# Greenland Visa from India: Flight Reservation vs Confirmed Ticket > Do Indians need a paid ticket for a Greenland visa? The Embassy of Denmark asks for a return flight reservation and advises against buying before approval. How to present your route. _Published: 2026-11-06 · Reading time: 5 min · Words: 1109_ ## TL;DR The Embassy of Denmark's checklist, used for visas valid for Greenland, asks for a flight reservation for a return or round trip and recommends not buying a ticket before the visa is approved. Since most trips to Greenland pass through Denmark, the reservation should show the full route and match your cover letter, accommodation and bank statement. ## Key takeaways - The Danish checklist asks for a return or round-trip flight reservation, not a paid ticket. - The Embassy of Denmark recommends not buying a ticket before the visa is approved. - Most trips to Greenland pass through Denmark, so most travellers also need a Schengen visa on the same form. - The visa fee of EUR 90 is non-refundable, and decisions can take up to 45 days in difficult cases. - A 'dummy ticket' means a verifiable reservation in your name, never an invented ticket. **Yes. The Embassy of Denmark's checklist, which the Greenland visa procedure follows, asks for flight reservations of a return or round ticket, and the Embassy recommends not buying a ticket before the visa is approved. A verifiable reservation covering your full route meets that requirement for Indian applicants.** ## Article That position is as published on the official sources, checked on 15 October 2026. The Danish Immigration Service says a visa valid for Greenland is applied for exactly like a Danish visa, so the Embassy's tourist checklist for Denmark is the one that applies. The full process is on our Greenland visa page for Indians. ### What does the Embassy's checklist say about flights? The tourist checklist hosted on VFS for the Embassy of Denmark in New Delhi lists three travel documents: - Flight reservations of a return or round ticket, with the Embassy's note that it recommends not buying a ticket before the visa is approved. - A cover letter stating the purpose of travel, duration, accompanying persons, and transport and accommodation details. - A certificate from a travel agency confirming an organised trip, or another document indicating your travel plans. Nothing on the checklist requires a paid, ticketed booking. The Danish Immigration Service adds one Greenland-specific requirement: documentation of your planned stay in Greenland. ### Reservation or paid ticket: how do they compare? PointFlight reservationPaid, confirmed ticketWhat the checklist asks forYes: return or round-trip reservationNot requiredEmbassy of Denmark's adviceMatches the adviceEmbassy recommends not buying before approvalIf processing runs longA new reservation can be issued for new datesFare rules decide whether you can change datesIf the visa is refusedNo ticket cost at stake; the EUR 90 visa fee is non-refundable either wayRefund depends on the airline's fare conditionsWhat it provesYour intended dates, route and returnThe same, at a higher upfront costThe risk with a paid ticket comes from the timeline. The Embassy normally decides within 15 days of receiving the file, but it can take up to 30 days if further enquiry is needed and up to 45 days in exceptionally difficult cases. A non-refundable fare timed around the 15-day standard could be lost if the decision takes longer. ### Why does your route through Denmark matter? Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but a Danish or other Schengen visa is not valid for Greenland. Most travel to Greenland goes through Denmark, so most Indian travellers need a Schengen visa as well as a visa valid for Greenland. One application form covers both. Your reservation should therefore show the whole journey: India to Denmark, Denmark to Greenland, and the return. A reservation that shows only one part of the route leaves the other half of a combined application without travel evidence. ### What should a Greenland flight reservation show? - Your name exactly as printed in your passport, and the same for each accompanying person named in the cover letter. - Outbound and return dates that match your accommodation proof, which must cover the whole stay. - Every leg of the route, including the connection between Denmark and Greenland. - A booking reference the consular officer could check with the airline or reservation system. A 'dummy ticket' in the visa context means exactly this: a genuine, verifiable reservation that has not been paid for as a ticket. It must never be an invented or edited document. Our flight reservation service issues reservations of this kind. ### How do your flight dates connect to the rest of the file? The dates on the reservation set the length of stay that every other document has to support: DocumentHow it links to your flight datesBank statementOriginal, last three months, stamped and signed, showing DKK 350 per day in a private home or DKK 500 per day in a hotel for the days between your flightsAccommodationMust cover the whole stay from arrival to departureInsuranceNot required if the visa is only valid for Greenland; a combined Schengen visa needs at least 30,000 Euros of cover for the tripPassportValid at least three months beyond the intended stay, with two blank pages ### Flight-proof mistakes to avoid - Buying a non-refundable ticket before the decision, against the Embassy's own recommendation. - Reservation dates that differ from the cover letter, the hotel bookings or the dates on your application form. - Leaving accompanying persons off the reservation when the cover letter names them. - Showing only the Copenhagen leg while applying for a visa valid for Greenland. - Letting the reservation lapse between preparing the file and your VFS appointment; check that it is still active the day before. - Submitting any ticket that has been edited or made up. A verifiable reservation is what the checklist asks for, so there is no reason to take that risk. One group can skip the question entirely: Indians holding a valid residence permit or EU residence card that entitles them to enter and reside in Denmark may enter Greenland without a visa. An expired permit does not count. ### When should you buy the real ticket? After the visa is approved, as the Embassy recommends. The visa fee of EUR 90 (EUR 45 for children aged 6 to 12) is paid online at applyvisa.um.dk and is non-refundable, and VFS adds a service fee of INR 2109, plus INR 444 for courier outside Delhi. Keeping the airfare out of the cost until the decision limits what you can lose. If VFS asks for missing documents, you have 3 business days to hand them in, so keep your reservation details and itinerary ready to reissue quickly. Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram prepares verifiable flight reservations, hotel bookings, itineraries and cover letters for visa files. Packages run from INR 1,000 for a flight reservation to INR 3,000 for reservation, hotel, itinerary and cover letter; WhatsApp +91 95230 91018 or use the contact page. ### Frequently asked questions #### Do I need a hotel booking as well as a flight reservation for Greenland? Yes. The checklist asks for proof of accommodation covering the whole stay, alongside the flight reservation and a cover letter giving transport and accommodation details. If you stay in a private home, the bank statement guideline is DKK 350 per day instead of DKK 500. #### Can I apply for a Greenland visa without any flight details? The Embassy of Denmark's checklist lists a return or round-trip flight reservation and a cover letter with transport details. Applying without them leaves required items missing from the file. #### Does an organised tour change the flight requirement? The checklist accepts a certificate from a travel agency confirming an organised trip as the document showing your travel plans. The return or round-trip flight reservation is still listed separately. #### Is the Greenland visa fee refunded if I am refused? No. The EUR 90 visa fee, paid online at applyvisa.um.dk, is non-refundable, which is one reason the Embassy advises against buying a ticket before approval. ## FAQ ### Do I need a hotel booking as well as a flight reservation for Greenland? Yes. The checklist asks for proof of accommodation covering the whole stay, alongside the flight reservation and a cover letter giving transport and accommodation details. If you stay in a private home, the bank statement guideline is DKK 350 per day instead of DKK 500. ### Can I apply for a Greenland visa without any flight details? The Embassy of Denmark's checklist lists a return or round-trip flight reservation and a cover letter with transport details. Applying without them leaves required items missing from the file. ### Does an organised tour change the flight requirement? The checklist accepts a certificate from a travel agency confirming an organised trip as the document showing your travel plans. The return or round-trip flight reservation is still listed separately. ### Is the Greenland visa fee refunded if I am refused? No. The EUR 90 visa fee, paid online at applyvisa.um.dk, is non-refundable, which is one reason the Embassy advises against buying a ticket before approval. ## Sources 1. [Embassy of Denmark New Delhi - Tourist Visa Checklist](https://www.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/denmark/india/english/pdf/Tourist-Checklist_updated.pdf) — Embassy of Denmark, New Delhi 2. [Danish Immigration Service - Entry to the Faroe Islands or Greenland](https://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/short-stay-visa/Visa-to-the-Faroe-Island-or-Greenland) — Danish Immigration Service 3. [VFS Global - Apply for VISA to Denmark In India and Bhutan](https://www.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/denmark/india/english/) — VFS Global