Travel

Our guests will fly in from dozens of nations and every corner of the world. This page contains information you will need to plan your travel.

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Arrivals &
Departures

Travelers originating outside of the Americas must arrive on flights landing on August 5 or 6. Guests traveling from North America or South America may arrive on August 6 or on flights landing before 12 PM on August 7.

Guests may depart on flights taking off after 1 PM on August 13 or anytime August 14.

Any guest arriving early or departing on these dates will also receive complimentary airport hotel accommodations. Especially for families with young children traveling across time zones, we suggest arriving 2 days early to make the time zone adjustment.

Air Travel & Transport

There are no costs to attend Homeward except personal travel expenses. All guests must fly into and out of Cancun International Airport (CUN). We will provide complimentary roundtrip shuttle service from the airport (or airport hotel).

Entry in Mexico

All guests must provide proof of authorization to enter Mexico as part of our invitation process. Your registration cannot be secured until we confirm your entry authorization and air travel.

Visa Exemptions: Holders of certain passports, permanent residencies, and visas are permitted to enter Mexico without a visa. All others must obtain a Mexican visa; please begin the application process as soon as possible.

Required Documentation: When entering Mexico, be prepared to present your valid passport (not passport card), visa (if not exempt), proof of financial means, hotel confirmation, and return flight. Even though Mexico does not require your passport to be valid beyond your intended stay, many airlines will not permit you to board a flight unless your passport has at least 6 months validity.

Visa Exemptions

Citizens and permanent residents of the United States, United Kingdom, EU Schengen Area, Canada, Japan, Colombia, Chile, and Peru do not need a visa to enter Mexico.

Furthermore, holders of visitor visas to the United States (B1/B2), United Kingdom (C), Canada, Japan, and EU Schengen Area (C) may enter Mexico if the visitor visa is stamped in a valid passport, is a multi-visit visa, and the visa is valid during the entire stay in Mexico.

If your country is not listed above, you may still be allowed to enter without a visa. Check the Mexican government’s latest visa guidance and your local Mexican Embassy to confirm visa requirements.

All other guests require a visitor visa to enter Mexico. Please apply for a visa at your nearest Mexican Embassy. Visa applicants will apply for tourism visas.

Travel Funding

We understand that the cost of airfare may be prohibitive to certain invitees. Therefore, we have set aside certain funds to provide travel assistance. Funding will be based on each family’s ministry context and financial need. Travel funding requests are separate from the conference invitation.

We encourage invitees to first seek God in faith for travel funds, check with their own networks or sending churches, and only apply for our travel funding as a last resort.

We will typically not grant travel funding to invitees with existing income and/or assets which we believe to be sufficient to fund travel to Homeward, even if the applicant prefers to use their existing resources for other purposes. Lastly, families based in Asia and Australia will typically not receive travel funding if one or more members of the family do not have an existing US visa, since most air routes from these regions transit through the US.

When & How to Apply

Travel funding is one of the last steps of the registration process and is only available after an invitation is issued. Please note that we prioritize invitees based on the following:

  • Long tenure as full-time missionaries on the field, typically 10+ years.

  • Strong focus on personal contact evangelism and outreach

  • Missionaries operating in remarkably difficult environments

  • Missionaries traveling from overseas

  • Families who have not previously received travel funding

As you are preparing to apply, please collect your last few income tax filings and your recent bank statements. You will be asked to report your income and assets, with substantiation for both.

What It Covers

Travel funding covers airfare from your nearest international hub airport. You may still need regional flights to reach your nearest hub. Your preferred airport may not be offered. We will not offer flights on regional airlines or small airlines which do not conform to western safety certifications and standards. Funding will not cover ancillary expenses other than airfare.

FAQs

Will you cover other travel expenses in addition to airfare?

Travel support, if offered, will apply only to airfare from the nearest international hub airport. Funding is not available for these additional expenses like visa applications or regional travel. However, we do estimate your additional costs when determining the amount of travel support to offer.

Will travel funding impact my application for Homeward Conference?

No, invitation decisions are “need-blind” and issued independently from travel funding. In fact, you will not apply for travel support or provide any financial information to us until after the invitation phase.

How is travel funding determined?

We make every effort to determine appropriate funding amounts by understanding your financial situation and ministry context.