Duty station classification

I serve in a field mission and my duty station is expected to become a family duty station but I don’t think the conditions at my current duty station are suitable for young children. Can my family be paid to travel to another duty station?

Travel of family members in connection with a staff member’s appointment or assignment can be made only to the duty station that the staff member is assigned to, as the purpose of the travel to for the family to reside with the staff member at the duty station of assignment. However, children attending school outside of the duty station may be eligible for education grant travel.

My duty station was a non-family duty station but is becoming a family duty station. What are my entitlements for moving my family?

Where a non-family mission location is designated as a family duty station internationally-recruited staff members with eligible dependents (i.e. a spouse and dependent children who would normally reside with the staff member when not serving in a non-family duty station) are eligible for travel related entitlements for family members. These include:

Initial travel of eligible family members to the duty station,

Some of the duty stations that are designated family duty stations do not seem suitable for families. Why are they family duty stations when the conditions are not appropriate for a family?

The overall quality of life at a duty station is taken into consideration in the hardship categorization of the duty station. However, the hardship classification of a duty station in itself does not determine the status of a duty station as “family” or “non-family”.

How is a determination made of whether a duty station is designated as family or non-family as of 1 July 2011?

Duty stations from which dependents have been evacuated will be designated as “non-family duty stations” where a determination has been made that the medium- or longer-term presence of non-essential staff and/or dependents is dangerous or unsuitable for reasons of their safety and security. The determination of a duty station as non-family will normally be made within six months of the declaration of an evacuation.