What is Ok to Board?
All Indian passport holders travelling to UAE (Dubai/Sharjah/Abu Dhabi), Kuwait, Bahrain, Sultanate of Oman and Qatar require “OK to Board” — a requirement without which the customer will not be allowed to board the flight.
Why Ok to Board?
In the past, several passengers traveled to the above mentioned countries on fake visas. In order to minimize the fake visas issued, the government decided to have an extra layer of scrutiny and started checking the authenticity of the visa issued prior to departure.
When should you apply for Ok to Board?
Once the visa is issued, the visa copy has to be sent to the respective airline for their Ok to Board approval. If the airline booking was made from any of the Online Travel agencies (OTA), read their Terms & Conditions regarding OK to Board approval. OK to Board has to be applied within a prescribed time limit which varies with the airlines. It is generally recommended to present documents needed to update OK to Board three days prior to the day of departure to avoid last minute hassles. Documents required for OK to Board are:
1. Visa copy
2. Round trip flight tickets
Who is responsible for Ok to Board?
If the visa is sponsored, then Ok to Board is done by the sponsor. It is the sponsor’s task to send the valid visa copy, along with PNR to the airline. If there are no sponsors, it is the passenger’s responsibility to get Ok to Board from the airline directly. There are also a lot of visa agents who can help with the entire process of Ok to Board application.
How to know the status of OK to Board?
Ok to Board status gets marked in your PNR by the airlines. For visas which have been applied by a visa agent or a sponsor, the Ok to board status can be checked with the respective visa agent/sponsor. Passengers can also directly check the status of OK to Board with the airline by providing airline PNR number.
