Dummy ticket (flight reservation) for New Zealand visa: proof you can leave

What the New Zealand checklist asks for

• Proof you can leave New Zealand: a plane ticket, proof of money to buy one, or your sponsor’s agreement to pay for travel out.
• Evidence of funds: NZD 1,000 for each month of your stay, or NZD 400 a month if your accommodation is already paid for.
• Your online Visitor Visa application and the fee, from NZD 441 including the tourism levy.
• No non-refundable travel bookings until the visa is approved, as INZ advises.
• On arrival: evidence of onward travel or the money to leave, or you can be refused entry.

New Zealand: the options side by side

What INZ says about tickets, money and sponsors

Immigration New Zealand wants to know you can leave, and it accepts any one of three things: “a plane ticket, proof you have the money to buy one, or your sponsor’s agreement to pay for travel out.” In the same guidance it gives a plain warning: “do not book any non-refundable travel until after their Visitor Visa is approved.”

Read together, the two lines point to a held reservation for the application: real flight details showing your exit date, with nothing non-refundable bought. It also shows INZ how long you plan to stay, which sets the funds you need to show. Indian passport holders cannot use the NZeTA, so every Indian visitor goes through this Visitor Visa process.

Pre-paid accommodation and the funds you must show

INZ’s funds rule is NZD 1,000 for each month of your stay, or NZD 400 a month if your accommodation is pre-paid. A hotel booking is not a stand-alone requirement, so this is the only place it changes the numbers.

Note the word pre-paid. A held hotel reservation shows where you plan to stay but has not been paid for, so it does not bring you down to the lower figure. If you want the NZD 400 rate, you need accommodation that is genuinely paid; otherwise show funds at the full NZD 1,000 a month. For a family of four on a three-week trip, that difference is large, so work it out before you apply.

Timing: most decisions within two weeks

INZ says “80% of applications are decided within 2 weeks”, and its busiest period runs from September to March, which takes in New Zealand’s summer and the Indian winter holidays. Apply early if you are travelling around Christmas or New Year.

Even a quick INZ decision usually takes longer than an unpaid hold lasts, since the airline can release it whenever it chooses. Order the reservation on the day you submit the online application, or the evening before at most, and check the names and dates before you upload it. By decision time it will usually have lapsed; it still records the plan you applied with. New Zealand’s onward-travel rule is also applied by airlines at check-in, so a passenger with no onward ticket or funds can be stopped before boarding in India.

Routes from India to New Zealand

Journeys from India connect through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney or Melbourne, or a Gulf hub, where Emirates flies from Dubai and Qatar Airways from Doha to Auckland. We could not confirm a non-stop India to New Zealand service for 2026.

If you connect in Australia, check Australia’s transit rules for Indian passport holders before choosing that route, because a stop there can raise its own visa question. Indians living in the Gulf can start the reservation in Dubai or Doha.

Flying from India to New Zealand

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 New Zealand application

• Applying for an NZeTA. Indian passport holders need a Visitor Visa.
• Buying a non-refundable fare before approval, against INZ’s own advice.
• Counting a held hotel reservation as pre-paid accommodation. Only paid accommodation lowers the funds figure to NZD 400 a month.
• Arriving with only a lapsed reservation. At the border you need an onward ticket or the money to leave.
• Applying late in the September to March peak, when INZ is at its busiest.
• Routing through Australia without checking whether you need an Australian transit visa.

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 New Zealand flight reservation

New Zealand questions, answered