How to deal with flight booking requirements for Schengen visa?

[Foxx]

My partner and I have planned a trip to the UK in May.  He has just told me he would like also to make a trip to Paris for a couple of days, which is fine by me.  However, in applying for a Schengen visa for France it appears you have to have pre-booked accommodation (not a problem since it's fairly easy to find refundable bookings) and pre-booked return flight to Thailand.  The latter appears to be a problem since flight bookings which can be cancelled cost hundreds of pounds more than non-flexible ones.  (That's travelling business class.)  Is there any way to manage this issue?

[ipeterrobinson17]

there are many companies around who offer flight&hotel reservations and cost starts around 30GBP/35Euro/40USD - these are effectively potential bookings that you could use if visa is successful.

 

this is what i've just purchased (and submitted for Schengen visa earlier this week) for a similar trip, Manchester<-->Geneva.

 

where are you travelling to Paris from?

 

if travelling from UK, then in theory, i think you only need travel reservation from UK to Paris and back to UK, but @theoldgit suggested i also send details of her Bangkok<-->Manchester flights also when submitting our Schengen application (which we did earlier this week ). this was simple for me to do as that flight was already booked.

 

best "reservations" company i found, reading Trustpilot reviews, was https://www.flightreservationforvisa.com and we had a few hiccups but all was completed just in time.

[chickenslegs]

Would it be possible (and less expensive) to book your return flights to the UK then book separate flights UK/France in between those dates.

 

I.E. - Thailand to UK - UK to France - France back to UK - UK to Thailand.

 

The UK to France return can be a cheap ticket and not too much lost if cancelled.

 

 

[keithcresswell]

I did it 5 years ago by making a booking (on BA I think) LON - PAR it was a 24 hour option which cost £5. I printed the confirmation out and attached it to the BKK-LHR ticket printout. I let the option expire. 

We actually used the Eurostar in the end.

 

[rasg]

For our trip to Iceland I just did screenshots of what I planned on booking for the Danish Embassy and they were quite happy. The bonus was that they created the Schengen visa while we waited. Only then did I book the tickets.