Dummy ticket for a Japan tourist visa from India

A Japan tourist visa application from India includes a document recording the flight schedule to and from Japan. The Japan Visa Application Centres also request a day-to-day schedule and accommodation details. The flight document does not have to be a paid ticket. A dummy ticket furnishes a held reservation with a live PNR to record the proposed flights.

Three linked papers: flights, schedule of stay, hotels

Japan checks whether your documents agree with each other more closely than most countries. Taking the tourist checklist published for the Bengaluru centre as an example, three items serve as a set:

• A document to indicate the flight or cruise schedule to and from Japan.
• A day-to-day schedule of what you will do and where you will sleep.
• Accommodation blocked under the applicant's or accompanying person's name, with the correct number of guests.

The covering letter must also mention travelling dates, accompanying persons and who bears the expenses. If the flight document shows arrival at Tokyo Haneda on the 4th, the schedule must start in Tokyo on the 4th and the first hotel must be booked from that night. An overnight flight that lands a day later than you assumed is the most common source of mismatch.

Wording differs slightly between the New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru jurisdictions, so download the checklist for your own consulate.

A reservation, not a purchased ticket

The checklist requests that you indicate the schedule. It does not request for proof of payment. Japanese missions in other countries state this openly, saying that applicants need a reservation and need not purchase the ticket until the visa is issued. In India, follow the exact wording of your centre's list, but the principle is the same: the consulate wants to know when and how you enter and leave.

What the document must show is the passenger name as in the passport, flight numbers, dates, and the Japanese airport of arrival and departure. A held booking with a PNR does this. For the general difference between the two, see dummy ticket vs real ticket.

Which consulate, which centre

You cannot apply wherever is convenient. Japan assigns each Indian state to the Embassy in New Delhi or to a Consulate General in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai or Bengaluru, and you apply according to where you live. VFS Global runs the application centres in these cities and in several others that feed into them, such as Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chandigarh.

Appointments are now compulsory at some southern centres where walk-ins used to be accepted, so check the centre's page before departure to it. The Bengaluru checklist also says family or friends travelling together must submit together. If your companion applies from another state, their passport copy, tickets and visa copy are requested with your application, which means your flight documents should match theirs.

Getting the dates right for a three-month visa

A single-entry Japanese tourist visa is typically valid for three months from the date of issue. Apply too early and it can expire before you fly. For cherry blossom travel in late March or early April, that means submitting from January onwards, not in November.

Processing is typically quick, frequently about a week once the consulate has the file, though it can run longer if more documents are requested. A practical sequence:

1. Fix dates and draft the day-to-day schedule.
2. Make cancellable hotel bookings for each night.
3. Get the flight reservation a day or two before your appointment so the PNR is live through processing.
4. Purchase the ticket when the visa or eVisa notice arrives.

Routes from India, and open-jaw trips

Non-stop flights at the time of writing connect Delhi with Tokyo Haneda (Air India, ANA and Japan Airlines), Mumbai with Tokyo Narita (ANA) and Bengaluru with Narita (Japan Airlines). From Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Kochi the usual one-stop options are Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong.

Japan suits an open-jaw plan: fly into Tokyo, take the Shinkansen west, and fly home from Osaka Kansai. If that is your plan, show it. The reservation should arrive at one airport and depart from the other, and the schedule should end in Osaka. Do not book a Tokyo return just because it is simpler if your last hotel is in Kyoto.

Indian eVisa holders must enter by air and indicate the visa on a phone with internet access at the airport, so keep roaming or airport Wi-Fi in mind.

Ordering the flight document

Flight Dummy Tickets issues an airline reservation with a PNR that the consulate or you can retrieve on the airline's Manage Booking page. A return is ₹799 per passenger. An open-jaw via two different Japanese airports is a multi-city reservation at the same ₹799 / $10 per passenger. If you need the accommodation line covered too, a hotel reservation is ₹799 per hotel per passenger. Delivery is by email and WhatsApp in approximately 10 minutes, and the booking stays verifiable for up to two weeks. It is not valid for boarding, and the visa decision is the consulate's alone.

Order at the booking page, or see proof of accommodation and onward travel for how the two documents are read together.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Japan visa checklist in India ask for a confirmed air ticket?

The tourist checklist requests a document recording the flight or cruise schedule to and from Japan. That is a schedule or reservation, not proof of purchase. Check the exact wording on your own consulate's checklist.

What goes in the day-to-day schedule for Japan?

For each date, list the city, the main activity or places you will visit, and the name, address and phone number of where you will stay. The first and last days should correspond to your arrival and departure flights.

Can I land in Tokyo and leave from Osaka on the same reservation?

Yes. An open-jaw reservation is fine if your schedule and hotels follow the same path. It is treated as a multi-city booking, with the same ₹799 / $10 charge per passenger as a simple return.

I live in Hyderabad. Where do I submit my Japan visa application?

Jurisdiction depends on your state of residence. Check the VFS Japan page for India to see which consulate covers Telangana and which centre accepts the file. Appointments are compulsory at several southern centres.

How soon before my trip should I apply for a Japan tourist visa?

A single-entry visa is typically valid for three months from issue, so apply within three months of your arrival date, leaving a few weeks for processing and for buying tickets afterwards.