Before You Invite an International Speaker: 8 Checks Every Organisation Should Make
The invitation goes out, the programme is announced, and then somebody asks about the visa. Here are the eight questions to settle first, wherever your organisation is based.
Written for: churches, ministries, conference organisers and nonprofits inviting international guests
Inviting a minister, speaker, artist or special guest from another country involves more than sending an invitation letter and booking a flight.
Whether your organisation is in London, Lagos, Toronto, Dallas, Paris, Nairobi, Singapore or elsewhere, the same problems tend to appear.
The invitation goes out. The programme is announced. Flights are discussed. Then somebody asks about the visa, the honorarium, the transit route or another organisation that wants to add the guest to its programme.
By then, commitments may already have been made.
Earlier this summer, MAJ Travel Concierge® coordinated one programme involving 13 travellers arriving from several countries, on different airlines, through two London airports over several weeks.
Here are the eight questions we want settled before international guest travel is committed.
1. What exactly are you inviting them to do?
Start with the activity, not the visa name.
Preaching at one service, speaking at a conference, performing at a concert, leading meetings for several weeks and temporarily taking on responsibilities within an organisation are different activities.
The same person travelling to the same country may need a different immigration route depending on what they are actually being asked to do.
Write the programme down first.
If the programme changes materially, check the position again.
2. Are you paying them?
Do not leave this question until the final service.
An honorarium, speaking fee, performance fee, offering or other payment can affect both immigration and tax.
Genuine travel, accommodation and reasonable subsistence may be treated differently from paying somebody because they preached, spoke or performed.
And the name you give the money does not necessarily determine what it is.
Calling a payment a gift, offering or blessing does not automatically change its character if it is being given because of the service provided.
Decide the money before the invitation goes out.
3. Does the guest already have other invitations?
This is increasingly common.
A minister may make one international journey and visit several unrelated churches or organisations while in the country.
Your interest here is not the guest's diary.
It is cost. One journey, several hosts, and one airfare that somebody has to pay for.
There is no general rule requiring every organisation to buy a separate ticket or divide the cost equally.
One organisation might purchase the international flight. Another might provide accommodation. A third might arrange ground transport.
What matters is that the whole journey makes sense.
Where costs are being shared, each host needs to know which part it is carrying: the flight, the accommodation, the ground transport, or none of them.
Agree that at the start and record it, before anyone books anything.
The same airfare should not be reimbursed several times.
More importantly, one organisation's invitation should not describe a materially different trip from the programme actually taking place.
Your invitation should describe your own part of the visit accurately, which means knowing whether the trip is longer than your programme.
Where your organisation pays the guest, your payment may carry its own immigration, tax or withholding questions. That is yours to check, not the guest's to report.
Do not plan the travel costs in isolation when more than one host is involved in the same journey.
4. What does the guest's passport require?
The destination is only half the question.
Nationality matters too.
One traveller may require a visa before travel. Another may be visa exempt but still need an electronic travel permission. Another may already hold valid immigration status that changes the planning.
Previous travel does not automatically answer the question either. Rules change, passports change and previous permission may have expired.
Confirm the actual passport being used for this trip.
5. Does the journey itself create another problem?
Check every country the traveller will pass through, not only the final destination.
A cheaper routing can introduce a transit visa or electronic permission requirement.
Changing airports during a connection can create another problem entirely.
Separate tickets can also leave the traveller exposed if the first flight is delayed and the second airline has no responsibility for the missed journey.
The lowest fare is not necessarily the lowest risk.
Look at the whole route before buying the ticket.
6. Does the invitation letter match the real trip?
The invitation should clearly state who is travelling, why they are coming, the dates, the location, what they will actually do, who is paying the travel costs and whether any other payment has been agreed.
It should describe the trip that is actually happening.
The same applies outside the letter.
Your event programme, website, flyer, social media announcement and the guest's own publicity should not present materially different versions of the visit.
If the guest has several engagements with different organisations, make sure the wider itinerary has been considered rather than allowing each organisation to prepare its invitation in isolation.
7. Have you allowed enough time?
Do not work backwards from the cheapest airfare.
Visa appointments, biometrics, document requests, additional checks and previous immigration history can all affect timing.
Even where an official processing time looks short, the organisation still needs time to gather documents, correct mistakes and respond if something changes.
Where possible, settle the entry position before making significant non refundable commitments or building the entire event around one international arrival.
Starting early gives you choices.
Starting late gives you expensive decisions.
8. What happens if the guest does not arrive?
Decide this before travel day.
Who can authorise another flight?
Who contacts the hotel and driver?
Who communicates with the guest?
Who updates leadership?
Who takes the platform if the guest cannot arrive?
A contingency plan does not mean you expect the journey to fail.
It means one travel problem does not become an event crisis.
Your international speaker checklist
- We know exactly what the guest will do
- We have checked whether those activities are permitted
- We have confirmed the actual passport and nationality being used
- We know whether a visa, electronic permission or other entry document is required
- We have decided whether the guest will receive a fee, honorarium, offering or other payment
- We know who is paying for the flight, accommodation, transport and other expenses
- If several organisations are involved, we have recorded who is responsible for what
- If the trip covers more than one host, we know which costs each host is carrying
- We have checked the proposed transit route
- The invitation accurately describes the visit
- The programme and publicity are consistent with the planned activities
- We have allowed enough time before making major travel commitments
- One named person owns the travel plan
- Finance understands any payment, tax or withholding questions that need checking
- We have a contingency plan if the guest is delayed or cannot travel
You do not need to become an immigration expert
Somebody just needs to ask the right questions early enough.
MAJ Travel Concierge® supports churches, ministries and organisations managing international speaker and ministry travel, including route planning, fare rules, flight coordination, accommodation, ground movement and disruption support.
We help organisations look at the journey as a whole, identify travel and entry questions early and recognise when something needs to be confirmed with an official authority or regulated professional before commitments are made.
Let MAJ help you coordinate the journey before the bookings begin.
Inviting a speaker specifically to the United Kingdom?
Read our UK visa and timing guide: Inviting a Speaker to Preach in the UK
This resource provides general travel operations guidance. Immigration, tax and entry requirements vary according to destination, nationality, proposed activity, payment arrangements and individual circumstances. Check the current official requirements for the specific traveller and obtain regulated professional advice where necessary.