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You have an eager group of qualified
volunteers ready to accomplish their one-week,
two-week, or one-month mission
assignment. What steps are necessary to book travel,
get passports and visas,
and make sure they take the proper health
precautions? Here are some practical
"How Tos", to help your short-term missions program
run more smoothly.
How To. . .
- Find low airfares.
You may receive a
reduced price per traveler if you
book 10 or more on identical flights. Sometimes you'll
get one free ticket for
every 15 to 30 purchased.
It's best to allow a reputable travel agency to
negotiate with the airline for you-preferably an agency
that specializes in missionary travel, MTS TRAVEL has been booking
foreign travel to developing countries for our clients for over 45 years.
- Deal with foreign air carrier schedules.
(or
non-schedules!) Travel via commercial aircraft within
developing countries can
be quite different from U.S. domestic flights! Just
because your seats are booked
and the flight is scheduled to leave at a certain time,
don't count on it! Be
patient and courteous with airline workers. This is not
the USA "instant"
culture. Strident complaining will accomplish little-
except to call attention
to traveling Americans.
- Allow ample time for passport and visa
issuance.
Passport - For a first-time passport
application, a citizen
must appear at the nearest passport agency or county
court with the following:
- Birth Certificate, original with raised seal.
- Driver's license, or positive ID containing
photo, signature and
physical description. Without a positive ID, you must
appear with a witness
who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien who
has known you
for at least two years. Your witness must prove his or
her identity and
complete and sign an Affidavit of Identifying Witness.
- Photos, two identical passport-size
photos. Don't submit
your own or use vending machines. They will be
rejected. Get
several extra photos per person-especially if your
workers need visas.
- Check for $55 for those 16 years+
(passport validity 10 years, renewal fee $55); $40 for
those under 16 (passport
validity 5 years; no renewal-must reapply). Your local
passport agency or
county courthouse will also levy a $30 execution fee.
Once all of the above are submitted, passport
issuance usually takes four to six weeks.
Be sure each worker signs his passport upon
receipt
Before departure, advise
each worker to keep two photos and a photocopy of
his/her passport vital
information page separate from the passport. If the
passport is lost or stolen
overseas, these documents expedite issuance of a new
one at the American
Embassy.
Visas - If the short-term worker plans to be
overseas three
months or less, a tourist visa is usually sufficient for a
country requiring a
visa for U.S. citizens. Once the proper documents
(passport, visa
forms, photos, and sometimes a World Health
Organization booklet with proof of
necessary vaccinations) are submitted to the country's
consulate or embassy,
visa issuance for a U.S. citizen takes anywhere from
three to ten days. Many
countries require a passport be valid for six months
from date of entry into
the country. The visa almost always must be
stamped in the valid passport
pages, so have your workers apply for their passports
in plenty of time.
- Know the health requirements.
- Vaccines - Check the Center for Disease
Control in Atlanta,
Georgia, via our Quick
Link,
for vaccinations necessary to enter
foreign countries. Many visa applications require proof
of certain
vaccinations-with time lapses between injections.
(MTS TRAVEL also has up-to-date
vaccination information for all countries.)
It's wise for
each traveler to check the validity of his/her
tetanus/diphtheria,
measles/mumps/rubella, and polio vaccines. Depending
on where your team
serves, gamma globulin (for hepatitis A) and typhoid
fever vaccines may be
recommended-as well as oral medication for malaria
prevention. Many university
hospitals and major airports house International Travel
Clinics which
administer vaccines and dispense advice.
- Hospitalization and basic evacuation
insurance. Have your
short-termers check their current medical policies to
insure coverage
overseas. Look for an evacuation clause which will
provide transportation home
if they must travel independent of the group. MTS
TRAVEL sells supplementary
travel accident and sickness insurance if your travelers
do not have coverage
outside of the U.S.
- Know airline baggage regulations.
The regulations
below are intended as a guideline. Many airlines have
different restrictions.
Always check with your airline or MTS travel agent
before packing your bags.
Free allowance per
person (age 2 and over). Economy class-
direct international flights.
Checked:
- 2 pieces, combined dimensions of length + width +
height of each
piece, measured separately, not to exceed l06".
- Neither piece may exceed 62".
- Maximum weight per piece: 70 pounds. For most
airlines. (Some
carriers restrict weight to 66 pounds total for 2
pieces.) Check with MTS TRAVEL or
the airline regarding the limit for your flights.
Unchecked:
- 1 piece, with maximum combined dimensions of 45".
- Must be stored under a seat or in an overhead
compartment.
Weight maximums vary by airline.
- Stopovers en route. If a traveler stops (in
Europe, for
instance, before or after assignment in Africa) he is
limited to 44 lbs. of
luggage from most places overseas to/from Europe and
intra-Europe. This does
not apply if he is only connecting through, and he does
not pick up his luggage
in Europe. Check with MTS TRAVEL or the airline for
specific regulations.
- Seek low-cost accommodations.
When
airline schedules necessitate an overnight stay in a
foreign connecting city,
the carrier will sometimes cover your hotel bill. Check
with MTS TRAVEL or with the
airline.
If the
traveler must pay for his hotel, many YMCA's,
universities, and colleges (for
travel in summer when dorms are nearly empty) offer
adequate accommodations at
budget prices. YMCA's around the world can be
accessed from the Internet by
typing in "YMCA accommodations the city you will
visit."
Assembling
a short-term missions team can be a challenging and
rewarding experience.
Careful advance attention to travel details allows more
time for personal and spiritual
preparation-as your team members equip themselves
for their valuable mission
assignment.
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