Editing ICIQ Procedures (section)

== '''TRAVEL PROCEDURES''' ==

Check a PDF with this name on our Aliga Shared Folder -> users_area -> ICIQ FORMS

All registrations, flight/train/hotel reservations have to be made through a travel agents', contact Núria Vendrell nvendrell@iciq.es

Only 1 out of the 3 travel agents' we can work with does registrations and they're always very busy. Anything we ask them usually takes a week, so '''it won't be possible to register for conferences when the registration deadline is too near. Plan in advance!'''

Only 1 checked-in suitcase is eligible for reimbursement. If you're going for a long secondment and need 2, you need to pay for the extra one.


'''TRAVEL EXPENSES'''


You have to give your "Travel expense form" and tickets, bills etc. (scan + hard copies) to the Núria Vendrell within 10 days after the end of your trip.

If you need to book flights, train tickets (Spain only) or hotels, ask Núria Vendrell, you can't book anything yourselves and everything is bought from a travel agents' (BCD Travel or Reed & Mackay). There're limits (prices) and procedures that we MUST follow (screenshots for flights, no train tickets on first class, for example)



Important, for "short stays abroad" (secondments), you need to ask Noèlia Flores what you need to do as every grant is different.


There's ''no need for tickets to justify meal/food/drinks expenses'', but there're '''rules''' (see (2) below)


1) Flights, train/bus tickets

All flights, long-distance, AVANT, AVE tickets, hotels have to be bought/booked through and authorised travel agents' so only Núria V. can do it.

We need tickets, invoices, boarding passes and train tickets. When using public transport, take a photo of your ticket in case the validating machine "swallows" it. No ticket = no reimbursement.

If you use "virtual" (not on paper) tickets, then proof of payment (credit card statement) is needed.



2) So the '''rules''':

- There's a set maximum amount of money that you can spend daily depending on countries (Spanish Ministry of Economy / European Union limits, not ICIQ's). We'll call it "daily allowance". You can see the amounts here [[Image:Accommodation_limits_&_limits_for_meals_per_day_per_country_2024.pdf]]

- That daily allowance goes towards meals/food/drinks and other expenses you can't prove you had (lost transport tickets, illegible tickets etc)



- If the congress / workshop etc includes meals (you'll know when you register) you can't claim a daily allowance: If lunch is included, you can claim half daily allowance to cover your dinner, if both lunches and dinners are included, no daily allowance will be accepted. 


'''NEW JULY 2025''': conference dinners are usually very expensive. ICIQ will only refund the amounts stated for that country on this list [[Image:Accommodation_limits_&_limits_for_meals_per_day_per_country_2024.pdf]] unless the total registration fee does include the dinner and we can prove it.

If you have to "opt in", pay extra etc. to get the dinner, then you have to check whether the price is within the limit per day/country, if the rpice is above the limit, you'll have to pay for the difference.

''Example 1:'' dinner in Japan 150 euro

Eligible limit for Ministry projects: 90 euro

*** you have to pay the difference: 60 euro


''Example 2:'' dinner in the USA 95 euro

Eligible limit for Ministry projects: 69.72 euro

Difference: 25.28 euro

Eligible limit for ICIQ: 100 euro

69.72 + 25.28 = 95 euro

*** you don't have to pay the difference (95 < 100)




- There's also a limit for hotel prices, that's why you need to check with Núria V.  Same list as above [[Image: Accommodation_limits_&_limits_for_meals_per_day_per_country_2024.pdf]]


- Always use public transport. If you know that the validation machine won't return your ticket, then take a photo of the ticket before using it.

 

Special attention:


- If several of you go to the same congress, try to coordinate yourselves and ask for the same flights/hotels and share rooms.

- Try to travel on the same day that the event starts / ends. If your expenses are paid from MICINN/EU funds you can travel the day before / after. If your funds come from other sources you need to prove that the cost of the flight is the same or cheaper than if you were travelling on the "accepted" dates. The expenses of hotels, meals etc. on the extra days are on you, ICIQ won't pay for them, no daily compensations either.

- If your trip includes extra days, we need a quote of the travel agents' with prices 

- Credit card receipts are NOT accepted as proof of expense, neither are handwritten receipts (taxis are an exception). This applies to restaurants, public transport etc (unless it's "virtual tickets", see above).

 [[Image:Scan-tickets.jpg]] [[Image:Scan-visa.jpg]]

- You need to provide 'flight boarding passes', train tickets, certificates of attendance and poster/oral presentation, congress programmes etc

- Train tickets that you print yourself have to be stamped by RENFE, see example here [[Image:Scan-bitllet-tren1.jpg]]


- NOT ACCEPTED EXPENSES: 

a) taxis (unless 1. you can prove there's no public transport in that area or at the time you need transport, 2. you share the taxi and the total of the bill is cheaper that the sum of individual public transport tickets)
****With the new procedure you can pay the taxi with the daily fixed amount, but only if it's really necessary and there's no other means of transport available.

b) airport parking fees (if there is no alternative because of the time you fly, then park in a "low-cost" parking lot like "Park&Fly" http://www.parkandflybcn.com/ "Aparca&Go" https://www.aparcandgo.com/en/ or "Llollo" http://www.llollo.com/llollo-landing/aeropuerto-barcelona.html?gclid=CMnUw8eDodICFQ8W0wodA4cD3w to give you some examples)

d) hotel room extra expenses (phone, laundry etc), lunches and dinners above the price limits on the lists (countries) at the end of the document in section 2) above

e) 1st class train fares ("Preferente")

You should have a spreadsheet with all your expenses divided into categories: travel, accomodation, meals (you can use the one on Aliga Shared Folder -> user_area -> IMPGRAL-001-Settlement of expenses template)


- STAYS ABROAD: Ask Noèlia. If she gives no special instructions, keep all your transport tickets. When you go to the supermarket, get tickets ONLY for food items, don't mix food with other goods (which are NOT ACCEPTED EXPENSES). Be extra careful with money exchange/ATM tickets, keep them all. Sometimes it is possible to ask for a daily allowance, as mentioned above.




'''TRAVEL INSURANCE'''

To be requested ≥ 2 weeks before you travel. You need a form signed by your supervisor Aliga Shared Folder -> users_area\ICIQ FORMS\TRAVEL INSURANCE (BEFORE TRIP)


Insurance company if you your trip was booked by BCD TRAVEL: IRIS GLOBAL - 24-hour service phone: (+34) 91 211 43 43

Insurance company if you your trip was booked by REED & MACKAY: AMERICAN EXPRESS - 24-hour service phone: (+34) 91 400 42 50

You can find the list of mishaps that the policy covers in Aliga Shared Folder -> users_area\ICIQ FORMS\TRAVEL INSURANCE (BEFORE TRIP)\INSURANCE POLICY DETAILS


'''MEDICAL COVER IN THE EU AND ASSOCIATED COUNTRIES'''

You should also request a European Health Card if you don’t have one yet (you can do it online here: https://w6.seg-social.es/solTse/Inicio ) so that you are covered in trips in the EU and associated countries. If you aren’t entitled to one you can still get a certificate from the Spanish Ministry of Social Security (Certificado Provisional Sustitutorio (CPS)). 


'''TRAVELLING TO THE USA AND THE UK'''


- '''USA:''' 

EU citizens need an ESTA authorisation. Official website (don't trust any others, lots of scammers!) https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/

NON-EU citizens: you will need a visa 


- '''UK (even if it's a stopover/connecting flights):''' 

EU citizens need an ETA authorisation. Official application website: www.gov.uk/electronictravelauthorisation 

NON-EU citizens: you will need a visa. 

Exception: travellers from the following countries only need an ETA authorisation: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan (with passport including Taiwan-issued ID number), Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, United States and Uruguay.

The ETA requirement will also impact on transit travellers, who will need to ensure that they comply with this requirement before their international connections. This could lead to delays for those who are not informed or have not arranged their clearance in advance.
Connecting travellers should consider additional time to comply with the new requirement to avoid disruption to their itineraries.




Núria V.