Every international arrival into the Seychelles lands at one place: Seychelles International Airport on Mahé. There's no land border and no long-distance ferry out. That's why the check-in agent in Dubai, Doha or Paris cares about your exit before you ever board. If your onward ticket, or the dummy ticket you're using as one, has a gap in it, the desk will find it first. Here are the five mistakes that cause the trouble.

Quick definition so we're on the same page: a dummy ticket, also called an onward ticket, is a real PNR booked for visa or border-check purposes without paying for the flight. It's a live reservation. It isn't a fake PDF.

1. You treat the Praslin hop as your way out

You'll probably spend time on Praslin or La Digue. Great. But that domestic flight or inter-island ferry isn't your exit from the country.

The agent wants to see how you leave the Seychelles, full stop. A booking from Mahé to Praslin shows you moving around inside the country. It says nothing about leaving it.

What you need instead is an international departure from Mahé: back home, on to another country, or to your next stop on a longer trip.

Fix it: Keep your island-hopping bookings for your own planning. Show the agent the international leg only.

2. Your paperwork tells two different stories

The Seychelles asks visitors to sort some things out before they fly. The UK government's Seychelles entry requirements page sets out what British visitors need, including a return or onward ticket, and explains the pre-travel steps. Other passports should check their own government's guidance.

Here's where people trip. You fill in travel details on one form, then turn up at the desk with a different flight, a different date, or no flight at all. To an agent, that looks messy. Messy gets questions.

One more version of this mistake: split tickets through a hub. Lots of Seychelles trips route through Dubai, Doha, Addis Ababa or Istanbul. If you've booked your long-haul flight and your hop into Mahé separately, you'll often check in again at the hub. That's a second desk and a second agent who can ask the same question. Don't assume the first agent's OK carries over.

Fix it: Decide your exit flight and date first. Then use the same details everywhere: on any pre-travel form, in your booking, and in what you say if asked.

3. Your onward date doesn't line up with your stay

Your exit date has to make sense next to everything else. If your accommodation ends on the 14th and your onward flight is on the 22nd, someone's going to ask where you'll sleep for eight nights.

It works the other way too. An exit date that's long after your permitted stay will raise eyebrows at immigration, even if the airline lets you board.

Fix it: Line up three dates before you book anything: arrival, last night of accommodation, and departure. They should tell one simple story.

4. The name on the booking isn't the name in your passport

This one sinks more trips than any rule. A missing middle name. A swapped first and last name. A nickname typed in a hurry.

Gate agents compare your passport to the reservation character by character. If they don't match, the reservation might as well not exist. It's the same check behind most of the reasons a valid onward ticket fails at the gate.

Fix it: Copy your name from the passport's data page, exactly as printed. Check it again before you pay.

5. Your reservation dies before you check in

A reservation isn't permanent. Holds expire, airlines clean out unticketed bookings, and a PNR that was live last week can be gone today. If the agent searches for it and finds nothing, you're stuck.

The timing that matters is the moment you're standing at check-in for your flight into Mahé. Not the day you booked. Not the day you arrived at the airport hotel. Our guide on whether the airline will cancel a held reservation goes through how and when holds drop out.

Fix it: Book so the reservation is live on your departure day, and check it on the airline's site the night before. If it's gone, you've still got time to replace it.

The 60-second check before you leave for the airport

Run this the evening before. It takes a minute and catches most of the problems above:

  • Open the reservation on the airline's own site, not a screenshot. Does it load?
  • Compare the name on screen with your passport, letter by letter.
  • Confirm the flight departs Mahé, not Praslin, and goes to another country.
  • Check the date sits after your last hotel night and inside your allowed stay.
  • Save the booking reference somewhere you can read it out without signal.

If all five pass, you're done. If one fails, you've caught it at home, which beats catching it at a desk in Dubai.

Frequently asked questions

Does the airline really check onward travel for the Seychelles?

Many do. Agents use IATA Timatic to see what each passport needs for each destination, and if proof of onward or return travel is listed, they'll ask for it before you board.

Can my onward flight go to Mauritius or Kenya instead of home?

Yes. Onward travel means leaving the Seychelles, not going home. Just make sure you meet the entry rules for wherever that flight lands.

What if I'm staying on a liveaboard boat or yacht?

That's unusual and worth sorting out with the boat operator and the airline before you travel. Agents are used to flight reservations. Anything else needs more explaining at the desk.

Do I need a hotel booking as well?

Usually you'll want proof of where you're staying. Keep it alongside your onward proof so the dates can be checked together.

Get the exit leg right and the rest of the check is quick. You can book a verifiable onward ticket for your Seychelles trip here.