FAQs

Where will my child be living?

For the majority of the year, the team’s ministry is within driving distance of Glasgow. During this time they stay in 2 Parish Houses which the parishes have generously given us to use, one for the men and one for the women. When they travel further for ministry, they are accommodated in Host Homes.

Will I have access to their ministry locations?

For the year 2025 -2026, NET Scotland is offering two forms of ministry: Chaplaincy Team Support, and Retreats. You can access the team’s ministry calendar here which shows where and when they’ll be at any given school.

Does medical insurance work the same way as the USA?

No. Scotland’s health care follows the public health services of the United Kingdom called the NHS (National Health Service). When your son or daughter submits their payments for a visa, they will also be asked to pay a health surcharge. This payment will be reimbursed by NET Ministries. This healthcare surcharge gives them temporary access to the NHS whilst they are living in Scotland. All medical expenses and procedures (aside from dental) will be fully covered. This includes doctor appointments, prescription medications, and emergency visits. There is no limit of coverage. We have a retired General Practitioner (Dr. Mary Shields) on our staff. She oversees the team’s housing and medical needs. Feel free to reach out with more specific questions and concerns via email: maryshields@netscotland.org. It is recommended that your son or daughter checks with Mary about any prescription medications that may need to be filled while they are in the UK. Over the counter medications are readily available but sometimes have different brand names; feel free to ask about specific medications.

*In case of a dental emergency, your child may be required to pay out of pocket.

*Please note that the NHS coverage is only applicable within the UK. Therefore, if your child travels outside of the UK during their Christmas/Easter break, they will not be insured through the NHS. They will need to purchase additional insurance during these times.

Are we expected to pay for their flights and Visa?

Our missionaries are asked to fundraise an additional $2,000 to offset extra travel, visa and medical costs. (NET Scotland Missionaries from the USA are required to fundraise a minimum of $10,000.) By raising this minimum to $10,000, we offset the additional costs and fees: a round trip flight to Scotland, the visa application, and the health surcharge. Our missionaries are not required to pay for these items. Our fundraising is done through NET USA. Our missionaries will raise money in USD and send it to NET USA via online donations or in the mail. For UK team members we set up an online donation through CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) for them.

How will they receive money to use in Scotland for allowable expenses?

We provide our missionaries with a UK bank card which we use to pay them their monthly stipend. They will be paid £100 per month in British Pounds (GBP) If they fundraise more than the target, their stipend will increase in line with NET USA guidelines.

Money can easily be converted into GBP at banks and airports. US debit or credit cards can be used to take out money in the UK at ATMs as well. Check with your bank to see about international fees. You will also want to notify your bank about the card being used in the United Kingdom.

Christmas and Easter

The dates for the year can be found at the end of this document. We ask that your child goes home over Christmas (a three week break) as we cannot provide accommodation for the missionaries during that time. This round trip flight is not covered by NET Scotland. We will provide an all round flight leaving St Paul, Minnesota from September 2025 through May 2026. Our December retreat, January Training, and Wrap-Up Week will all take place in Glasgow. Missionaries need to be in Glasgow for all the events specified at the bottom of this document.

Our missionaries will also have a Spring break in April. Either Christmas or Spring Break are good times to visit Scotland/UK if you desire, although please note you will have to arrange accommodation.

What if our family has a wedding or funeral?

All weddings should be pre-approved by the Supervisors and the Director. A team member is not allowed to miss any of Fall Training. Team members (as a rule) are not allowed to attend weddings during the year. You may ask for an exemption from this rule for siblings, parents, or grandparents. If there is an unexpected funeral, NET Scotland cannot guarantee the team member is able to attend unless it is a parent or sibling. Case by case situations may be discussed.

What is the weather like in Scotland?

Scotland is typically chilly, overcast, and often rainy. It often feels colder than the temperature indicates due to the rain and wind. Temperature doesn’t vary greatly and usually stays between 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit.

What clothes should my child pack?

• Suitcases must meet the 50 pound requirement for flying a checked bag internationally.

• Only pack a guitar if the missionary is one of the musicians.

• Team members are required to wear their NET apparel on all retreats. (You will be provided with this during training. If you are a second year, bring what you received your first year as well).

• Due to Scottish weather, we recommend long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and cardigans for layering

• Rain jacket, rain boots (these items are bulkier items to pack and may be more convenient to purchase in the UK)

• As mentioned, Scotland is cloudy for the majority of the year. It helps to have an extra Vitamin D boost. Supplements can be purchased in the UK or brought with you.

• Sleeping bags will be provided upon arrival in Scotland, however, team members will need them during training in Minnesota. Pillows and sleeping items may be left at the NET Center in MN for the year and then picked up upon their return to Minnesota.

• Non-prescription sleep aid (such as NyQuil or Tylenol PM) is not sold over the counter in the UK. Pack these items if you are reliant on sleep aid when you’re sick.

• Electrical adapter

Tips on booking flights

You may purchase Christmas break flights at any time. Again, these flights are not reimbursed by NET Scotland. The team members can leave any time on December 13th 2025, and arrive back by noon January 3rd 2026, leaving the States on January 2nd. We recommend using price comparison websites such as skyscanner.com or kayak.com to find the best deals.

Tips on international cell phone plans

Always check with your carrier. Sprint typically has the best and cheapest international plans. Verizon tends to be more expensive. The team members do not need cell phones if they choose to not bring a phone. Two phones will be given to the Team Leaders for the duration of the year.

If the team members wish to use a smartphone during their time here, we recommend downloading an App called "WhatsApp". This app allows a completely free use of calls, texts, and video chatting with the use of WiFi. The only thing you need to use this app is an active phone number (You must have a phone plan; you cannot use a free email address). If both phones have the app downloaded, you can use this to communicate internationally without charge. If you turn your phone on airplane mode (and do not change anything on your plan in the US), you can continue to use your phone without worry of additional charges for receiving texts and phone calls.

There is also the option of purchasing a UK sim card or eSim and using a UK phone number. This would allow the team member to have data independent of wifi. Although you would still need to use whatsapp or iMessage (with other iPhones) to call or text US phone numbers to avoid charges.

Other

UK electrical outlets run on a stronger voltage and have a three flat prong shape. Team members may either choose to purchase an adapter before they arrive or purchase an adapter once in the UK. (Adapters are also almost always found in airports).

Here is a link for an adapter.

Map

Here is a map of the UK & Ireland showing the different areas

NET Scotland Team Member Dates 2025 - 26

2025

August 13 - Arrival Day

September 13 - Commissioning Mass

September 14 - Scotland Team departs from MSP

September 15 - Scotland Team arrives at GLA

September 16 - September 25 - Induction Training

September 26 - Ministry Starts

December 10 - December 12 - December Retreat

December 13 - Team departs for Christmas break

2026

January 2 - Team flies out of USA

January 3 - Team arrives back in Glasgow

January 6 - January 11 - January Training

April 6 - April 13 - Spring Break

May 25 - Wrap Up Week

May 30 - Team departs Scotland

NET Ministries Scotland Travel Policy

Date of Initial Publication: March 2023

Applicable to: all NET Scotland staff, supervisors, mission staff and team members to adhere to.

This policy was put in place to ensure the highest level of safety for all within the NET Scotland community.

Introduction

All travelers must register and receive approval for travel from the NET Scotland Director. NET

Ministries Scotland retains the right to deny permission to travel if it does not comply fully with

the standards detailed below.

1. Purpose

This policy is intended to:

• Establish clear standards to guide individuals who engage in NET Ministries Scotland business travel or other NET Scotland-sponsored travel, whether travel is domestic or international, including the personal travel of missionaries and supervisors while serving with NET Scotland.

• Support the safety of those traveling for NET Scotland business or participating in other NET Scotland sponsored travel.

• Ensure compliance with external and internal requirements and laws

2. Scope and Applicability

This policy governs any travel (as defined below) that is sponsored by NET MinistriesScotland;

undertaken as part of an individual’s NET Scotland role and responsibilities or

personal travel undertaken over the course of the year while the individual is serving as a

missionary or as mission staff with NET Scotland.

The expectations set forth in this policy apply to all NET Ministries Scotland volunteers,

mission staff and missionaries.

3. Definitions

When used in this policy, the following terms have the following meanings:

• Business means conducting any work for the benefit of NET Scotland using NET Scotland resources.

• Domestic means travel within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

• High-Risk Areas means countries or locations within countries, which carry U.K. Foreign Office warnings advising against travel.

• International means travel that is not Domestic.

• Travel means trips of any duration and any distance from the NET Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, that involve international travel, air travel or overnight accommodations for one or more nights.

4. Risk Mitigation

Prior to booking travel, NET Scotland mission staff and missionaries must:

• Register their travel with the NET Scotland Director.

• Obtain all approvals required by NET Scotland policies. N.B. Travel to or in high-risk areas as ranked by the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) is not allowed.

• Obtain all necessary travel documents, including a passport, appropriate visas and other entry requirements and documents, and proof of any required vaccinations or other medical approvals if required for international travel.

• Purchase appropriate personal travel Insurance. Please note: NET Ministries Scotland  requires all travelers to gain travel and health insurance for the duration of their trips outside the UK, noting that the health insurance (UKVI visa holders) that they have in the UK does not apply outside the UK border. Note: Health cover (NHS Surcharge) associated with their UKVI Visa is effective only while they are within the UK borders.

5. Accommodations

When booking accommodation;

• NET Ministries Scotland staff or volunteers are not permitted to share hotel rooms or private sleeping quarters with mission staff or missionaries unless they have a family relationship.

• NET Ministries Scotland staff, volunteers, mission staff and missionaries are not permitted to share exclusive (ie. only they have private access to this space) sleeping quarters (hotel rooms, youth hostels, airbnb’s etc) with individual members of the opposite sex.

• This does not apply to travelling in groups of larger than two, eg. if the team is staying all together in a certain accommodation or if 2 men and 2 women are staying together as a group.

• NET missionaries or mission staff are not permitted to approach Host Homes for accommodation at any point directly, instead they must speak to one of NET Staff to arrange any alternative accommodation. Host Homes are allocated by Mary Shields during ministry and are not normally used for holiday time.

6. Conduct

• The same conduct expectations that apply to staff, volunteers, mission staff and missionaries whilst serving with NET Scotland also apply throughout the duration of travel.

• This includes our sexual conduct policy, alcohol policy and personal conduct agreement. Missionaries will remember that they always represent NET Ministries Scotland.

• Missionaries and mission staff must travel in groups of at least three when both men and women are travelling together. When traveling in a group of two, both individuals must be of the same gender.

• Those in positions of authority have a responsibility to respond appropriately to missionaries health, well-being and emergency needs that may arise, regardless of timing. Accordingly, all parties involved are expected to conduct themselves with professionalism and maintain on-call availability throughout the period of travel.

Addendum: Travel Policy note to Parents;

As a member of the Scotland team, your child will be given the opportunity to travel throughout the UK as part of their service year. We also include an extended break over Christmas and a week-long break around Easter time in which team members are free to travel as they wish. Often the team members have gone home over Christmas and have utilized the Easter break to each pursue personal travel. Team members have gone in groups to visit cities across Europe, some have spent time at Convents or Friaries to experience religious life, some have had family members visit and travel with them through these times. We're happy for our team to take advantage of this year to experience more new cultures and fully support all these travel plans!

Points to note:

• Our policy deals with travel that team members will take throughout this year, including in their capacity as a team member and any personal travel they take. As a UK Home Office Sponsoring Agency we are responsible to the UK Government for those who have come to serve with NET Scotland on a visa. That basically means we need to know where they are and be able to answer for them from September - June.

• We have outlined that team members cannot travel in groups of two if they are of a different sex. This is a policy we have to protect the moral and emotional wellness of the team members. We encourage team members to travel in groups of at least three if both men and women are traveling together.

• You may note that we have not mentioned solo travel. Team members are allowed to travel as individuals. However, team members must submit their travel plans to NET Scotland before their trip and we do reserve the right to deny permission to travel if we deem the travel is unsafe in any way. Of course there is always safety in numbers, no matter what area of the world we're in, so we will encourage group travel as a general rule. We also submit to the personal preference of parents and guardians - a trip may be allowed by our policy but we will always encourage team members to discuss their travel plans with parents and guardians first to ensure your agreement before they take a trip.

• UK medical insurance which comes with the UK Visa only applies to team members while they are resident in the UK. If they travel to Europe they must arrange additional medical / travel insurance for the duration of their travel.