in which the ticket was booked. On its pages, find information about the status of the reservation by ticket number. If you can’t access the air carrier’s Internet resource, you can call the hotline and ask questions of interest. It happens that the booking is canceled by the company ahead of schedule. Therefore, before booking a document, it is better to find out all the rules of the airline.

Flight booking for visa

To obtain the coveted visa, the consulate must provide confirmation of the booking of air tickets in both directions. This is not always convenient. And in the absence of such confirmation, a visa may be refused.

Important! Consular officers may require that the reservation of air tickets be kept throughout the entire period of consideration of documents.

In this case, the tourist will have to redeem the ticket, and then return it back. If you do this in a short time, you can get by with minimal losses. In addition, you can book tickets for a visa without payment for a day. To do this, select one of the payment methods:

  • by bank transfer;
  • choose payment in the office.

This time should be enough to print the documents and submit them to the consulate. In some cases, the validity of the reservation can be up to 10 days. This time is definitely enough for the consular staff to check all the documents. It is worth considering that none of the air carriers guarantees a long booking. They have the right to cancel it unilaterally if there are those who wish to purchase a ticket for the flight. Some airlines have a paid booking service. This option will be the most reliable in the case of processing documents for traveling abroad. Such a reservation cannot be marked without the consent of the client.

Watch a video on how to book flights without paying for a visa

Frequently asked question - is it possible to book a ticket now and pay later? We answer - it is possible. But it is important to know a few subtleties that will help you find such tickets and get such a service for free.

Usually, there are two reasons for booking air tickets without payment:

  • There was no bank card at hand or not enough funds, but I want to fix a ticket at a low price.
  • Air tickets are needed to apply for a visa, but there is no absolute certainty that the consulate will approve the application.

In these cases, there are two ways to book tickets without payment.

1. Booking on the airline's website

Many airlines are sympathetic to the need for deferred payment when booking. For example, the largest European carrier Lufthansa provides two days to pay for the reservation. United Americans are ready to hold your reservation for a whole week, and Korean Air for up to ten days! It is important to remember that the company can unilaterally reduce the time to pay for the reservation. They will immediately notify you of this by e-mail or phone, so please provide real data when booking. Be sure to read all the terms of the deferred payment. Some airlines reserve the right to charge small fines if you fail to pay for your booking on time.

2. Booking on the website of ticket agencies

This option is the most common, because. the agency can provide a deferred payment service for tickets for those airlines that do not have such an opportunity themselves. The agent.ru service is popular among experienced travelers, where you can book tickets without payment for a period of 12 to 72 hours. Time directly depends on the date of departure. When booking tickets for the coming days, you should not hope that you will be given more than a day to pay. But when searching a few months before departure, you can easily find booking options for several days.

Advice: if you need a paper copy to apply for a visa, booking verification services will help.

One of the documents that should be prepared for a trip to a foreign country is a ticket reservation for a visa. Consular services request it as confirmation of the real purpose of the trip. The purchased plane tickets or their booking will serve as proof that the visa applicant intends to visit a particular country on certain dates and then return to their home country.

How to get a flight ticket reservation for applying for a visa

The procedure for obtaining a visa depends on the decision of the consulate of a particular state. But as a rule, consular employees are more willing to give permission to visit the country to those who have already purchased a ticket. However, in some cases it is better to only book plane tickets for a visa, rather than buying them in advance. For example, not everyone wants to spend money and buy tickets if there is no certainty that a visa will be issued, or if a visa is issued in reserve, and not for a specific trip.

You can book flights for a visa at a travel agency, or you can do it yourself. To do this, you need to use one of the aggregators for searching for plane tickets on the Internet.

There are many search engines suitable for these purposes, among which are:

  • metasearch engines - they look for tickets on many sites and display the information found about various options for flight conditions, airlines, dates and prices in one table;
  • ticket search sites - allow you to make a reservation without going to the airline's website;
  • air ticket exchanges - offer various promotions and discounts;
  • airline websites.

How to book

How to book a flight ticket for a visa? Having opened the most suitable search engine and entered the data on the desired flight, corresponding to the data of the trip in the requested visa by direction and dates, you need to select one of the options. After filling in the columns with the name, surname, passport data, contact e-mail address, you can proceed to purchase a ticket

Immediately before payment, a window should appear with all the entered passenger data, as well as the reservation number, which is a sequence of six characters - numbers and Latin letters.

As simple as obtaining a visa air ticket reservation, a consular officer can check it for validity. Therefore, the booking should be made with the company and site where it lasts the longest, so that at the time of submission of the documents it is still legally valid. As a rule, unpaid reservations are kept from one to ten days.

Where to check and print flight reservations

Tourists and airlines use special global systems to issue tickets. In them, but in a version adapted for ordinary users, you can check and print a ticket reservation for a visa. Main systems:

Different airlines operate with different systems. Therefore, if no recognizable data about the global system was indicated when booking a ticket, you will have to check each of them. To do this, you must enter the reservation number and last name in the box provided for this. If the information is found, then the ticket was successfully booked, and you can print this file for presentation at the consulate.

Is it possible to get a visa without booking tickets

And, finally, the most interesting thing is the restriction of travel abroad for debtors. It is about the status of the debtor that it is easiest to “forget” when going on another vacation abroad. The reason may be overdue loans, unpaid utility bills, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2018, we recommend that you find out information about the presence of debt using a proven service not to fly.rf

Not all consulates require airline tickets or their reservation for visa processing. Therefore, in order not to do unnecessary work, before submitting documents, you need to check which documents should be prepared. For example, when applying for a Schengen visa, it is mandatory to present booked or redeemed tickets without fail.

Ticket for a low-cost airline

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A great alternative to dummy visa reservations is real ticket to the low-cost carrier. Low-cost airlines are low-cost airlines that reduce flight fares by reducing the services offered to passengers, as well as optimizing the work of company employees and equipment. Sometimes you come across such cheap tickets that even if they are bought only for obtaining a visa and you do not have to use them, it will not be a pity to throw them away.

When using the services of a low-cost airline, the passenger receives electronic ticket for a visa, which will need to be printed out and attached to the main package of papers when applying. This ticket differs from the reservation only in that it is already paid.

Low-cost airlines do not offer real tickets, since all sales are made online.

Confirmation of another mode of transport

You can also book another type of transport - train, ferry or bus. In addition, a combined movement option using several Vehicle. In this case, you should provide tickets or reservations for each of them.

Before applying for a visa, you need to find out from official sources which vehicle reservations the consulate of a particular state allows for consideration. For example, unpaid utility bills, alimony or fines from the traffic police. Any of these debts may threaten to restrict travel abroad in 2020, we recommend that you find out information about the presence of debt using a proven service not to fly.rf