Dummy ticket (flight reservation) for Kenya visa: the eTA and its booking uploads

What the Kenya checklist asks for

• Accommodation booking confirmations for your stay, listed for all travellers.
• A return transportation booking, such as a flight, which may be required depending on your citizenship or residence.
• An application made only on the official portal, etakenya.go.ke.
• A single-entry trip that falls within the eTA’s 90-day validity.

Kenya’s eTA and who needs it

Since 1 January 2024 visitors to Kenya need an Electronic Travel Authorisation obtained online before travel. It is single entry and valid for 90 days. From January 2025 most African and East African Community nationals were exempted, but that change does not apply to Indian passport holders.

Apply only at etakenya.go.ke, the official portal. The fee is reported at about US$30 plus bank and processing charges, and the portal shows the exact amount. Decisions are reported to take around three working days, and the Kenya High Commission in New Delhi handles queries.

What the eTA asks you to upload

The eTA is not a visa, but its document list is more detailed than many. The Czech Embassy in Nairobi’s summary of the portal lists “Accommodation booking confirmation(s)” under “For all travellers”, and a “Return transportation booking (flight ticket,..)” among documents that “may also be required” depending on your citizenship or residence.

So prepare both. The accommodation booking is the firm item; the return booking is the one the portal may or may not request in your case, and it is simpler to have it ready than to look for one halfway through the form. Make the confirmations cover every night between your arrival and your return flight.

Safari nights and multi-stop trips

If your trip moves between Nairobi, a safari area such as the Masai Mara and the coast, upload a confirmation for each stay, not just the first hotel. Where a tour operator is arranging the safari, their booking confirmation can cover those nights; add your own hotel bookings for the nights either side.

Kenya also works as a stopover on the way to South Africa, since Kenya Airways connects Mumbai with Nairobi and flights onward. If you leave the airport in Nairobi, you need the eTA for that stopover, and South Africa’s own visa or ETA for the rest of the trip.

Timing your reservation

Order the reservation on the day you apply at etakenya.go.ke and upload it the same day. The decision takes around three working days, and the airline may release an unpaid hold sooner. Put the same dates on the application, the flight reservation and every accommodation confirmation. Keep the trip you take as close as possible to the dates you uploaded, so it matches what you declared.

If you are combining Kenya with South Africa, remember that South Africa’s missions ask you not to make fixed travel arrangements before their visa is issued. Show the whole route on the reservation you submit with each application, so both files describe the same trip.

Flying from India to Kenya

Your reservation should follow a route you could realistically fly. These are common options; schedules change, so the desk confirms what is bookable for your dates.

Mistakes to avoid with a Kenya application

• Applying on a look-alike site. The official portal is etakenya.go.ke.
• Uploading one hotel confirmation for a trip that stays in several places.
• Assuming the 2025 exemption covers Indians. It covers most African and EAC nationals only.
• Skipping the return booking because the list says “may”. Have it ready in case the portal asks.
• Accommodation dates that end before your return flight.

Dummy ticket and hotel bookings, matched to your itinerary

We do not send one loose document. The desk matches the flight reservation and every hotel booking to your itinerary: the same dates, the same cities, and no night left uncovered. These are the real documents of one order for a Switzerland visa file, issued on 5 November 2026: one flight reservation and four hotel bookings that cover all 9 nights between the two flights. Personal details are blacked out; everything else is as issued.

• Flight reservationEtihad, Hyderabad (HYD) to Zurich (ZRH), status Confirmed
• Hotel booking, ZurichMEININGER Hotel Zürich Greencity, 3 nights
• Hotel booking, GenevaB&B HOTEL Geneva Airport, 3 nights
• Hotel booking, LucerneSeminarhotel Romerohaus, 2 nights
• Hotel booking, Zurich AirportLeonardo Hotel Zurich Airport, 1 night

Open the full documents and the day-by-day table: flight and hotels matched date by date

How to get your Kenya flight reservation

Kenya questions, answered