State of the Map/Planning/Supporting scholars
To do.
Travel policies set by the State of the Map working group
Periods of extended stay
It is possible for scholars to extend their stay if:
- it does not inversely impact their travel visa process or otherwise put at risk the likelihood of them attending SotM;
- it does not increase costs to OSMF (e.g. the flight home must be a similar or cheaper price, or the difference covered by the scholar);
- the scholar pays for all costs (e.g. hotels, etc) incurred during the extra days; and
- the extended stay is does not exceed our fair use allowance, thereby bringing in to question whether the applicant even needed a scholarship in the first place.
Scholars need to state clearly what date they want their flight to depart and what date they want to arrive back. They should look on flight checker websites if they are unclear of the options. We will then try to book something that fits with this.
Return travel
Travel must be a round trip from/to the same location. An alternate return airport is permit-able only if in close proximity to the original (e.g. the next nearest international airport) and is for the purpose of easing travel arrangements only. Travel to a different airport is taken to imply that there is another business or event that you want to visit at that location. The OpenStreetMap Foundation is only able to support costs related to the State of the Map conference.
Travel insurance
When this is required we typically work with our selected travel agent to provide it for the duration of the visit. An alternate option is to use AXA-Schengen for Schengen zone (Europe) events or World Nomads.
If looking for alternatives please note that European cover is not sufficient if the starting point is outside of Europe. Furthermore not all insurance companies cover all nationalities or all starting countries.
Proof of flight reservation
For those scholar who need a visa many countries ask to see a flight reservation, itinerary or ticket. This creates a chicken and egg situation - if the visa is not granted then money is wasted on a flight that cannot be used. There appears to be a few options available:
- Book a flight that is fully refundable.
- This is the best option that complies with all visa requirements. Such a flight may not be possible or may come with a higher price.
- Use a travel agent that can issue flight reservation (or flight itinerary) before confirmation and final payment.
- This option was the one we used for State of the Map 2016 in Brussels (Schengen travel zone). The travel agent issued flight tickets with a reservation number that we indicative only. Some people call it dummy booking but it’s actually a real booking except you didn’t pay for the full price yet because it was just a reservation. Once visas had been issued an actual flight booking was made and paid for. This often used different flights than the original indicative booking.
- Use a "Hold" facility on a flight booking.
- Services such as FindMyFare and Yatra allow you to place a flight "on hold" prior to making a payment. Although we have not yet used this service it appears to allow you to generate a flight itinerary with reservation number before making any payments. These can be cancelled at anytime. Some airline website also allow you to make an "on hold" booking. Look for a 6 digit reservation. You may even be able to confirm this via the airline website or (depending upon which reservation system has been used) CheckMyTrip (Amadeus), ViewTrip (Galileo), or VirtuallyThere (SABRE).
- Use a paid service.
- There are numerous websites that allow you to buy a "flight reservation" for the purpose of the visa process. Beware, this seems to be getting into some risky practices. We have not used this and we do not recommend using this.
Obtaining a visa
Here are links to official visa advise:
| Destination | Official visa advise | Location of embassies |
|---|---|---|
| Schengen area | European Commission: Migration and home affairs | EC: Where to apply, Excel file |
| Italy | See 'Schengen area'. Also Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Italian Ministry: Visa for Italy |
| Argentina | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Travel to visa issuing embassy
For those scholars who require a Visa to travel to State of the Map, we regret to inform you that we are not able to pay for your travel to the embassy. We will however pay the cost of issuing the visa. For many, travelling to the embassy will be low cost - it may even be in the same city as you. For a small minority, you may need to travel abroad to an embassy in nearby country. We hope that by holding State of the Map in a different country each year, easy access to an embassy would be possible at least once every 3 years. If this is not the case please notify us so that we can consider other options.
See also
- Handy tool to check visa and passport (minimum number of months before expiration) requirements. And to check transit visas and health requirements.
- Flight comparison site Skyscanner (good prices), or Kayak (higher prices but very customisable).