Dummy ticket for a Netherlands visa from India

For a Netherlands Schengen visa from India, submit a flight reservation and the online application form at VFS Global. The reservation should show travel into and out of the Schengen area. The Dutch authorities decide the application. If you connect through Amsterdam Schiphol, first confirm that the Netherlands is the correct country to handle your file.

Twelve VFS cities, listed by the Dutch government

The Dutch government's own page for applicants in India names the cities where VFS Global accepts applications: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi. You complete the Schengen form online first, print it, and bring it with your documents to the appointment.

The same page sets the window: you can apply up to six months before the trip and should apply at least 15 days before travel. VFS collects; the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs decides.

The official page does not spell out a form of flight document. Use the checklist VFS gives for your travel purpose, which requests your flight booking details, and prepare a round-trip reservation in the name of each traveller.

Schiphol is a hub first and a destination second

KLM funnels a large share of its Indian passengers through Amsterdam to Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia and the UK. If you are one of them, your passport is stamped at Schiphol, but that does not make the Netherlands your main destination. The Dutch government page says it directly: if you want to visit another Schengen country besides the Netherlands, check whether you should apply to the Netherlands or to that other country.

The test is nights. Two examples:

• Land at Schiphol, connect to Lisbon, spend eight nights in Portugal, fly home via Amsterdam: Portuguese application.
• Three nights in Amsterdam, two in Brussels, two in Paris: Dutch application, with the most nights.

Applying to the Netherlands only because that is where the plane lands is one of the more common reasons a file is turned away as lodged with the wrong country. Our Schengen guide covers the main-destination rule, the 90/180-day limit, insurance and why you should wait for the visa before purchasing the ticket.

Flights to Amsterdam from Indian cities

KLM flies nonstop to Amsterdam from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and has added Hyderabad; Air India flies Delhi to Amsterdam. That is the position at the time of writing, so check the airline's schedule for your dates. From Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata or Ahmedabad you would typically connect through one of those cities or through Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich or Istanbul.

A nonstop reservation into Schiphol is the simplest thing to put on a Dutch file. If you select a routing through Frankfurt or Paris for price, your first entry is Germany or France. That is acceptable when the Netherlands has the most nights, but in an itinerary with equal nights it shifts the application to the country of first entry.

Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven are all reached by train from Schiphol, so no separate flight is needed for them.

Tulip season sets the calendar

Dutch demand from India is unusually concentrated. Keukenhof opens only from approximately late March to mid-May, and King's Day falls on 27 April. A large part of the year's leisure applications aim at those eight weeks, so appointment slots for February and March submissions go quickly.

Use the six-month window. For an April trip you can apply from October or November onwards. The reservation you submit will then carry dates months ahead, which is normal. What matters is that the PNR is checkable around the time the file is examined, so order the reservation shortly before the appointment, not when you first start planning. More on that in how long a dummy ticket stays valid.

Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris by train

The Benelux and Paris run is the standard Dutch itinerary from India, done almost entirely by rail. For the visa file:

1. Indicate the long-haul flights in and out. An open-jaw reservation, into Amsterdam and home from Paris, saves a day and is perfectly acceptable.
2. List the train legs with dates in the cover letter. You do not need to buy rail tickets months ahead; a dated plan that corresponds to the hotels is the point.
3. Confirm Dutch nights outnumber the others if you are applying to the Netherlands. Three, two and two works. Two, two and three does not; that goes to France.

The Caribbean exception

The Kingdom of the Netherlands includes Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. A Schengen visa is not valid for them. They have a separate Caribbean visa with its own application. If your trip is a cruise or holiday that touches those islands, a Schengen application with an Amsterdam reservation will not help you.

Ordering the reservation

FDT furnishes a genuine airline reservation with a PNR that you can retrieve on the airline's Manage Booking page. It is a held booking, not a paid ticket, and cannot be used to travel. The cost is ₹799 / $10 per passenger for one-way, return or multi-city reservations, delivered by email and WhatsApp approximately 10 minutes after payment. You can order on the booking page or through the chat assistant. The visa decision rests with the Dutch authorities.

Frequently asked questions

I only change planes at Schiphol on the way to Spain. Do I apply to the Netherlands?

No. Apply to the country where you spend the most nights, which is Spain in that case. Passing immigration at Schiphol does not make the Netherlands your main destination.

How early can I apply for a Netherlands visa for tulip season?

Up to six months before the trip, according to the Dutch government's page for India. For late April travel that means from late October.

Does a Dutch Schengen visa let me visit Aruba or Curaçao?

No. The Caribbean parts of the Kingdom need a separate Caribbean visa. A Schengen visa covers only the European Netherlands and other Schengen states.

Can I fly into Amsterdam and out of Paris on the same reservation?

Yes. That is an open-jaw return. Check that the Netherlands still has the most nights if you are applying there.