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Flight and hotel bookings for a visa: what to book and when

The German missions in India ask Schengen tourism applicants for a flight reservation. The U.S. Department of State tells visitor visa applicants not to buy tickets until they have a visa. Both instructions point the same way on flight and hotel bookings for a visa. Show what the authority asks to see, and do not pay for travel you cannot get refunded before the visa is granted.

Follow the authority's own instruction

Requirements differ by country, so the official checklist for your visa comes first. Here is what four official sources say.

Schengen states in general

The Visa Code's list of supporting documents mentions a document from the establishment providing accommodation, or an invitation from the host if you are staying with one. For the itinerary it mentions confirmation of the booking of an organised trip or any other appropriate document showing the travel plans. Under intention to leave, it lists "reservation of or return or round ticket" (EU Visa Code, Annex II).

German missions in India

The tourism checklist asks for a flight reservation and proof of accommodation, such as hotel reservations or the rental of a holiday home. If you travel to several Member States, it asks for proof of accommodation in each of them. It also states that a booked flight ticket does not result in preferred processing (checklist for a Schengen visa for tourism).

United Kingdom

The guide to supporting documents lists hotel bookings and flight bookings, unless you are transiting, among documents that are less useful as evidence. It also reminds applicants that submitting documents does not assure a visa. They are asked to bear that in mind when making any bookings (GOV.UK, guide to supporting documents for visitors).

United States

The visitor visa page tells applicants not to make final travel plans or buy tickets until they have a visa (U.S. Department of State, Visitor Visa).

So for a UK or U.S. visit, bookings are not what the file rests on. For a Schengen visa they are part of the file, and the word the German checklist uses is reservation.

A reservation is not a purchase

A reservation records an itinerary or a room in your name for particular dates. Whether you have to pay for it in full, and whether you get the money back if you cancel, depends on the fare or room rate you choose. Airlines and hotels set those terms, so read them before you pay anything.

That is what lets you follow both kinds of instruction. Where a checklist asks for a reservation, make one on terms that allow cancellation or change, and note the deadline for each. Leave tickets and rooms that cannot be refunded until the visa has been issued and you have read its dates. The German missions say plainly that a paid ticket earns no priority, and nothing in the pages we read says that paying early helps an application.

Submit only genuine bookings

Websites sell made-up flight and hotel confirmations for visa files. Do not buy one, and do not ask an agent to produce one. Every booking you submit should be one the airline, hotel or travel agent has actually made in your name, for the trip you intend to take.

The Schengen rules show why. The consulate examines an application on the authenticity and reliability of the documents submitted and on the truth of the applicant's statements (Article 21). The refusal form has a reason for exactly this: reasonable doubts as to the authenticity of the supporting documents or the veracity of their contents (Annex VI).

Keep the reservations you submitted in place until the decision arrives. For a Schengen visa a decision is due within 15 calendar days of an admissible application, and that can be extended to a maximum of 45 (Article 23). Choose cancellation deadlines that fall after the date you expect an answer.

If you are staying with family or friends

A hotel voucher is not the only proof of accommodation. The Visa Code allows Member States to require a form for proof of sponsorship or private accommodation. The form records the host's identity and the address of the accommodation, among other details (Article 14). The German checklist asks a private host for proof of sponsorship or private accommodation, a signed confirmation, proof of address and a copy of the host's passport or German identity card.

Ask your host for these well ahead, since they can take time to arrange.

If you are on a package tour

Show the operator's confirmation. The Visa Code lists confirmation of the booking of an organised trip as an itinerary document. The German checklist asks for a certificate from the travel agency confirming the booking, or another document setting out a detailed travel itinerary.

The order to do things in

  1. Read the checklist and note the exact words it uses: reservation, booking, ticket, proof of accommodation.
  2. Fix your dates and route. They also drive the form, the leave letter and the insurance.
  3. Make the reservations the checklist asks for, on terms you can cancel or change.
  4. Check that names match the passport and that there is a place to stay for every night.
  5. Submit, and keep the confirmations with you.
  6. Pay for anything non-refundable only after the visa is issued.

Bookings are read against the rest of the file, so the dates should match the form, the insurance certificate and the employer's leave approval. We go through those cross-checks for one visa type in Schengen visa application mistakes, and the insurance side is in travel insurance for visa applications.

If your plans change after the visa is issued

A visa is not the last check. The Visa Code requires Member States to tell the public that holding a visa does not confer an automatic right of entry. Holders are asked to show at the border that they meet the entry conditions (Article 47). Carry the bookings you will actually use. If the change is large, such as a different main country on a Schengen trip, ask the consulate that issued the visa before you travel.

If you apply for a tourist visa through GoVisaX, you get a document checklist for your visa, and you can pay online and track the application. The first international trip checklist puts bookings in order with the passport and visa steps.

Sources

GoVisaX is a private visa facilitation service, not an embassy, consulate or government authority. Visa decisions rest solely with the issuing authority. Requirements change, so confirm the current rules with the official source before you apply.

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