Qantas reservations come up mostly in Australian and New Zealand visa files, and those two countries treat flights very differently. Australia's Home Affairs department suggests booking your flight only after the visa is granted. New Zealand wants to see how you'll leave, and its visa-waiver rules go further. A Qantas reservation can help with the first and may fall short of the second. This guide explains how Qantas's Manage booking works, its name and 24-hour policies, the Book Now, Pay Later hold, which India routes Qantas runs in 2026, and what each government actually asks for. Sources, all checked in October 2026, are linked beside each claim and listed at the end.
Qantas reservation facts for visa applicants
| Question | What Qantas or the government says |
|---|---|
| How do I find my booking? | Manage booking on qantas.com, using the six-character Qantas booking reference and your last name.[1] |
| Booked through someone else? | Qantas tells you to contact the travel agency or third-party site directly for help.[1] |
| Names | The name on the booking must be an exact match with your travel documents.[2] Name spelling on Qantas-operated flights can be corrected fee-free before travel.[3] |
| Fare hold | Book Now, Pay Later with a holding deposit, only for departures from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK or the US.[4] |
| 24-hour cancellation | Frequent Flyers can cancel eligible bookings made directly on qantas.com within 24 hours without a cancellation fee.[3] |
| India routes | Bengaluru to Sydney (suspended 8 August to 24 October 2026) and Delhi to Melbourne (seasonal, 26 October 2026 to 27 March 2027).[5] |
| Alliance | oneworld.[7] |
| Australia visa advice | Book flights "after we grant your visa", Home Affairs suggests.[8] |
What is a Qantas dummy ticket?
It's an unpaid booking on Qantas flights, held under a six-character reference in your name. We make it for the cities and dates you ask for and send a PDF listing the flights, times and reference. Because the booking lives in Qantas's system, qantas.com can retrieve it.
Without payment it can't be used to fly, and it won't last long. Each one remains valid for up to two weeks; Qantas fixes the exact period. On forms, call it a flight reservation or a proposed itinerary.
Does Qantas fit your trip? From India, it depends on dates. Qantas lists two Indian routes: Bengaluru to Sydney, which it shows as temporarily suspended from 8 August to 24 October 2026, and a seasonal Delhi to Melbourne service from 26 October 2026 to 27 March 2027.[5] It also sells IndiGo-operated codeshare connections within India and via Singapore, covering more than 23 Indian destinations.[6] Some Qantas-booked itineraries use flights run by other airlines. The sample further down this page, for instance, shows a Delhi to Melbourne flight booked through Qantas but operated by Air India. We'll match the reservation to what's actually flying on your dates.
How do you look up a Qantas booking?
On qantas.com, Manage booking asks you to use your Qantas six-character booking reference.[1] With it you enter the passenger's last name.
- Open qantas.com and go to Manage booking.
- Type the six-character reference from your PDF.
- Enter your surname as it appears on the booking.
- Check names, flight numbers, dates and airports against your visa application.
Once retrieved, Qantas lets travellers do a range of things from that page, including printing or emailing the itinerary.[1] Please leave the booking alone apart from viewing it. Changing seats or contact details on a reservation made for a visa file isn't necessary, and the "cancel" option should never be touched.
Qantas also notes that flights booked through a travel agency or third-party website are serviced by that company.[1] If anything looks wrong, message us with the reference rather than calling Qantas. Our verification guide walks through common error messages.
Applying for Australia or New Zealand?
A Qantas reservation you can retrieve on qantas.com. ₹699 or $9 per passenger, usually within 10 minutes.
What does Qantas say about names?
Its travel documents page is blunt: travel documents must be valid, and the name on your flight booking and ticket must be an exact match.[2] It also says Qantas may refuse travel if you can't provide the required documents.[2]
On corrections, Qantas is more relaxed than many airlines. Its 24-hour change policy waives change fees for mistakes made while booking on qantas.com or the Qantas app, including name spelling on Qantas-operated flights, and adds that spelling can be corrected fee-free even after 24 hours, as long as travel hasn't started. Name spelling on flights run by other airlines isn't covered, and may mean cancelling and rebooking.[3]
For a visa reservation, the simpler rule is to match the passport exactly from the start. Suppose your passport shows surname FERNANDES and given names JOSEPH ANTHONY. The reservation should carry FERNANDES as surname and both given names, not "Joe" and not just the initial A. Visa officers compare documents carefully, and an avoidable mismatch is the last thing you want. More examples are in our name format guide.
Can Book Now, Pay Later replace a reservation?
Not from India. Qantas offers Book Now, Pay Later only when the flight departs from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom or the United States.[4] Where it is offered, you pay a holding deposit per passenger, A$25 in Australia, £15 in the UK and US$25 in the US for example, and the rest by midnight on the due date shown when you book. Miss that and the booking is cancelled.[4]
Three conditions make it awkward for a visa:
- The deposit is not refunded if you cancel or simply don't pay in full.[4]
- Changing the itinerary means cancelling and booking again.[4]
- It isn't available on Points bookings, round-the-world trips, combined Qantas and Jetstar bookings or some special fares.[4]
The length of the hold depends on the fare and how far away departure is, so you can't count on it covering a visa decision.[4]
| Route to a booking | Upfront cost | Lifespan | From India? | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our Qantas reservation | ₹699 / $9 per passenger | Up to 2 weeks; Qantas sets the exact period | Yes | Applications that ask for an itinerary |
| Book Now, Pay Later | Holding deposit, not refunded on cancellation[4] | Until the due date shown at booking[4] | No[4] | Locking a fare you will buy |
| Paid ticket, cancelled within 24 hours | Full fare, refunded if eligible[3] | Gone after cancellation | Frequent Flyers booking direct | Fixing a booking mistake, not a visa |
| Paid ticket kept | Full fare | Until travel | Yes | New Zealand's paid-onward rule, or after the visa |
Is there a 24-hour free cancellation on Qantas?
There are two related policies. "Cancel for any reason" lets Qantas Frequent Flyers cancel within 24 hours of making an eligible booking directly on qantas.com, with the cancellation fee waived. Separately, the 24-hour change policy lets anyone who made a booking mistake on qantas.com or the app correct the date, time, route, fare type, class or name spelling within 24 hours without a change fee, though any fare difference still applies.[3]
Neither is designed for visa paperwork. A ticket cancelled the next day shows nothing useful to an officer weeks later. If you need a paid ticket, which New Zealand may require at the border, buy one you intend to use.
What do Australia and New Zealand ask for?
| Country | Official wording | Where a held reservation stands |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Visitor visa, subclass 600) | Home Affairs suggests booking flights only once the visa has been granted.[8] | Not required. It can show your planned dates if you want to include them, without paying for a fare. |
| New Zealand (Visitor Visa) | You must show you plan to leave: a ticket out of New Zealand, or statements showing enough money to buy one, on top of living costs.[9] | A reservation shows intent, but the listed evidence is a ticket or funds. Include bank statements. |
| New Zealand (visa waiver, NZeTA) | Onward tickets have to be paid for in advance.[10] | No. An unpaid hold can't satisfy a rule that demands payment. |
| Transit or stopover elsewhere | The rules of the country you're entering apply. | Check that country's official page. |
Australia's advice tells you something useful: the department doesn't expect you to have spent money on flights before it decides. A reservation simply puts the dates you've written on the form, alongside your leave letter and bank statements, and nothing more. Our Australia visa guide covers the full document list.
New Zealand needs more care. The visitor visa page frames the evidence as a ticket out, or evidence of funds to buy one, so if you're submitting a reservation, pair it with statements that cover the fare. And if you're entering visa-free with an NZeTA, carry a paid onward ticket. See our New Zealand visa guide and New Zealand onward-ticket guide.
What if a Qantas booking includes another airline's flights?
It often will from India. Qantas sells codeshare flights operated by IndiGo within India and to Sri Lanka, and connections through Singapore from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or Darwin onto IndiGo services across India.[6] In practice a Kochi traveller might show an IndiGo-operated hop to Bengaluru with a Qantas flight number, then Qantas to Sydney.
That's fine for a visa file, as long as the whole journey is on one booking and the connections make sense. Two things to watch. First, on the reservation itself, the operating airline is shown next to each leg, as it is in our sample; don't be surprised to see a name other than Qantas there. Second, Qantas's documents page says that when you travel on a codeshare flight or with another airline, you should contact that airline to confirm the travel documents it requires.[2] That matters for the real trip, not the application, but it's good to know before you buy.
Our advice for Australian files: keep it simple. One booking, sensible layovers, dates that match your leave letter. A clever multi-carrier routing to save a few thousand rupees on a ticket you haven't bought yet adds nothing.
What to check before you submit
- Surname and every given name spelled as in the passport.
- Arrival and departure dates matching the form and your planned stay.
- A route Qantas is actually operating on those dates; remember the Bengaluru suspension and the seasonal Delhi service.
- The reference still retrieving the booking on qantas.com the evening before you submit.
- For New Zealand, bank statements that cover a ticket out as well as living costs.
And what to avoid:
- Ordering the reservation weeks before you lodge the application.
- Choosing Bengaluru to Sydney for a date inside the suspension window.
- Relying on a reservation at the New Zealand border.
- Any made-up code from a "generator" site. Qantas won't find it, and a false document can sink your application.
Already had trouble? Our page on rejection reasons and fixes may help.
When should you order it?
If you lodge your application online, "appointment day" is simply the day you submit. Order the reservation two or three days before that. Example: you plan to lodge your subclass 600 application on Saturday 8 November for a Melbourne trip in late December. Order on Wednesday the 5th, check on qantas.com on Friday, and upload it with the rest of your documents on Saturday. If biometrics are requested later, nobody expects the reservation to be renewed for that.
Price and how to order
Same price whatever the airline, per passenger, one way or return:
Multi-city journeys carry one charge per pair of legs; hotel bookings carry one charge per stay for each traveller. Full details: dummy ticket price.
- Head to the order page, put in the cities and dates, and select Qantas.
- Type names as the passport shows them.
- Pay by UPI, card or netbanking via Razorpay.
- The PDF usually arrives in about 10 minutes; track your order if you're waiting.
- Retrieve the booking on qantas.com with the reference and your surname.
Home Affairs and Immigration New Zealand make the decisions. We provide a genuine, checkable booking that agrees with your file. For background, see flight reservations for visas, onward tickets, requirements by country and our home page. If Europe is next, the Schengen guide applies.
Qantas dummy ticket: FAQ
Do I need a flight booking for an Australian visitor visa?
No. Australia's Home Affairs department suggests booking your flight after the visa is granted. A reservation can show the dates you've entered on the form without spending money on a fare, but it isn't a listed requirement. Focus on funds, ties to home and a clear purpose of visit.
How do I retrieve a Qantas booking?
Open Manage booking on qantas.com and enter the six-character Qantas booking reference with your last name. You should see the passengers, flights and dates. Only view it; there's no need to change seats or details on a reservation made for a visa application.
Is a reservation enough for New Zealand?
For a visitor visa, New Zealand asks for a ticket out or evidence you can afford one, so include bank statements covering the fare. For visa-waiver travel, Immigration New Zealand insists that onward tickets are paid up before you fly, so a held reservation won't meet that rule at the border. Buy a real ticket before you fly.
Can I use Book Now, Pay Later from India?
No. Qantas offers it only on departures from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and the US. Where available, the holding deposit isn't refunded if you cancel or don't pay in full, and changes mean starting a new booking.
Does Qantas fly from India?
Qantas lists Bengaluru to Sydney, temporarily suspended from 8 August to 24 October 2026, and seasonal Delhi to Melbourne flights from 26 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. It also sells IndiGo-operated codeshare connections. We build reservations on flights operating on your dates.
Can a name mistake be fixed?
On Qantas-operated flights, Qantas says name spelling can be corrected without fees before travel begins. On our reservations, you review details before we issue them. If you spot an error afterwards, contact us straight away and we'll advise on a corrected reservation.
How long does a Qantas reservation stay valid?
Up to two weeks, with Qantas deciding the exact period for each booking. Order a few days before you lodge your application and check it on qantas.com just before submitting. If more documents are requested weeks later, you don't need to refresh it unless flight details are specifically asked for.
Sources
All sources last checked: October 2026.
- Qantas, Manage booking.
- Qantas, Travel documents and requirements.
- Qantas, 24 hour change policy (including Cancel for any reason).
- Qantas, Book Now, Pay Later.
- Qantas, International flight routes.
- Qantas, Partner airlines: IndiGo.
- oneworld, Member airlines.
- Department of Home Affairs, Australia, Check twice, submit once.
- Immigration New Zealand, Visitor Visa (leaving New Zealand).
- Immigration New Zealand, Visa Waiver Visitor Visa.
Also useful: Japan Airlines reservations · Thai Airways reservations · Australia visa · New Zealand onward ticket.