FAQ Page

Your registration fee covers our services regarding visa requirements, all related printed materials as well as links to documents or forms that may be available online. Detailed step-by-step instructions are provided to assist students and parents in completing the visa application and all necessary attachments that need to be included.

Once a student registers with Tzell at www.tzellyouthexchange.com the student will
receive an email confirmation and have access to the student portal that provides
instructions on how to obtain a student visa and a list of required documents that needs to be included with the application.

This will be posted into the students Tzell account between April-May at the earliest.

The Consulates do not update us on visa requirements for summer departures until
then. Do not expect to receive any information from Tzell until mid-April, however, you are more than welcome to email us if you have any questions, or if you need to update your contact information.

The registration fee is $249 per student.

Our Registration Process opens March 11, 2024

The honest answer is that we don’t know! Once you have been accepted into the Rotary program and have been given a country assignment, you and your parents will sign this form and your Rotary Chair or Country Contact will send it to your host country. This document must pass over MANY desks before it is sent back to the US, so it is a time-consuming process. BE PATIENT! Once this form is received by Rotary here in the U.S., an original will be sent to us and a photocopy sent to you. If you receive an original, please contact Tzell Park Avenue and let us know!

Check your deadline date on your requirement sheets for the due date for your documents.

The length of time it takes to receive a visa will depend on the country you are going to and what consulate you will apply for your visa through. Consulates are “jurisdictional”, which means that certain offices will accept applications from residents of certain states only. Some visas will be issued in a matter of 3 or 4 days, and others can take up to 3 whole months to be issued. There is nothing Tzell Park Avenue can do to rush the visa in most cases, so please adhere to the document deadline date set so that you have a better chance of departing on time.

All documents for your visa MUST be typed unless you are specifically told otherwise by your agent at Tzell Park Avenue.

Some Consulates ask that applicants appear in person before them at their office. PERSONAL APPEARANCES ARE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONSULATE, NOT OF Tzell Park Avenue. If it is necessary for you to make a personal appearance, there is nothing we can do to waive this for you. Your requirement sheets will tell you if a visit to the Consulate is necessary, although you should keep in mind that requirements change constantly and the Consulates always have the right to request a personal visit at any time.

Tzell Park Avenue does not set departure dates, your Rotary district in your host country determines this. Most of you will be asked to arrive approximately 2 weeks prior to the start date of school. In some cases, the date Tzell Park Avenue is given for your departure differs from the date you are given when your host family or host District Chair gets in touch with you for the first time. If this is the case, please contact your agent at Tzell Park Avenue immediately so that we may make the appropriate arrangements for you.

You will only be sent an itinerary for your air tickets once we have received your visa or we have confirmation that a visa will be received in time to travel on your intended date.

Once your tickets have been purchased, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to send your FULL itinerary to your host Rotary Club Counselor, District Chair and first host family. It would also be wise for you to send this info to your local Rotary Chair and / or Country Contact.

Whether you travel alone, with another student or with a group of students will largely depend on what country you are going to. There are some countries that require that all students, no matter what country they are from, arrive on one day or within a specific time-frame, in which case you will most likely be traveling with other students. Other countries leave it up to the student, their family and the first host family to decide on a date of arrival, in which case you more then likely will be traveling alone. We call this an “independent departure”. Please check your country’s specific document requirement sheets for your target departure date.

The exact cost of your airfare will depend on what country you are traveling to and from where in the US your trip will originate. Once your visa is received your Tzell Park Avenue agent will email you with an itinerary and invoice for your airfare, unless your District has already collected this fee from you.

We accept MASTERCARD, VISA or AMERICAN EXPRESS credit cards, personal checks, money orders or cashier’s checks.

No. Frequent flyer mile tickets typically do not meet Rotary requirements. Usually the airlines allot for only a few seats on each plane for frequent flier tickets, and these seats sell out quickly. If it became necessary for you to come home in an emergency, you may not be able to find space on a plane which would cause you to purchase a (very expensive) one-way ticket home.

Typically, tickets found on the internet do not meet Rotary requirements. They usually are only valid from one year from the date of purchase, not from the date of travel and you would need to purchase them very far in advance to take advantage of the low fares offered.

The general rule is that you will be able to check in two bags that weigh no more then 50 pounds each, with dimensions no higher then 64 linear inches (a total of 64 inches when you add the height, length and width of the bag). However, some smaller U.S. and foreign carriers and planes may allow less then that. Tzell Park Avenue will provide you with packing tips in your departure packet which will help you learn how to avoid packing too much to eliminate the worry of having to pay for extra bags and excess weight..

Our normal hours of operation are from 830am to 5pm EST, Monday through Thursday. However, during the summer months (typically June 15th through August 15th) we have extended hours of operation: 830am to 7pm EST Monday through Thursday, 830am to 5pm Fridays and 9am to 1pm Saturdays.

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