Travel Authorizations
Travel is such fun

NOTE:  for District 5190 RYE Forms and Complete Inbound and Outbound Program information, go to:  www.RYE5190.org

Travel Authorization Outside District 5190

A series of approvals must be collected prior to travel outside of District 5190. No student can travel without Rotarian or host family supervision or approval. Travel that occurs outside of District 5190 without appropriate approvals may result in the student being terminated from the RYE program and sent home early. The approvals required are:

  • Natural parents
  • Host family
  • Counselor
  • Country Contact
  • Guy Lease if the travel is outside of the contiguous 48 states (i.e., Mexico, Canada, Hawaii or Alaska or elsewhere in the world)

In order to document the approval process easily, the counselor should manage this in one email thread. Initially, the Host Family should contact the natural parents with the specific information (see below) asking for their approval for the trip. If that response is positive in a reply email, the host family will forward the email to the Counselor with their approval included. Next, the Counselor will forward the email thread containing the details of the trip, the natural parents’ permission, the host family’s permission and their permission to the Country Contact with a completed copy of the Travel Outside District 5190 Authorization form. Here is the Travel Authorization form. When a positive response is received back from the Country Contact, forward the entire email thread and the Travel Outside District 5190 Authorization form to Guy LeaseJon Greene, and Tim Lukas.

The information required on the request for permission to the natural parents and on the Travel Outside District 5190 Authorization form includes:

  • Dates of trip leaving and return
  • Itinerary/Destination
  • Means of transportation
  • Names of adults accompanying student on trip
  • Lodging and sleeping arrangements
  • Contact telephone number(s)

Travel outside of the 48 contiguous United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, Mexico, Canada and all other destinations will require the additional approvals and possibly more time for the approval.  Those permissions required include the natural parents, host family, counselor, the country contact, possibly the host Rotary Club, and Guy Lease.

Exchange student may not travel to their home except for a major family emergency. Before they leave the country  for any reason, there must be a confirmation that the student’s passport has a Multiple Entry visa status or they risk not being allowed back into the country.

Travel blackouts for students include personal travel that conflicts with mandatory orientations or the District Conference. Students traveling within District 5190 with a Rotarian from District 5190 or an adult member of their host family do not need to notify anyone but it is a good idea to notify the counselor anyway. For purposes of these requirements, an adult is someone who is 21 years of age or older.

Travel in small (private, non-commercial) airplanes is not encouraged and permission must be given in advance by the natural parents, the counselor, the President of the hosting club.  Guy Lease must also provide his permission.

In general, RYE students will not be allowed to travel unaccompanied while staying in District 5190 except locally. This unaccompanied travel would include traveling in a car with a minor driver not allowed to drive without adult supervision or unaccompanied pubic transportation that has not been reviewed and approved by the host family and Counselor to be a necessary part of the student’s daily travel requirements. Guy Lease must approve any such travel.

In the case of the student traveling to another location without the host family to meet an approved adult(s), it is the responsibility of the host parents to verify all plans, itineraries and details of the travel, and the host parents and the counselor must approve the individual meeting the student at the other end of the journey, and that individual may be required to have a background check before the approval is given.

Time frames for approval must be reasonable; that is, allowing two weeks for all the approvals is usually a safe time frame.

Download this general guideline for RYE Travel Authorizations.