Dummy return ticket
A dummy return ticket is a real, unpaid airline reservation for the sector out. Check-in staff and immigration officers can verify it, and you are not locked into a date you may want to change.
Flight reservation
SriLankan Airlines
CMB
Colombo
BKK
Bangkok
Passenger
SAMPLE TRAVELLER
Booking ref
XXXXXX
Date
04 NOV 2026
Flight
UL 402
Cabin
ECONOMY
Verifiable under “Manage my booking”
Ref
XXXXXX
Seq
001
Not for travel
What you get
One reservation, one reference, and a PDF that reads like every other itinerary the agent has seen that morning.
The onward flight is held in the airline system, so the agent at the desk can type the reference in and see it.
Thirty days for a visa on arrival, ninety for a Schengen entry. Tell us the rule you are travelling under and we set the return inside it.
A Colombo traveller returning from Bangkok on a carrier that has never served the route reads as odd. We book something plausible.
Requests inside support hours are normally delivered in one to six hours, and urgent delivery is under an hour.
The PDF arrives on WhatsApp as well, because airport wifi and a full inbox are a bad combination at the counter.
Message us with the reference and the new date. There is nothing to cancel because nothing was ever paid to the airline.
When it is asked for
The rule behind all of this is carrier liability. If a passenger is refused entry, the airline flies them home at its own cost and pays a fine on top. So the airline checks before you board, and the border checks again on arrival.
Neither of them is asking for proof of payment. They are asking for evidence that you have a way out of the country within the time you are allowed to stay.
Order the day before you fly rather than at the airport. Airline holds are usually live for several days, and a calm request beats a rushed one.
Airlines are fined when they carry a passenger who is refused entry, so check-in staff ask one-way travellers to show how they will leave.
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and much of the Gulf ask for onward travel as a condition of the entry, and enforce it at the gate.
Long stays, remote work and family visits rarely have a fixed return date at the time of booking, but the counter still wants one.
Some airports will not release a transit passenger without evidence of the onward sector out of the region.
Officers ask how and when you intend to leave. A printed itinerary answers it in a sentence and ends the conversation.
HR files and travel insurance applications often want a full itinerary long before you are ready to buy the fare.
Destinations
These are the routes Sri Lankan travellers ask us about most often, with what each side expects to see.
“Confirmed return ticket within the permitted stay”
Thailand is one of the strictest destinations for onward-travel checks at check-in. Keep the return sector inside your permitted stay.
Where Sri Lankans submit
Royal Thai Embassy Colombo, e-Visa portal
“Proof of onward or return travel”
Malaysian immigration and airline check-in staff both ask for onward travel on one-way bookings.
Where Sri Lankans submit
Airline check-in and immigration on arrival
“Confirmed onward or return ticket”
Sri Lankan passport holders need a visa for Singapore, and the application asks for accommodation and onward travel.
Where Sri Lankans submit
Authorised visa agent, Singapore ICA online
“Evidence of onward travel arrangements”
Immigration New Zealand asks for onward travel evidence for visitor visas, and airlines check it again at the airport.
Where Sri Lankans submit
Immigration New Zealand online
“Confirmed onward or return ticket”
Indian missions and the e-Visa portal both ask for return travel. Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai sectors are the ones we book most.
Where Sri Lankans submit
IVS Global Colombo, or the Indian e-Visa portal
“Confirmed inbound and outbound itinerary”
Sponsors and typing centres want to see entry and exit dates that match the visa validity they applied for.
Where Sri Lankans submit
Sponsor, typing centre or airline check-in
Wording is summarised from published checklists and changes without notice. Your appointment letter is always the document that decides what you must bring.
Three steps
Dummy ticket booking online, end to end: the form, one WhatsApp conversation and a PDF. Most tickets are delivered the same day.
Route, dates, passenger names as printed in the passport and which embassy you are applying to. It takes about two minutes and asks for no payment details.
We check the itinerary on WhatsApp or email, then send bank transfer details or a card link. Nothing is charged until you have seen the itinerary.
The reservation lands in your inbox and on WhatsApp with the booking reference. Look it up on the airline site before you submit.
Price
about $18
Less than a tenth of what a flexible return fare costs, and you are not committed to a date you have not decided on yet.
Applying for a visa as well? Take the visa ticket instead. It includes two free date changes, which suits an application that may sit with a consulate for weeks.
LKR 5,490per passenger
about $18 at today’s rate.
One-way flyers, digital nomads and visa-on-arrival entries.
No payment now. We confirm the itinerary on WhatsApp first.
Verification
Check any dummy ticket with PNR yourself before you submit. It takes a minute, and it is the same lookup a consular officer would run.
Live in the airline system, not an edited PDF.
Every airline has this page, usually in the top navigation. CheckMyTrip and ViewTrip work for most reservations as well.
Type the PNR printed on the PDF together with the surname exactly as it appears on the reservation.
Flight numbers, dates and passenger names should match the PDF. If anything differs, message us and we will reissue.
FAQ
What travellers ask before they head to the airport.
Ready when you are
Tell us where you are flying and how long you are allowed to stay. We will set the return date inside it and send the PDF today.
Support 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM (Sri Lanka time), 7 days. Delivered within 1–6 hours in support hours.