Overseas Trips

Considering an overseas trip? Overseas travel for the purpose of student follow up, cross-cultural exposure (including mission trips), approved returnee student events/conferences, or attendance at conferences/meetings related to ISI ministry are encouraged. Overseas trips for the sole purpose of vacation or recreation are not considered ministry-related travel.

For questions or information not included on this site, please contact the Operations Department.

Procedures

Resources

- Procedures -

1. The approval process begins with the completion of the Overseas Trip Application at least 90 days prior (when possible) to the anticipated departure date. [This application must be completed for official ISI ministry trips only. An application is not required for personal trips (i.e. vacation) where ISI ministry funds are not used.] Some of the elements the director will consider include:

A prayerful and well-considered reason for the proposed travel.
Documentation indicating how the team member’s ministry responsibilities will be covered in their absence.
Documentation that the team member's financial support meets the required criteria (previous 6 months at 90%).
The frequency of overseas trips is not excessive.
Meets ISI guidelines (Staff members are encouraged to travel overseas a minimum of once every three years; more frequently with permission).

2. A copy of the application will automatically be sent to the team member's RFD (Regional Field Director) for approval, but the team member should also forward a copy to his/her supervisor.
3. The RFD will approve the application and forward it to the Home Office.
4. Once the Executive Office has approved the application, the team member will receive a confirmation email with the travel insurance card and other important details. Please note: Without this email, the Finance Department will not be able to process reimbursements for travel expenses. If the confirmation email is not received before travel commences, the team member should follow up with his/her RFD and/or the Home Office.
5. In order to proceed to raise ministry funds for trip expenses, the Donor Services Department can assign a special account number upon the team member's request which may be used for trip donations. There is a 10% administrative fee associated with the special account.

Expenses of spouses traveling with a team member may be reimbursed from ministry funds. Expenses for children traveling with their parents are non-reimbursable per IRS guidelines.
If a team member has reason to visit a country and desire to contact ISI returnees they do not personally know in that country, they may contact the Director of Global Reach to request returnee contacts.

6. Upon return from an overseas trip, the team member is expected to submit (within 30 days) a brief written report summarizing their experience. The report must be sent to the team member's supervisor, RFD, and the Home Office. The information in these reports is helpful to our ministry in celebrating what God is doing and for future planning. [It is strongly recommended that donors contributing to trip expenses also receive follow-up information regarding the ministry value of the trip.]

Please refer to your ISI Handbook for additional information.

- Global Staff -

For global staff based overseas, all of the above are also applicable with the addition of the following policy criteria:

Overseas staff traveling outside of their country of assignment for ministry-related trips with a clear business purpose (with the exception of ISI-requested or required travel to attend an ISI event such as national conference or Global Team retreats) need pre-approval through ISI’s normal trip application process for their travel.