International Students · 3 of 3
A student posted abroad for a year does not stop being paid at home. The American allowance is not a salary and does not pretend to be. "The living allowance for International Military Students (IMSs) is intended to cover an average cost differential for the student living away from his/her home station. It is not a substitute for the IMS's normal method of compensation and/or pay" (SAMM C10.13.1).
Responsibility for the rest is stated plainly: "The IMS's government is responsible for timely payment of sufficient overall compensation and/or pay" (SAMM C10.13.1). A student who runs short on a long course is a question for the sending ministry.
The calculation borrows American machinery without adopting American rules. International students "are not subject to the regulations in the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR), although their USG funded living allowance is computed using the locality per diem rates published in the JTR for temporary duty (TDY) travel" (SAMM C10.13.1.1). One American rule is switched off on purpose: the flat rate reduction for long assignments does not apply, so the allowance follows the locality rate for the whole stay (SAMM C10.13.1.2). Daily amounts sit in a separate table (SAMM Table C10.T12).
Grant funded students normally receive an allowance. Students on a purchased case normally do not. "TLA is normally not part of a Foreign Military Sales (FMS)/Foreign Military Financing (FMF) case" (SAMM C10.13.2). It may be included in exceptional situations where the travel is tied to training that imparts military skills.
Getting there takes a document. "The FMS purchaser must provide a written request to include TLA on a given FMS/FMF case" (SAMM C10.13.2.1). Where the case lacks the funds, a letter of request adds them. Authorizing lodging reimbursement does not let the implementing agency book hotels instead: reimbursement is capped at what an American traveler would be allowed (SAMM C10.13.2.2).
One group is excluded outright. "Foreign Liaison Officers (FLOs) and Country Liaison Officers (CLOs) are not eligible for TLA" (SAMM C10.13.2.3), because they are not on training orders.
The front-loaded costs are the practical problem, and the manual says so: "Up-front costs for students can be significant whether they are accompanied or unaccompanied and living off or on post/base. Most U.S. training locations are unable to provide advance TLA payments immediately upon arrival" (SAMM C10.13.8).
The answer is an advance paid before travel. "The amount of the advance TLA should be a minimum of two weeks but could be up to 30 days if required by the training location, or the entire TLA authorized, if the total training duration is five weeks or less" (SAMM C10.13.8.1). Where the sending government has already covered the first thirty days, no further advance is required. The amount issued is written on the order so the school can see it.
Short courses can be settled in one transaction. "When the IMS is scheduled to attend training for five weeks or less, the SCO is authorized to purchase roundtrip transportation and to pay the student total authorized living allowance entitlements at the time of departure" (SAMM C10.13.5). Longer courses with fixed dates are sometimes handled the same way.
Overpayments found after departure are not chased. Where the final voucher shows one, "no attempt should be made to collect the overpayment from the IMS" (SAMM C10.13.9.2). The implementing agency adjusts the country program instead.
Baggage allowances scale with course length on grant funded travel. Two checked pieces are authorized where training runs twelve weeks or less, three for thirteen to twenty-three weeks, and four for twenty-four weeks and longer (SAMM Table C10.T14). A further piece is allowed for an accompanied student at the listed schools, and for flight or heavy uniform courses.
Living allowance stops in defined situations rather than at anyone's discretion. It is not payable during unauthorized absence, during delays unconnected with training other than medical care, or where the sending country covers all living costs. Leave taken after training ends is excluded, as is training held in the student's own country unless approved (SAMM Table C10.T13).
The blunt fact at the center of this area is stated in one line. Care given at an American military facility generates a bill, and "The healthcare costs are considered to be a personal debt of the IMS to the USG" (SAMM C10.9.2.1). Whoever else has promised to pay, the liability sits with the individual officer.
Governments choose the cover in advance, and the choice is recorded on the order. One route is an indemnity letter, under which the country agrees to reimburse accrued bills and names an American based official who pays providers (SAMM C10.9.1.1.1). Bills go straight to that official, and "Bills should be paid within 90 days after the bill is sent" (SAMM C10.9.1.1.2). Making the student pay and claim back is prohibited without a waiver, and the waiver lapses if bills fall late.
A commercial policy is the alternative, and the minimum terms are specified. Cover must run for a year or the whole stay, and must include medical benefits "of at least $400,000 per year, per individual/family member" and a "Deductible not to exceed $1000 annually per family" (SAMM C10.9.5.2). Repatriation of remains is set at $50,000 and medical evacuation at a minimum of $250,000 per person. The insurer must pay providers directly in dollars from an American claims office.
Letting cover lapse has consequences beyond the individual. A student unable to meet the obligation, with no indemnity behind them, may be withdrawn and sent home, and any lapse "will jeopardize future grant funding and training allocations for the country" (SAMM C10.9.5.1.1).
Where grant funds end up paying an unpaid emergency bill, the response is graduated by size. Bills under $10,000 come from the country's current year allocation, with notification afterwards. Bills of $10,000 to $99,999 need approval first. At $100,000 and above, penalties follow: "The partner nation's IMET account will be decremented in the following fiscal year by the full amount of the medical bill paid by the USG" (SAMM C10.9.1.3.3.3.1), and the country becomes ineligible for additional funds that year and the next.
Bringing a family is the exception. "Dependents are only authorized to accompany the International Military Student (IMS) to the schoolhouses/courses identified in Table C10.T11." and to courses where the training list permits it (SAMM C10.12.2). That table lists war colleges, staff colleges and graduate programs, which is to say the long courses.
Other courses require a request to the military department, decided on whether the school and community can support a family without harming the student's chance of completing (SAMM C10.12.2.1). Approval depends on medical screening and healthcare cover, and only dependents meeting those conditions join the order.
The cost is clear. "USG funding (e.g., DoD and Department of State (State) funding), will not be used to provide transportation for authorized dependents" (SAMM C10.12.2.3). Families travel at the family's expense, provided this does not delay the student's arrival.
| TLA | Travel and living allowance, covering transport, lodging, meals and incidentals. SAMM C10.13.1. |
|---|---|
| Advance TLA | Money issued before departure, a minimum of two weeks and up to thirty days. |
| Indemnity letter | A government undertaking to pay healthcare bills directly. |
| IMSO | The international military student office at the training location. |
| Table C10.T11 | The list of schools at which dependents may accompany a student. |
Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.
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