The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

So I will be traveling to Japan and the Philippines for the summer. This is just supposed to be for vacation for two months, the thing is is that I am not sure if/how I am supposed to report it. I saw that I can report it to SMART, but do I also have to report it to my SF? My SF hasn't started the process of getting me a clearance or for starting work with them yet. They said that they are still pushing the paperwork through. I have gotten a Secret clearance before (SF is TS), and on the Secret clearance form, I was able to report any foreign travel I did previously. Am I supposed to report my travel now to my SF, or can I just wait for them to send me the initial forms for my TS clearance (they haven't sent that yet) and just report my travel on there?

The handbook says to submit the form to both your SF and SMART 30 days before travel.

I was told you needed to fill out a foreign travel notification form, but couldn't find it. I had to email smart and they sent me one. I think I had to to it 60 days in advance though.

I’m jumping in a bit late, but since I’m actually planning my own trip to Japan right now, I figured I’d chime in quickly.

As for the paperwork side of things, what the others said still seems to hold: once your SF is officially your SF, they’ll want to be notified about any travel. Since they haven’t kicked off your TS process or sent you the forms yet, you’ll probably just end up having to file the proper notification once everything is underway. Personally, I wouldn’t over-anticipate things before they ask for anything, but I would send a quick email letting them know you’ll be abroad this summer, just to keep everything clean.

And for the Japan part — enjoy it. If you want something a bit more traditional in between all the admin stuff, try at least one night in a ryokan. It’s a totally different vibe from Tokyo/Osaka and a great way to reset before heading back to work.