You're flying to Georgia on a one-way ticket and you haven't booked a way out. Fix that first. A dummy ticket, also called an onward ticket, is a real PNR booked for visa or border-check purposes without paying for the flight. Below, the plan runs from "I've got days" to "the agent just asked", and each section ends with one action.

If you have a few days

Start with your own passport's rules. Entry requirements are set by nationality, and Georgia's rules for you may differ from your friend's.

Read the entry section of your government's advice. UK passport holders can use the UK government's travel advice for Georgia. US passport holders can start at travel.state.gov. Note the update date. Screenshot it.

If the page doesn't mention onward travel, don't assume you're clear. Airlines can ask regardless.

Action: screenshot the entry section for your passport and keep it with your documents.

If you have the night before

Build the proof. You need a reservation that matches your passport and exits Georgia on a believable date.

Check these four things:

  • name spelled exactly as in the passport
  • departure from a Georgian airport or a clear next country
  • date inside the stay you plan, not the maximum
  • a PNR that opens on the airline's own site

Not sure how to test a PNR? Our timing checklist for verifying an onward ticket PNR gives you the order to do it in.

Choose the exit date with care. Match it to the plan you'll actually describe. If you'll say "about two weeks", don't book a departure months away. A date that fits your story is the easiest one to defend. Check that your accommodation dates and your exit date agree.

If the booking won't load, wait a few hours. New bookings can be slow to appear. Then check the airline. The carrier operating a flight isn't always the one that issued the booking. Try the surname exactly as printed. Still nothing after a day? Go back to wherever you booked and ask them to fix it tonight, not at the airport.

Action: open the airline's manage-booking page tonight and confirm the booking loads.

If you're at the check-in desk

The agent is the first checkpoint, not the Georgian border. Airlines refer to IATA's Timatic data for your passport and destination, described on the IATA Timatic page, and a one-way ticket with no exit is the usual trigger for a question.

Keep it short. Hand over the passport. Show the itinerary. Say where you're going next.

If the agent can't find the booking, don't argue. Pull up the airline's website and show it loads. Offer the six-character PNR. Ask whether a supervisor can recheck.

Stay polite. The agent didn't write the rules, and arguing won't get you on the plane. Answer what's asked. Don't volunteer a long story. If your plan is to leave Georgia by land, say so, but still show the reservation, because that's what the agent can read.

Know your first-night address. Know roughly how you'll pay your way. Officers and agents both tend to relax when the answers match the papers.

Action: have the PDF and the PNR on your phone and on paper before you join the queue.

If they've already said no

Breathe. Ask exactly what's missing. Is it the booking, the name, the date? Those are fixable. Ask whether a different document would satisfy them.

Don't pay for a flight you don't need on the spot unless the airline tells you that's the only option. Compare that against fixing the reservation. A corrected booking often costs less time than a rushed fare.

For wider background on how officers and airlines read these bookings, our guide to what to do about legality at check-in covers the next ten minutes in detail.

Action: ask the agent to name the exact problem, then fix that one thing.

If you want to avoid this next time

Create a small habit. Every trip, run the same three steps: check your government's advice, build the reservation, verify it loads. It takes minutes.

Keep copies. Phones die and airport wifi fails. Save a PDF, a screenshot of the PNR, and print one page.

None of this is legal advice. Rules change, and the airline decides who boards. If you're unsure, ask them in writing before you fly.

Add one more habit: re-check the booking on the morning of the flight. Reservations can change status between booking day and departure day, and you want to find that out at home, with time to react, not at the desk with a queue behind you. Two minutes on your phone is enough.

Action: save a checklist note on your phone with those three steps.

When you're ready, get your onward ticket for Georgia and walk up to the desk with proof that opens.