Flying to Bhutan? Your exit proof gets looked at before you board, usually within two minutes at the desk. A dummy ticket, also called an onward ticket, is a real PNR booked for visa or border-check purposes without paying for the flight. Here's what to do, depending on how much time you have left.

If you have a week or more

Do the slow checks now. Bhutan runs a controlled entry process, and it's not the place for guessing. Read the official entry page for your passport. British travellers can use the UK government's Bhutan entry requirements. Everyone else should use their own foreign ministry.

Note the visa process, the approved route in and any line about onward travel. Then check your plan against it. If your trip is arranged through an approved channel, ask them what exit documents they expect.

Write one sentence that describes your exit. Keep it short.

Also decide how you'll leave. Out by air is the simplest to prove. Out by land is possible for some travellers, but crossings and conditions change, and a bus seat can't be searched at a desk. If your real plan is overland, you still want a flight record as proof. Say so honestly if asked, and show what you've got.

Last, check your passport validity. Airlines look at that too, and no booking fixes a passport that's about to expire.

Action: Save the official page with its date, and send your exit question to your trip organiser today.

If you have three days

Book the exit record now. Use a flight out of Bhutan that fits your stay, to a place you can legally enter. Paro is the usual arrival point for flyers, so match your outbound to that reality rather than guessing a route.

Copy your name from the passport page, letter for letter. Check the dates against your approved stay. A ticket that leaves after your permission ends doesn't help you.

A dummy ticket works well here. It gives the desk a record they can search, without tying up a full fare.

Action: Book the exit, then compare name and dates against your passport and approval.

If you have one day

Stop researching. Start verifying.

Open the booking and check three things: spelling, date and route. Then check it against your hotel or tour confirmation. If one item doesn't match, fix the item.

Leave a buffer in your timing. If the booking says departure on the last allowed day, any delay puts you out of line with your permission. Pick a date with some margin. Not a week. Just enough.

Check the airline code and flight number on the booking, then check that the flight is an actual scheduled service on that date. A real PNR on a real flight is easy to verify. An odd one draws questions.

Print one copy. Save a second to your phone, offline. Airport wifi fails at the worst moment.

Also check the transit point. If you connect through another country on the way, that airport may have its own questions. Read the entry and transit pages for each stop. The IATA Timatic service is the database airlines use to decide who boards, so what it tells the agent decides how your desk goes.

Read how an agent checks a valid onward ticket once tonight. It takes five minutes.

Action: Print, save offline, and confirm the transit rules before you sleep.

If you're at the desk right now

Stay calm. You've got one job: make it easy to say yes.

Hand over the passport first. Then show the booking, with the reference visible. Say your plan in one sentence. Don't over-explain.

If the agent can't find the booking, give them the reference again and the airline code. Typos are the usual cause. If the search still fails, ask them to try the passenger name and date.

Keep your tone level. Agents see dozens of anxious passengers. The ones who help themselves are the ones who hand over clean paperwork and answer in short sentences.

Don't argue about what the rules "should" say. Ask what they need to see. Sometimes it's a clearer copy. Sometimes it's a corrected name.

Action: Show the reference, state your plan, ask what they need.

If they've already refused you

First, don't panic. You've lost time, not the trip.

Ask for the reason. Write it down. Is it the missing exit proof, a name mismatch, an approval problem, or a transit issue? Each has a different fix.

If it's the exit proof, a corrected booking may solve it. Fix the name or date, then ask the desk to look again. Ask politely, and ask once.

If it's an approval problem, a booking won't help. Contact your trip organiser or the relevant authority. That's a different fix, and it needs official input.

Reservations can lapse, so recheck the booking if you wait a few hours. The timing rules are in our time-boxed guide to PNR holds.

This is general guidance, not legal or immigration advice. Officers and carriers decide case by case.

Action: Get the reason in writing, fix that one thing, and ask again once.

After you land

Keep the booking until you've left. Keep the printout in your bag. Check the official page again before any onward move, since conditions change.

When you're ready, book your dummy ticket for Bhutan and carry the confirmation with you.