Rotary Youth Exchange Rules
These are the Rotary International Rules for Inbound Students. You have agreed to comply by signing your Exchange Application.
- You must have a travel insurance that applies to the Rotary International standards
- Four Ds: No driving, no dating, no drinking, no drugs plus an additional two Ds: No body Decorations/Piercing, no Downloading of Indecent Material
• Do not drive any motor vehicles (See the specifics below)
• No serious dating
• No alcohol / no smoking (not even if you are 18) – beer is alcohol in Finland and Estonia
• No drugs including marijuana which is considered an illegal drug in Finnish & Estonian laws. If you caught carrying or using drugs, you will be reported to the police and returned home immediately. - Attend school regularly
- Study the local language
- You need to fill in your quarterly reports!
- No travelling at all during the school time. Refer to the separate Travelling Rules of Inbound Students ->
- Staying overnight at a friend’s house ONLY, if the parents are present
- No camping, staying at hotels etc. without parents
- Be active – try new sports and other hobbies
- An Inbound student of the long-term exchange who arrived in Finland or Estonia in August shall return home by the end of June of the following year.
- An Inbound student of the long-term exchange who arrived in Finland or Estonia in January shall return home by the end of the first week of January of the following year.
Specifics on ban ”Do not drive any motor vehicles”
Rotary Code of Policy item 41.050.16 Student Responsibilities dictates the following:
”Students should not under any circumstances be permitted to operate or drive a motorized vehicle of any kind during the exchange, nor to own a motorized vehicle in the host country.”
In Finland and Estonia, the only exceptions to this ban are electric kick scooters and electric-assisted bicycles. These may be used by IB students in Finland or Estonia, if their exchange student insurance covers damage caused while steering them. The driving of any other combustion or electric motor-driven vehicle is prohibited during the exchange.
Most of our IB students have exchange student insurance from CISI Bolduc. It covers damages caused by riding an electric kick scooter or an electric-assisted bike. Similarly, CISI Bolduc insurance covers damage if the exchange student is a passenger on a motor scooter, motorbike, snowmobile or moped car. The student is allowed to travel as a passenger in these vehicles if his/her insurance covers the damage. If the student has insurance other than CISI Bolduc, it is necessary to check whether it covers damage before the exchange student drives or is a passenger in the vehicles listed above.
We strongly recommend that you always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or scooter. For other two-wheeled vehicles, it is compulsory by law in Finland and Estonia.
When a Finnish or Estonian student is on exchange abroad, he/she should check with the host club/district how the district applies the ban on driving a motor vehicle.
