Business Trips

Employment agreements normally stipulate the city, which is considered the workplace for all HSE employees.

Please note that travelling without formally documenting your absence can only be done on:

public holidays;
days off (this should not be confused with annual leave).

The formal procedures in place at HSE for documenting absence from the workplace on a workday as a registered leave, or a business trip, need to be completed in advance in order to comply with Russian migration regulations, as well as the University’s internal bylaws.

Please make sure to follow the formal procedures no matter what funds are used to cover your business trip expenses.

Business Trip Guidelines for Internationally Recruited HSE University Tenure-track and Tenured Faculty

Before your business trip

A request form should be completed at least 30 days prior to the intended date of travel; Note! In addition, an official invitation letter and a memo from your supervisor should be attached. The invitation must contain the following details: purpose of visit, name and location of event, dates, participation fee details and which expenses (if any) are covered by the hosting party/ colleague.
HSE University Centre for International Faculty Support shall consult with the Accounting Office and confirm the required amount of funding corresponds with the avaliable Research Fund budget (it may take 3-5 business days); Note! HSE University is obligated to include per diems in the business travel calculations unless the hosting party/ colleague does this.
A travel assignment form is then processed by the appropriate faculty coordinator. Based on this document, a business trip directive is issued. The process for formalising a business trip usually takes up to 2 weeks.

An advance payment for travel expenses can be received if the procedure below is followed:

the relevant coordinator is informed 45 days prior to the business trip;
after budget approval, a travel assignment form is processed by the coordinator (this may take up to 5 business days);
a business trip directive shall be issued by the HR Department based on the travel assignment form (this may take up to 5 business days) and assigned a reference number;
an advance payment request should be submitted to First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev (it should contain the reference number of the business trip directive);
after the advance payment request is signed by First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev, it should be submitted to the Accounting Office (10 days prior to your business trip).

The advance payment shall be transferred to your bank account within 3-5 days from the date of the advance payment form’s submission.

An advance payment request template can be downloaded here.

During your business trip
Please make sure to follow registration guidelines for travelling across Russia and outside the country.

All reporting documents should be collected for future reimbursement and/ or for reporting on expenses if an advance payment has been provided.

Note! We strongly recommend that you review the list of reporting documents before going on business trips.
Please note that all expenses paid by third parties (including spouses) cannot be reimbursed.

After your business trip

Please make sure to follow registration requirements for those returning from trips across Russia and those coming back from abroad.

Travel expenses shall be reimbursed after your business trip is completed and all reporting documents are submitted to HSE’s Accounting Office.

The reporting documents with their translation into Russian should be submitted to the Accounting Office as soon as possible after your return – preferably on the first day of your arrival. The official deadline for submitting documents for reimbursement to the Accounting Office is 3 business days after returning from the business trip. At the end of the calendar year, please make sure that you submit the reporting documents not later than December 10, or it will be reimbursed out of the next year’s budget. Please ask a faculty coordinator(s) for assistance.
The reimbursement shall be transferred to your specified bank account after the Accounting Office processes the reporting documents.

For more details, please see 'Regulations governing business trip assignments for employees of National Research University - Higher School of Economics' at https://hr.hse.ru/localforeign (Fifth document and annexes to it in 'Local regulations' section).

Business Trip Guidelines for Internationally Recruited HSE University Postdocs

Before your business trip

A request form should be completed at least 30 days prior to the indended date of travel; Note! HSE is obliged to include per diems in travel calculations unless the hosting party/colleagues does this.
HSE University Centre for International Faculty Support shall consult with the Accounting Office and confirm the required amount of funding corresponds with the avaliable Research Fund budget (it may take 3-5 business days); Note! HSE University is obligated to include per diems in the business travel calculations unless the hosting party/ colleague does this.
A travel assignment form is then processed by the appropriate faculty coordinator. Based on this document, a business trip directive is issued. The process for formalising a business trip usually takes up to 2 weeks.

An advance payment for travel expenses can be received if the procedure below is followed:

the relevant coordinator is informed 45 days prior to the business trip;
after budget approval, a travel assignment form is processed by the coordinator (this may take up to 5 business days);
a business trip directive shall be issued by the HR Department based on the travel assignment form (this may take up to 5 business days) and assigned a reference number;
an advance payment request should be submitted to First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev (it should contain the reference number of the business trip directive);
after the advance payment request is signed by First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev, it should be submitted to the Accounting Office (10 days prior to your business trip).

The advance payment shall be transferred to your bank account within 3-5 days from the date of the advance payment form’s submission.

An advance payment request template can be downloaded here.

During your business trip
Please make sure to follow registration guidelines for travelling across Russia and outside the country.

All reporting documents should be collected for future reimbursement and/ or for reporting on expenses if an advance payment has been provided.

Note! We strongly recommend that you review the list of reporting documents before going on business trips.
Please note that all expenses paid by third parties (including spouses) cannot be reimbursed.

After your business trip

The reporting documents with their translation into Russian should be submitted to the Accounting Office as soon as possible after your return – preferably on the first day of your arrival. The official deadline for submitting documents for reimbursement to the Accounting Office is 3 business days after returning from the business trip. At the end of the calendar year, please make sure that you submit the reporting documents not later than December 10, or it will be reimbursed out of the next year’s budget. Please ask a faculty coordinator(s) for assistance.
The reimbursement shall be transferred to your specified bank account after the Accounting Office processes the reporting documents.

Reporting Documents for Reimbursement

All expenses should be paid using one’s personal bank card. Expenses made through someone else’s bank cards CANNOT be reimbursed.
All documents proving payments should contain accurate payment references and bank card details.
Bank statements issued by Russian banks must feature a signature and seal.
In order to receive reimbursement, a memo for transferring money to the employee’s bank account must be submitted. The template can be found here.
An employee will only be reimbursed for those expenses that are supported by authentic documents. Please refer below for the reimbursement rules.

AT THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU SUBMIT THE REPORTING DOCUMENTS NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 10 OR your expenses WILL BE REIMBURSED OUT OF THE NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET.

Expenses	Paid in cash/by bank card in person	Purchased online	Helpful information
Per diem	Scanned copies of: the main page of a passport; current visa; passport pages with entry and exit stamps from both the Russian Federation and the county of destination.		A per-diem is provided by HSE on a compulsory basis, unless a hosting party/ colleague does this. If a hosting party/ colleague provides per-diems, an invitation letter stating this fact should be submitted. The daily living costs depend on the destination country. Please see the business travel per diem list. NB! If you only claim per-diem expenses, please make sure to also keep boarding passes and submit them to the Accounting Office.
Travel	plane tickets and boarding passes OR train tickets; cashier's receipt; sales receipt.	plane tickets and boarding passes OR electronic train tickets; bank statement.	Plane and train tickets may be reimbursed only when travelling from/to a city of employment. Employee travel on a business trip from and/or to a vacation destination (or short-term sabbatical leave) cannot be covered. Only economy class plane tickets can be reimbursed.
Accommodation	HOTEL invoice; cashier’s receipt.	HOTEL electronic booking confirmation OR payment confirmation; invoice OR an equivalent document confirming stay at the hotel; bank statement.	HOTEL Only a stay in a single standard room in an economy class hotel can be reimbursed. Confirmation of stay documents should contain the following information: hotel name; your full name; total number of guests (must not exceed one person); dates of check-in and check-out; cost of stay; means of payment.
Accommodation	RENTED APARTMENT (e.g., Airbnb) Payment to an agency: original rental agreement signed by two parties; sales receipt (must contain your name and the dates of stay). Payment to a host: original rental agreement signed by two parties; note signed by the host confirming payment; a scanned copy of the main passport page with the photo and a signature.	electronic agreement; electronic receipt; bank statement.	A stay at a private apartment must be approved by First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev.
Registration fee, membership fee	sales receipt; cashier’s receipt.	electronic payment confirmation; bank statement.	NB! Membership fee reimbursement must be first discussed with the Accounting Office and then - approved by First Vice Rector Vadim Radaev. Please consult your coordinator on the possibility. Membership fee can only be reimbursed if it is a mandatory payment for a participation and does not exceed 1 year of membership. Invoice (sales receipt/ electronic payment confirmation) should contain the following information: your full name; title of the event; cost of the fee; means of payment.
Medical insurance	sales receipt; cashier’s receipt; health insurance policy.	electronic health insurance policy; bank statement.	Travel abroad insurance is available under a private health insurance plan as an additional option offered by 'Soglasie' free of charge. Insured amount EUR 50,000. Territory of coverage – all countries of the world. Travel abroad insurance is issued once a year and is valid during all the year. For more information, please visit the webpage Health Insurance.
Visa expenses	an invoice or sales receipt, OR an equivalent document specifying payment reference; cashier’s receipt; scanned copy of your visa.	invoice; bank statement; scanned copy of your visa.	Extended fees for urgent visa issuance cannot be reimbursed. If you are using a commercial visa service, a receipt specifying payment reference and a cashier’s receipt must be submitted.

For more details, please see 'Regulations governing business trip assignments for employees of National Research University - Higher School of Economics' at https://hr.hse.ru/localforeign (6th document and annexes to it in 'Local regulations' section).