Short Term Rotary Youth Exchange Program - STEP

This program of Rotary Districts promotes family to family interaction across cultural lines. You will be going overseas and spending from 3 weeks to 2 months with one family. Then you will bring your host brother or sister back to your home for an equal amount of time.

Some Rotary Districts make all the contacts with both their counterpart Rotarians and the host family. Other Rotary Districts, make your placement with their counterpart Rotarian in your host country only. In either case they will then provide you with e-mail and/or phone information about the host family, and you and your parents then make contact directly with the family and start negotiating: who goes first, and which airlines to use, and just generally begin getting to know each other.

It’s Your World—Travel! has had extensive experience with this program so here is information and procedures to help you.

Passport

YES, you will need a passport, if you don’t have one, click on PASSPORT in the menu bar above. Read through the information and then link to your government's website to begin the Passport process. If you already have a passport, make sure that it WILL NOT EXPIRE for at least 6 months after your intended return.

Visa

You will be travelling on a Tourist Visa. The United States and Canada maintain a ‘visa waiver’ program meaning for most countries you may go to, you will not have to apply to that government for a visa, it’s issued automatically when you get off the plane and enter immigration in your host country. There are still some countries, where you must first have a Tourist Visa issued into your passport. We will advise you when we have contact from you if you’re on the ‘visa waiver program’ or if we will have to get your passport visaed.

Host Guarantee

Forms and Docs

Airline Tickets

When you have settled on dates for your exchange, then it is imperative that you contact us at It’s Your World—Travel! We will need all three dates, (ie when you go there, when you come back, when your host brother/sister returns to their home). We will then prepare an itinerary for you showing all flights so that your counterpart can fly in one direction with you. We will also quote prices for you and your counterpart. It is not necessary that your counterpart purchase from It’s Your World—Travel! They may purchase these flights locally in their country, but they will have the cost in their local currency so they can compare prices. Your counterpart may also send you itineraries of possible flight choices. It is extremely important that neither party purchase the airline tickets until we have had a chance to see if matching their suggestions would put your family at an untoward cost. So, if you receive any itineraries from your counterpart, forward them immediately to us at It’s Your World—Travel! so we can advise you of the cost of their suggested itinerary. If one party purchases airline tickets without advising their counterpart, it may result in not flying in one direction together.

Your local Rotary District has probably decided you must or has strongly advised you to purchase your tickets from It’s Your World—Travel! This is because of our exhaustive experience with the program, and the fact that Rotarians have my personal phone numbers, so that if problems arise enroute, we can be contacted to resolve the situation 24 hours a day.

Parents Permission

This is a form that It’s Your World—Travel! provides to you when the tickets are issued. It is mandatory that this form be signed and notarized not more than 3-4 days prior to your departure. Your parents may edit the form to be more liberal or restrictive. Because of your young age, authorities and especially airlines may challenge you as to why you are leaving this country or why you are in a foreign country without your parents. Having this form securely attached to your passport, will prevent an airline or government official from sending you home prematurely. This has happened to other students who failed to bring this form with them.