A dummy ticket for France is a verifiable flight reservation in PDF form, used to show planned travel when you apply for a French visa or arrive at a French border post. France runs two separate systems: the Schengen C visa for stays up to 90 days in any 180, and the VLS-TS national long-stay visa that converts into a Carte de Séjour at the Préfecture. Both ask for an itinerary, and neither expects you to have paid for it.
A dummy ticket for France is the flight reservation you attach to your visa file before paying for a real ticket. France handles roughly 3 million visa applications a year — more than any other Schengen state — and its consulates outsource intake to TLScontact and VFS Global, where the officer checks that your itinerary falls inside the Schengen C validity window you asked for. Students from 65 countries must first clear Études en France through Campus France; a refusal is appealed to the CRRV in Nantes within two months. MyJet24 builds that reservation as a PDF with a live PNR you can verify yourself before you submit it — free.
A dummy ticket for France is the flight reservation you attach in the france-visas.gouv.fr form and hand over at your TLScontact or VFS Global appointment. France processes around 3 million visa applications a year, more than any other Schengen state, so the consular officer reads your itinerary against the dates you already entered online. A mismatch between the two is what gets flagged, not the fact that the reservation is unpaid.
French consulates check four things on the reservation: the passenger name exactly as it stands in the france-visas.gouv.fr application, an itinerary that opens and closes inside the Schengen C window you requested, a leg that takes you out of the Schengen Area rather than merely out of France, and an entry airport consistent with the trip you described — usually Paris CDG or Orly, sometimes Lyon, Marseille, Nice or Bordeaux.
For a French application the itinerary is one document among several: the france-visas.gouv.fr form, a 35x45 mm biometric photo on a grey or light-blue background (France has rejected pure white since 2019), Schengen medical cover of at least €30,000, proof of accommodation and proof of funds. Schengen C runs 15 working days as a rule; VLS-TS takes four to twelve weeks, and students from 65 countries must clear Études en France through Campus France first.
A dummy ticket — also called a flight itinerary or temporary flight reservation — is a real booking held under a reference without being paid for. French consulates do not require a purchased ticket. What does cause trouble is an itinerary that contradicts the dates in your online form.
MyJet24 builds the reservation as a PDF carrying a booking reference you can check yourself before you submit anything. Use it in the france-visas.gouv.fr upload, at the TLScontact or VFS Global counter, or when the Police aux Frontières at Charles de Gaulle asks how you intend to leave.
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France issues ~3M visas annually — Europe’s largest visa volume. Two systems: Schengen Visa C for short stays via france-visas.gouv.fr + TLScontact/VFS, and VLS-TS (Visa de Long Séjour valant Titre de Séjour) — National D visa that converts to Carte de Séjour at the Préfecture for long-stay employment, study, Talent Passport, Family. The new ANEF (Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France) digital portal replaced paper applications for most renewals in 2023-2024.
Sources: France-Visas · ANEF · OFII
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France’s Passeport Talent (Talent Passport) is the EU’s most flexible skilled-migration visa — covers founders, scientists, artists, athletes, executives with 4-year multi-entry permit. The new Talent — Salarié Qualifié route (2023) lowered the threshold to €43,243/year (€36,000 in some cases).
| Visa Type | Validity | Fee (EUR) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schengen C | 90d/180 | €90 | Paris tourism, business meetings |
| VLS-TS Étudiant | 1 yr → renewable | €99 | Sorbonne, HEC, Sciences Po, Polytechnique |
| VLS-TS Salarié | 1-4 yrs | €269 | Employer-sponsored, La Défense banking/IT |
| Passeport Talent — Salarié Qualifié | 4 yrs multi | €269 | Min €43,243/yr (or €36k some categories), Master’s |
| Passeport Talent — Création d’Entreprise | 4 yrs | €269 | Startup founders — Station F, Hello Tomorrow |
| Visiteur (Long-Term Visitor) | 1 yr renewable | €99 | Retirees with €1,400+/mo income, NO work |
| Vie Privée et Familiale (VPF) | 1-10 yrs | €225 | Spouse of French citizen, parent of French child |
| Working Holiday Visa (PVT) | 1 yr | €99 | 18-30 (CA/AU/NZ/JP/KR/AR + others) |
Major French international airports: CDG (Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Europe’s 2nd-busiest 76M pax), ORY (Paris-Orly, Mediterranean + Africa), LYS (Lyon), MRS (Marseille), BOD (Bordeaux), NCE (Nice). Also: Eurostar from London/Brussels/Amsterdam to Paris Gare du Nord (intra-Schengen rail).
Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France (ANEF) at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr replaced paper Préfecture renewals since 2023. Covers: Carte de Séjour renewals, family reunion, naturalization tracking, change of address.
Passeport Talent is the EU’s most flexible 4-year skilled migration visa. 10 sub-categories covering scientists, executives, athletes, founders, artists.
Office français de l’immigration et de l’intégration (OFII) handles mandatory validation for VLS-TS holders within 3 months of arrival. Fee €200. Includes medical visit (X-ray, height/weight) + CIR signing (Contrat d’Intégration Républicaine — French language + civic training).
For students from 65 countries (India, China, Brazil, Vietnam, Algeria, Morocco, etc.), the Études en France portal via Campus France is mandatory BEFORE submitting French Student Visa. Costs €99-200. Process: 4-8 months for university admission + visa.
French refusals appeal via CRRV (Commission de Recours contre les Refus de Visa) in Nantes within 2 months — free, decision 6-12 weeks, ~25-30% success. Further appeal: Tribunal Administratif (€35), then Conseil d’État.
Sources: France-Visas · OFII · Campus France
A French application asks for a flight itinerary before the consulate has decided anything. Buying a refundable fare to satisfy that is expensive, and a non-refundable one is worse — a refusal leaves you holding it, and the free appeal to the CRRV in Nantes runs six to twelve weeks, with about a quarter to 30 percent succeeding. A reservation costs nothing and answers the same question.
A MyJet24 dummy ticket for France carries the passenger name as it stands in your passport, the departure and arrival airports (including Paris CDG (CDG), Paris Orly (ORY)), the travel dates you choose, flight numbers and times, and a booking reference. The PDF is laid out to be read at a TLScontact desk without follow-up questions.
Most France applicants submit the Premium version to their embassy.
Real Air France branding · Verified departure from Paris CDG (CDG) · No watermark — clean embassy-ready PDF.
The itinerary is one document in a French file that also wants the france-visas.gouv.fr form, a compliant photo, insurance, accommodation and proof of funds — and, for a long stay, a Justificatif de domicile before the Préfecture will see you. These tools cover the documents you can prepare yourself, from the flight reservation to the cover letter.
Guide
Why consulates accept a reservation and not a receipt
Read guide
Guide
The rule French consulates apply to your itinerary
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Guide
Every document a French file needs
Read guide
Guide
Win rates by country — France appeals go to the CRRV in Nantes
Read guide
Guide
What the 15-working-day standard means in practice
Read guide
Guide
Days in Spain come off your French allowance too
Read guide
Guide
What changed at the Schengen border
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Guide
What counts as proof of accommodation
Read guidePhotos: Cour Napoléon from the southeast (52315415533) · John Martinez Pavliga from San Pablo, USA · CC BY 2.0 | Eiffel Tower Sunrise (52711873420) · Bradley Weber · CC BY 2.0 | Passport of France · Evisa Express · CC BY 2.0
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Real feedback from travelers who used MyJet24 for their visa applications
"Schengen visa number seven using MyJet24 reservations. Italy twice, France three times, Spain twice. Never once questioned by any consulate. I stopped thinking about flight reservations as a task somewhere around application number four. It takes less time than making coffee. The fact that I used to block lakhs on refundable tickets and wait weeks for refunds feels genuinely embarrassing in hindsight."
"My husband wanted to book actual flights before the visa was approved. I said that is insane, what if they refuse us and we are stuck with nonrefundable tickets to Paris. He said they offer refundable fares. I said have you seen what refundable fares cost on Air France in July. We argued about it for a week. Then my sister sent me the MyJet24 link and said you are both overthinking this. She was right. Generated two reservations, submitted them, got the visas, then booked the actual flights on a sale fare that was half the price of the refundable ones my husband wanted. I have not let him forget this."
"I sat on my bedroom floor at midnight with my VFS appointment twelve hours away, laptop open, genuinely close to tears because the travel agent had closed for the day and I had no flight reservation. Then I found this site. Three minutes later I had one. I just sat there holding my phone looking at the PDF. That feeling of going from completely stuck to completely sorted in three minutes is something I will not forget for a while."
