Group and Family Dummy Tickets: One Booking for Several Travellers

A family of five heading to Europe, a group of college friends going to Bali, eight colleagues off to a trade show: once more than two people are involved, the flight paperwork raises new questions. Who goes on which booking? Does the toddler need a seat? What happens if one person's visa is refused? This guide answers those questions. It covers how one reservation can carry a whole family or group, how our pricing works for several passengers, and what the official visa rules say about families and groups. Where no official rule exists, we say so and give our practical advice, clearly marked.

Key facts for families and groups

Can a whole family go on one flight reservation?

Yes, as long as everyone is on the same flights. One booking reference (PNR) holds every traveller, and each person's name appears separately. When an officer or the airline looks the booking up, they see the whole party. That is how real families book, and it is usually the clearest way to present the trip.

Each person still needs a copy in their own application file. Visa centres often split a family's documents into individual files, and an officer reading your son's file may never see yours. So print one copy per applicant and put it in each folder. It costs nothing extra; it is the same PDF.

Split the booking when the trip itself splits. If Grandma flies home a week before everyone else, she needs her own return date. A friend joining from Dubai while the rest leave from Hyderabad has a different starting point. In those cases, place separate bookings, or one shared outbound with separate returns.

How much does a group or family reservation cost?

You pay one flat amount for each traveller, and the return leg is included at no extra charge. Groups pay no extra fee and get no surcharge. Multi-city itineraries cost per pair of legs for every traveller.

Everyone is paid for in a single Razorpay transaction, using UPI, a card or netbanking. If your group is large or the routing is unusual, message us on WhatsApp before you pay and we will help you set it up properly.

Do families and groups apply for visas together?

They usually attend together but are assessed one by one. We could not find a general "group visa" for ordinary family or friend groups in the Schengen area or the UK. Here is what the official texts say.

Schengen. Under Article 11 of the Visa Code, nobody shares a form: a child written into a mother's passport still gets one, signed for them by a parent or guardian.^[1] Children under 12 do not give fingerprints. The fee is waived for children under six, while the Commission charges six-to-twelve-year-olds €45 and adults €90.^[1][2] So a family of two adults with children aged 4 and 9 pays €90 + €90 + €0 + €45 = €225 in visa fees, before any service charges.

United Kingdom. GOV.UK puts it bluntly: "each person must have their own application and pay the fee".^[5] The Home Office supporting-documents guide is practical about paperwork: a family or group lodging together can provide shared documents once rather than repeating them in every file.^[6] A child's file should prove who the parent or guardian is, through a legal document.^[6]

Canada. IRCC lists a family fee covering five or more people and a family cap on biometrics fees, which makes larger family applications cheaper there than paying per head.^[7] It also suggests including flight details and proof of accommodation to show how long you will stay.^[7]

Organised tours. The Visa Code allows member states to work with accredited commercial intermediaries such as tour operators, who may lodge applications on travellers' behalf. Fingerprints are still taken from each applicant, and the operator's group arrangements can be checked.^[1] If you are on a packaged tour, the operator normally arranges flights and supplies the itinerary, so you may not need a reservation from us at all.

Children and infants on a group reservation

Children go on the reservation like everyone else, with their names exactly as in their passports. Infants under two usually travel on a parent's lap and are attached to that adult in the booking. Tell us the infant's date of birth and which parent they fly with when you book.

The visa file for a child needs more than the flight document. The German checklist in India asks for the birth certificate and a passport copy of the parent with custody, and requires notarised written consent from both parents if a minor travels alone.^[4] The Dutch tourism checklist asks for the child's birth certificate extract and a consent form signed by any parent not travelling.^[3] The Visa Code itself lists parental consent among supporting documents when a minor does not travel with both parents.^[1]

Example: a mother travels to Spain with her two children while the father stays home for work. The reservation shows three names. Each child's file includes the father's consent and his passport copy, alongside the same reservation. Our guide on reservations for infants and children has the detail.

One PNR or several: a comparison

What counts as a "group" for an airline?

Airlines treat a large party differently from a family of four. Emirates, for example, says it defines a group booking as 10 or more passengers travelling together in Economy, Business or First Class on a common flight and date, on a single itinerary, and handles those through a separate request form.^[8] Other airlines publish their own thresholds.

For a visa reservation this matters less than people think. Our reservations are made per passenger, and a family of six or a group of nine is handled the same way as a couple. For bigger parties, contact us first so we can confirm the routing and timing. When it is time to buy real tickets for ten or more, it is worth asking the airline's group desk, which may offer terms that individual bookings do not.

Groups heading to visa-free or on-arrival destinations

Not every group trip involves a consulate. Many Indian families and friend groups head to places that admit them on arrival, and there the flight check moves to the airport. The rules apply to each traveller individually, so a group of eight is eight separate checks.

Thailand. Under the visa exemption in force from 15 September 2026, the Royal Thai Embassy in London expects a departure within 30 days and an address for your stay, and says officers may check that each visitor holds 20,000 baht. Every traveller, children included, also fills in the free digital arrival card in the three days before landing.^[9] For a family of five, that funds figure applies to each of you, so plan cash or cards accordingly.

Bali. Indonesia's immigration FAQ expects arriving visitors to hold six months of passport validity plus a ticket out of the country.^[10] In a big group, the passport date is the item most likely to catch someone out. Check every passport, including the children's, before anyone pays for flights.

Maldives. Maldives Immigration looks for a confirmed flight home and an accommodation booking that is already paid, at a registered property.^[11]

Our advice for all three: these checks speak of tickets and confirmed bookings, and a held reservation may not satisfy them. Buy the group's real tickets before travel. A flight reservation from us is meant for the visa-application stage, where no ticket should be bought yet.

What happens if one person in the group is refused?

Each application is decided on its own, so a mixed outcome is possible. This is the main reason we advise families and groups not to buy real tickets until every visa is back. With a held reservation, nothing needs refunding.

If one traveller is refused and reapplies, they need a fresh reservation for the new dates. The others can keep their plans or move with them. If the whole group shifts, book a new shared reservation close to the next appointment. Holds run for a fortnight at most; each airline sets its own length. Read flight reservations after a refusal for what to change in the new file.

How to book a reservation for several travellers

1. Collect every passport. Photograph the photo pages so you are not copying names from memory.
2. Group travellers by identical journeys. Same flights, same dates: one booking. Different: separate bookings.
3. Enter each passenger on our booking form, given names and surname exactly as printed. Add infants with their date of birth.
4. Check the total. It is the per-passenger price multiplied by the number of travellers.
5. Pay once by UPI, card or netbanking.
6. Verify the PDF, normally in your inbox within ten minutes. Enter the reference on the carrier's booking lookup; the PNR check guide walks you through it.
7. Print one copy per applicant and place it in each file.

Accommodation proof for the family? We also issue a hotel reservation for visas, charged per stay and per guest. You can follow any order from our tracking page.

Mistakes that slow down family and group files

• A child's name taken from the school ID instead of the passport.
• One copy of the reservation for the whole family, so individual files lack it.
• Grandparents on the shared return when they actually stay longer.
• A missing consent letter when one parent is not travelling.
• Different hotel dates for different family members.
• Booking the group reservation a month early, before appointments are confirmed.
• Buying non-refundable fares before every visa is decided.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading: family and spouse visit visas, couples applying together, conference and event visas, what a reservation for a visa is, rules for each country, Schengen family trips in our Schengen visa article, and the main site.

Sources

All sources last checked: October 2026.

1. EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (Visa Code), consolidated text: Articles 11, 13(7), 16(4) and 45, Annex II.
2. European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs, Applying for a Schengen visa.
3. Netherlands Worldwide, Checklist: applying for a Schengen visa for tourism.
4. German Missions in India, Checklist for a Schengen visa for Tourism.
5. GOV.UK, Apply for a Standard Visitor visa.
6. GOV.UK, Home Office, Visit the UK: guide to supporting documents (updated 25 February 2026).
7. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, How to apply for a visitor visa.
8. Emirates, Group bookings.
9. Royal Thai Embassy, London, Visa Exemption and Visa on Arrival Schemes.
10. Directorate General of Immigration, Republic of Indonesia, Visa FAQ.
11. Maldives Immigration, Tourist Visa.