FAQs
- Does my child need a Student Visa?
- What happens if my child is travelling alone?
- When do I have to pay?
- How can I pay?
- Why is the price converted into Canadian dollars? [updated – Jan 17th 2012]
- Are there any additional fees, such as registration fees?
- Does the price include flights?
- Can I book now and pay later?
- I’m having problems finding flights. Can I arrive on different date?
- Can you provide a group leader for my student(s)?
1. Does my child need a Student Visa?
For UK centres, yes, you will need to arrange for a Student Visa for your child.
However, for the USA and Canada, you will only need a Tourist Visa.
For all centres, we will provide you with the necessary documentation you require for whichever visa you need to apply for.
2. What happens if my child is travelling alone?
The price for all centres except (in the USA) includes airport transfer services by a summer school team member.
However, you will need to arrange and pay for an Unaccompanied Minor service with your airline. This will mean that the airline can take responsibility for your child in the airport and on the flight.
Our company cannot arrange unaccompanied minor services on behalf of its clients.
3. When do I have to pay?
All of our centres have been chosen because of their quality and popularity.
Therefore, we recommend that you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Your booking will be confirm once we have received payment from you.
4. How can I pay?
In addition to bank transfer services, we accept Visa and Mastercard, as well as PayPal.
Credit card payments are ideal for booking 1 person. However, when booking for groups or several individuals, it will be much cheaper and easier to pay by bank transfer.
5. Why is the price converted into Canadian dollars? [updated – Jan 17th 2012]
Pear Tree Education now accepts bank transfers in British Pounds, Canadian Dollars, and US Dollars.
Our company and our credit card processing service provider are based in Canada. As such, all credit card payments must currently be converted into Canadian dollars. Our company has no control over the conversion rate, as it is set by the credit card processing company based on the current bank rate.
If you wish to avoid this, we recommend that you pay by bank transfer.
6. Are there any additional fees, such as registration fees?
No. Unlike our competitors, we do not have (or believe in the need for) registration fees or anything such like.
There are no hidden costs.
The only additional costs are for optional excursions or customizations made by you, the client.
7. Does the price include flights or travel insurance?
No. You should book these in your country of origin.
8. Can I book now and pay later?
You can pay a non-refundable deposit to us by one of the payment methods mentioned in FAQ No. 4. This will reserve your place at the centre of your choice.
However, to finalize your booking, you will need to pay the remaining amount 3-4 weeks before the start of the course.
9. I’m having problems finding flights. Can I arrive on different date?
Unfortunately, to avoid problems caused by random arrival dates, we must insist on the arrival dates provided.
However, the departure date is more flexible if necessary (subject to additional daily charges).
Furthermore, we are extremely experienced at researching flights, and are happy to assist you with this free-of-charge.
10. Can you provide a group leader for my student(s)?
All individuals attending our centres are supervised by one or more dedicated Individual Coordinators. This person is usually a member of the activity team, but may also be a senior member of staff.
Currently, we do not provide other group leader services beyond this, however we believe it would be a useful service for us to offer in the future.