Reimbursement of expenses for business trips abroad
If you travel abroad for your work, you are entitled to reimbursement of expenses for lodging, meals, minor expenditure, and transport with the approval of the institute.The amount reimbursed depends on the country you travel to. If you book your business trip via UniGlobe, you do not need to advance the money for your trip.
To make a business trip abroad, you need prior permission from the University. Make sure you apply for authorisation no later than 8 weeks before your trip. Read more >>
Allowance
If you receive a travel allowance from a party other than the University, this will be deducted from the sum for which you may claim.
You can claim the following expenses when travelling abroad:
- If you travel by train, you may travel first class and will be reimbursed for this.
- If you travel by another form of public transport or by boat or plane, you must travel in the lowest, but safest, class of travel. The cost of this will be reimbursed. If you wish to travel in a higher class, for instance on health grounds, you must request permission beforehand. If you are granted permission, the relevant cost will be reimbursed. Such permission is only granted in exceptional cases.
- We want you to travel in the most sustainable way possible. The University therefore decided that trips of six hours or less must be taken by train rather than plane.
- If you travel using your own vehicle or by taxi or rental car, you will be reimbursed as long as you have permission to use this form of transport. The allowances and conditions are the same as apply to travel in the Netherlands. Do not forget to keep a logbook of your kilometres and to add this to your claim.
- We reimburse accommodation costs, meals and small expenses. There are fixed reimbursement rates for these costs and you must meet a number of conditions.
The Dutch government establishes the amount reimbursed (in Dutch). This amount depends on the country you travel to and consists of five components:
- Hour component for minor expenditure for every hour of the business trip
- Lodging component if your trip includes an overnight stay
- Breakfast component
- Lunch component
- Evening meal component
Conditions
You are entitled to reimbursement of your expenses for breakfast, lunch and evening meals tax-free and irrespective of the amount, as long as the following conditions are met:
- You must have actually incurred these expenses in an establishment intended for the purpose.
- You do not need to submit receipts for your expenses.
- Your business trip should include breakfast time (between 6.00 and 8.00 hrs), lunch time (between 12.00 and 14.00 hrs) and dinner time (between 18.00 and 21.00 hrs).
- If your business trip requires you to spend more than 60 days in one location, the reimbursed amount for minor expenditure, breakfast, lunch, and evening meals will be halved starting from the 61st day.
Hour component
You do not need to submit receipts for the hour component, and you are entitled to an hour component for minor expenditure for every hour of your business trip. The amount reimbursed will be halved starting from the 61st day if your business trip lasts longer than 60 days.
Accommodation component
You are required to submit receipts for the lodging component. You can claim your expenses via Self Service. The maximum amount reimbursed per night can be found in the tariff list (in Dutch).
Submit your expense claims
- You can submit your travel and accommodation expenses via Self Service.
- Log on to Remote Workplace.
- Choose SAP Self Service.
- Submit your claim as soon as possible but no more than three months after the end of the calendar year.
- Ensure that you have an electronic copy of your proof or purchase, for instance an original receipt, before you submit your claim.
- Before making a business trip, arrange permission from your manager. Your activity holder and budget holder must approve your claim.
Expense claims if you are not employed by the University >>
Book your trip via UniGlobe
Book your business trip abroad via UniGlobe. UniGlobe will send their invoice directly to Leiden University, so you don’t need to worry about it.
If you book your business trip abroad by train with another travel agency, then you may request an advance via Self Service. However, you must submit an expense claim no more than six weeks after your business trip.
Travel and conference applications
If you incur travelling for (international) conferences or a stay abroad, please consult the guidelines to check whether you are eligible for reimbursement.
International travel and conference procedure
LUCL encourages its PhD students and members to travel to (inter)national conferences, and/or to spend some time abroad to meet with experts in their field of research, and accumulate international contacts and experience.
LUCL will normally finance one international trip a year, under the following conditions:
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Grants should be applied for well in advance (relevant forms should be submitted at least 2 months before the trip should take place).
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For conference visits, giving a lecture (or poster presentation) is mandatory (no exceptions).
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A grant application to the Leiden University Fund (LUF) is made as well. Note that LUF sets specific conditions on deadlines and requires documents such as a recommendation letter from the supervisor or promotor. See the relevant page on the LUF website.
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LUCL reimburses costs made for transport, accommodation and conference fees, not for membership fees, food, drinks, excursions. *Please consult the PDF document 'Reimbursement rates business trips abroad (Dutch only)' on the right-hand side.
Procedure before departure:
- Complete an Application form for travel funding.
- Submit the form to the LUCL Office at least 2 months before the trip should take place.
- Within a few days you will receive a message in which LUCL guarantees (part of) the estimated costs, if applicable. If you apply via LUF, LUCL will provide you with a special letter (see below). All travels can be booked via the UNIGLOBE Travel Portal. If your application is approved, you will receive a SAP-number that you can use to pay and book the travel.
- In some cases, you can receive advance money on your travel grant. Ask the LUCL Office for more information.