Dummy ticket for an Australia visitor visa (subclass 600)

An Australian Visitor visa (subclass 600) does not require a flight ticket. You therefore do not strictly need a dummy ticket when preparing an application from India. Submit the application online through ImmiAccount. The Department of Home Affairs considers an itinerary as optional supporting evidence. A temporary reservation can help explain the dates you have declared or a journey that includes several stops.

How Home Affairs treats travel plans in a 600 application

Since 2021 everyone outside Australia has had to lodge the Visitor visa online. There is no paper counter and no fixed checklist stapled to a form. The ImmiAccount application asks when you intend to arrive, how long you want to stay, who you will visit and how you will pay. You then attach evidence.

The department's document guidance for the Tourist stream centres on identity, funds, employment and reasons to return home. Your plans in Australia, such as an itinerary, sit in the supporting category. Nothing in the process requests that you hold a paid ticket, and since the department cannot guarantee a decision by your travel date, paying for flights before the grant is a risk you carry alone. Australian guidance has long encouraged applicants to wait for the visa before committing to travel. Confirm the current wording on the Home Affairs site.

Where a tentative itinerary strengthens the file

The officer is assessing whether you are a genuine temporary visitor. An itinerary helps when it makes your stated plan concrete:

• Requested stay period. If you request three weeks, flights in and out three weeks apart support it. Requesting twelve months with no plan is harder to explain.
• Multiple cities. A Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns trip reads better with the internal legs laid out than as a single sentence.
• Onward travel. If Australia is one stop on the way to New Zealand or Fiji, the outbound flight from Australia shows you intend to leave.
• Event dates. Weddings, graduations and cricket fixtures have fixed dates, and your flights should bracket them.

Attach it under travel plans or other documents and call it what it is: a flight reservation or proposed itinerary. Our explainer on the flight itinerary for a visa application is processed through the format.

Timing: lodge early, travel later

Home Affairs publishes a processing-time guide that is updated regularly. Many tourist-stream applications from India are finalised within a few weeks, but requests for more information or a health examination add time. Australian posts generally suggest lodging well ahead, around six to eight weeks before you hope to fly.

Set your intended arrival date at least that far out. If you attach a reservation, order it on the day you lodge so the PNR is live when the file is first opened. Whether you are requested biometrics or a medical depends on your circumstances and current programme settings. Follow the request letter in your ImmiAccount if one arrives.

One detail specific to Australia: a visitor visa states a date by which you must first enter and how long you may stay after each arrival. Read the grant notice before buying tickets, as the stay period granted may be shorter than you requested.

India to Australia flight options

Non-stop services at the time of writing include Air India from Delhi to Sydney and Melbourne and Qantas from Bengaluru to Sydney, with other direct routes changing by season. From Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata, the common one-stop routings are through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok, which add little backtracking. Perth is the nearest Australian city to India and is typically reached via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

For itinerary dates, remember the time difference. Sydney and Melbourne are four and a half to five and a half hours ahead of India, so an evening departure lands the next day. Count your stay from the arrival date. Australian summer school holidays in December and January push fares up sharply, which matters if you quote a trip cost.

Common mistakes Indian applicants make

Entering an arrival date only days after lodging. Uploading a reservation in one name spelling and a passport in another. Showing a return flight six months out while the employer's letter approves two weeks of leave. Attaching an itinerary that transits a country you would need a visa for and do not hold.

Any of these makes a decision-maker doubt the rest of the file. Dates across the form, leave letter, bank evidence and itinerary should tell one story. Also check your passport validity. The visa is tied to the passport number, so renewing your passport after grant means updating your details with the department before you fly.

If you decide to attach a reservation

Flight Dummy Tickets can issue a held airline reservation for your India to Australia routing, with a PNR that shows on the airline's Manage Booking page. The price is ₹799 / $10 per passenger for one-way, return or multi-city reservations, and multi-city itineraries have the same flat fee per passenger. It is delivered to you by email and WhatsApp in approximately 10 minutes and remains verifiable for up to two weeks. It is a reservation, not a ticket you can fly on, and the visa decision rests entirely with Home Affairs.

You can order at the booking page. If Australia is part of a longer trip, read our New Zealand guide as well, since the two applications are frequently made together.

Frequently asked questions

Does ImmiAccount have a mandatory upload slot for flight tickets?

No. The Visitor visa application requests your intended travel dates and allows you to attach evidence of your plans, but a ticket is not a mandatory document. Review the document checklist shown in your own application.

How many months of stay should my Australian itinerary show?

Indicate the trip you actually plan. A two or three week holiday supported by matching leave approval is more convincing than a long open-ended stay. The department decides the stay period granted.

Do I need to give biometrics for an Australian visitor visa in India?

Only if Home Affairs requests that you. Requirements depend on the programme settings and your circumstances at the time. If required, you will get a request letter in ImmiAccount with instructions.

Can I add New Zealand flights to the same reservation as Australia?

Yes, a multi-city reservation can show India to Australia, Australia to New Zealand and the return. Each country still needs its own visa, and multi-city reservations cost the same ₹799 / $10 per passenger as a simple return.

Will the airline check my Australian visa at the Indian airport?

Yes. Airlines verify your visa electronically against your passport before boarding. There is no sticker to show, so confirm the passport you travel on is the one linked to the grant.