Dummy Ticket for Argentina Visa (2026): What the Embassy Asks For

Argentina is one of the rare countries where the consulate itself tells you not to buy a ticket. Both Argentine missions in India list round-trip flights on their tourist visa checklists, and both add a note in brackets saying a reservation is what they want. This guide quotes those checklists line by line, explains the US-visa exemption that lets many Indian travellers skip the consulate altogether, and shows how to build the flight part of your file so the dates, hotels and day plan all agree. Every official rule links to its source at the end.

Argentina visa key facts for 2026

Do Indian passport holders need a visa for Argentina?

Most do, but a large group does not. Since 28 August 2025, Indian citizens who hold a valid and current US visa in categories B1/B2, B2, B1, J, O, P (P1, P2, P3), E or H-1B, or a US Green Card, can enter Argentina as tourists without any consular visa or electronic travel authorisation. The embassy is specific: the exemption "does not apply to ANY other U.S. visas", so an F-1 student or L-1 visa does not count.^[1]

Two finer points from the same page are worth reading twice. First, the embassy says a minimum of 90 days' validity on that US visa or Green Card "might be required", counted from your entry into Argentina. If your B1/B2 expires in six weeks, apply for the Argentine visa instead. Second, you do not need to have used the US visa before. A brand-new, never-stamped B1/B2 works.

Everyone else with an Indian passport applies for a consular tourist visa, which costs nothing for Indian nationals. If you hold a different passport and live in India, ask the embassy whether you need a visa at all; where one is needed, the New Delhi fee for other nationals is 150 USD.

What exactly do the Argentine missions in India say about flights?

Here is the wording as published on each mission's tourist visa page, last checked in October 2026. We have kept their capitals and brackets.

• Embassy, New Delhi: "Round trip flight tickets (Only reservations)". It adds that "internal flight or bus tickets and/or cruise booking must also be included."^[1]
• Embassy, New Delhi, hotels: "Hotel reservations corresponding to flight tickets and itinerary (Must be reservations)".^[1]
• Consulate General, Mumbai: "Round trip flight tickets (Must be dummy reservations)", with the same note about internal flights, buses and cruises "if applicable".^[2]
• Consulate General, Mumbai, appointment day: "please present valid dummy reservation of flight tickets and hotel".^[2]
• Argentine government services portal: lists "Reserva de pasaje de ida y vuelta" (a round-trip ticket reservation) among the tourist visa requirements.^[3]

So the answer is unusually clear. Argentina does not want you to pay for flights before it decides your visa. "Dummy reservation" is the Mumbai consulate's own phrase. In practice it means a genuine booking held in an airline system under a booking reference (PNR), in your name, that has not been paid for. That is exactly what we issue.

Notice the word "valid" in the Mumbai line. The officer may look your booking up on the day you appear, so a reservation that lapsed a week earlier undercuts the whole point. We come back to timing below.

Delhi or Mumbai: how do the two checklists compare?

The two missions ask for broadly the same evidence, but the details differ enough to trip people up. This table sets the flight-related items side by side with the other papers that must agree with them. Swipe sideways on a phone.

The Mumbai list also asks for an Aadhaar copy and, for entrepreneurs, a certificate of incorporation. If someone in Argentina is hosting you, both missions accept an invitation letter in Spanish; Mumbai points inviters to the free online TAD system ("Trámites a Distancia").^[2][5]

Do internal flights inside Argentina need a reservation too?

Yes, if you plan any. Both missions say internal flights, buses or cruise bookings must be included. Argentina is huge, and most visitors fly between regions, so this matters more than it would for a small country.

Say you plan twelve days: Buenos Aires for four nights, Iguazú for two, El Calafate for three, then back to Buenos Aires before flying home. Your file then needs the international round trip plus three internal legs: Buenos Aires to Iguazú, Iguazú to El Calafate (or via Buenos Aires), and El Calafate back to Buenos Aires. Each hotel booking should cover exactly the nights between those flights. If the El Calafate hotel starts on the 9th but your flight lands on the 10th, an officer will notice.

Multi-city bookings are priced per pair of legs, so add the domestic flights when you order. For bus legs, use a booking from the bus company itself; we only issue flight and hotel reservations.

How should the flights, hotels and day plan line up?

Delhi wants an itinerary "corresponding to the tickets provided", and Mumbai repeats the same phrase. In plain terms, three documents must tell one story: your flight reservation, your hotel bookings and your day plan. Before you print anything, check these points:

• Your name on the flight reservation matches your passport exactly, including middle names.
• The arrival date in Argentina is the same on the flight, the first hotel and day 1 of the plan.
• The departure date matches the last hotel checkout and the last day of the plan.
• The total stay stays within 90 days and matches what you wrote on the application form.
• Every city in the day plan has a hotel or a host, and every hotel city has a way in and out.
• For Mumbai, the day plan exists in both English and Spanish and is signed.

Our honest tip: write the day plan last. People often draft a lovely itinerary first, then book flights on different dates because of price, and forget to update the plan.

When should you book the reservation for an Argentina appointment?

Book it two or three days before your appointment, not when you first start collecting papers. A reservation we issue stays valid for up to 2 weeks, and the airline decides the exact period. Mumbai's checklist asks you to "present valid dummy reservation" on the day, so a booking made a month earlier is likely to have lapsed by then.

Here is how that works in practice. Say your Mumbai appointment is on 14 November and you plan to fly on 20 December. Collect your bank statements, ITR and leave letter in late October. Draft the day plan around your intended dates. Then, on 11 or 12 November, book the flight reservation, book the hotels on the same dates, and print everything. On the 14th, your booking is live if the officer checks it.

If the consulate later asks for more documents and your first booking has expired, a fresh one on the same dates is simple to get. Do not describe the new booking as anything other than what it is.

Travelling on the US-visa exemption: what will the airline ask?

If you skip the consulate because of your US visa, nobody reviews a flight document in advance. The question moves to the airport. Argentina's migration page for tourists lists only a valid passport (or an accepted ID card for neighbouring countries) as entry documentation, with a stay of up to three months that can be extended once.^[4] We could not find an official Argentine page in October 2026 that requires visa-exempt tourists to show a return ticket on arrival.

Airlines are a different matter. Check-in agents look up entry rules in IATA Timatic, the database carriers use to decide who may board.^[6] When a passenger relies on a conditional exemption, such as a US visa, agents commonly want to see that US visa and the trip's return or onward leg. Carry both: your passport with the US visa inside, and proof of how you will leave Argentina. Where a carrier insists on a paid onward ticket, a held reservation may not be enough, and the airline has the final say on boarding.

For a wider look at what airlines accept as onward proof, read our proof of onward travel guide and the onward ticket page.

Which routes reach Argentina from India, and what about transit visas?

There is no non-stop flight between India and Argentina, so every itinerary connects at least once. Typical routings go through a Gulf hub, a European hub, a North American hub or another South American city such as São Paulo, Santiago or Lima. The connection point decides whether you need a second visa.

• Through the United States: changing planes there still means US visa paperwork for most Indian travellers, either a visitor visa or a C-1. Our transit visa guide walks through it.
• Through Europe: some hubs require an airport transit visa for certain passports. Check the rule for your exact airport before you book.
• Through Lima: Peru has required a transit visa since 1 February 2025 for foreigners transiting its territory, unless they are already visa-exempt for Peru. See our Peru visa guide for the details.^[7]
• Through Santiago: Chile's rules are explained in our Chile visa guide.

A practical point: pick a routing for your reservation that you would genuinely be able to fly. If your reservation connects in a country whose transit visa you do not hold, an experienced officer may ask how you plan to get through. Our layover rules guide explains separate-ticket connections.

Reservation, refundable fare or paid ticket: which suits an Argentina file?

Step by step: preparing the flight part of your Argentina file

1. Decide your route. Pick the Indian departure city, the connection, your arrival airport in Argentina and every internal leg.
2. Fix the dates. Keep the trip within 90 days and match it to your leave letter.
3. Draft the day plan. One line per day, city by city. Mumbai applicants prepare it in English and Spanish.
4. Book the reservation two or three days before the appointment. Enter names exactly as in the passport.
5. Verify it. Open the airline's "Manage booking" page, enter the PNR and surname, and confirm names and dates. Our verification guide shows how.
6. Book hotels on the same dates. Our hotel booking service covers this if you need it.
7. Cross-check all three documents against the list in the section above, then print.

Getting a verifiable reservation for Argentina, and the cost

We issue a flight reservation in your name with a live PNR on the route and dates you choose, and you can look it up on the airline's site. It is a reservation, not a paid ticket, and it cannot be used to board a plane.

The price is per passenger for a one-way or round trip, and multi-city routes with internal Argentine flights are priced per pair of legs. In India you can pay by UPI, card or netbanking through Razorpay, and the PDF usually arrives by email in about 10 minutes. Every currency is listed on our dummy ticket price page, and orders can be followed on track your order. To compare the options in general, read flight reservation for visa or start at our home page.

Argentina visa flight reservation: frequently asked questions

Planning a longer South American trip? Read our guides for Chile, Peru and Colombia, the requirements by country table, and, if Europe is on the same trip, our Schengen visa guide.

Sources

All sources last checked: October 2026.

1. Embassy of the Argentine Republic in India, Consular Section, 01. Tourist visa: US-visa exemption (Resolution 353/2025), fees, document list.
2. Consulate General and Promotion Center of Argentina in Mumbai, Tourist visa: requirements for applicants not holding a US visa.
3. Government of Argentina, Obtener visa de turista para ingresar a la Argentina.
4. Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Documentación para ingresar al país como turista.
5. Government of Argentina, Presentar invitación para ingresar a la Argentina como extranjero (TAD).
6. IATA, Timatic.
7. Embassy of Peru in India, Consular Section, Visa requirements for foreign nationals: transit visa from 1 February 2025.