RTI Application for Foreign Tour Details of Government Officers: Sample 2026

• You are auditing public expenditure on foreign tours
• You want to know whether private bodies funded any official tour
• You want the tour report and outcomes
• You suspect a pattern of unproductive foreign tours

• If the tour is current and disclosure would jeopardise foreign relations or security (Section 8(1)(a))
• If you want personal travel details unrelated to public office (Section 8(1)(j))
• If the tour was for purely personal leave on the officer's own expense (these are not public records)

To,
The Public Information Officer
[Department / Ministry / Government Office]
[Full Address, Pin Code]

Sub: Request for information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005,
     regarding foreign tours by officers of your department for the
     period ____________ to ____________.

Sir / Madam,

Please supply me the following information for the captioned period.

Information sought:

[1] List of officers of your department / ministry / public authority
    who undertook foreign tours during the period, with rank,
    designation, name of country visited, dates of visit and purpose.

[2] Certified copy of the sanction order / political clearance for
    each tour, with serial number.

[3] Total expenditure on each tour, broken down into airfare, daily
    allowance, hotel charges, local conveyance and any other heads.

[4] Certified copy of the tour report submitted by each officer
    after return.

[5] Source of funding for each tour: government budget, host country,
    multilateral agency, or private body. If a private body funded
    the tour in whole or part, the name of the body.

[6] Names of officers whose assistance is sought by the PIO under
    Section 5(4) of the RTI Act.

Application fee of Rs 10 is enclosed. Please send the information to
the address below.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature]
[Name, address]
[Phone, email]
[Date]

[Date]
To,
The First Appellate Authority
[Public Authority Name]
[Address]

Sub: First appeal under Section 19(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, against
     the order of the PIO dated [____] / against deemed refusal
     under Section 7(2), in respect of my RTI dated [____].

Sir / Madam,

1. I had filed an RTI application dated [____] seeking the
   information described in the enclosure (Annexure A).
2. The PIO has [refused / not replied / partly replied] vide letter
   dated [____]. The reply does not satisfy the requirements of
   Sections 7(8) and 8 of the RTI Act, 2005, for the reasons set
   out below.
3. Grounds of appeal:
   (a) The reply does not record reasons for refusal, contrary to
       Section 7(8) and Section 19(5).
   (b) The PIO has not applied Section 8(2) public-interest
       balancing.
   (c) Severable parts under Section 10 have not been supplied.
   (d) [add specific factual grounds].
4. Prayer: I pray that the FAA may be pleased to direct the PIO to
   supply the information sought, free of cost under Section 7(6),
   and to record findings on PIO conduct.

Yours faithfully,
[Name and signature]
[Address, phone, email]

Yes for tours on official duty. Foreign tours on official duty are public-activity and not personal information. Section 8(1)(j) does not apply.

It can for sensitive bilateral or strategic visits. But the bare invocation must be reasoned. Most routine training, conference and official-meeting tours are disclosable.

Compare expenditure with outputs (reports, signed agreements, treaties). Many foreign-tour audits have led to significant policy reforms.

• Guide for RTI applicants
• All sample RTI applications
• AI RTI Drafter
• PIO RTI Reply Guide
• FAA guide
• PIO reply after DPDP Rules 2025
• RTI for tender documents
• Section 8 exemptions

1. The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Sections 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 19)
2. The Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2012
3. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Section 44(3)
4. DOPT, Foreign Travel Rules and Political Clearance procedure
5. Ministry of External Affairs, FT cell
6. Comptroller and Auditor General, audit reports on foreign-tour expenditure
7. Central Information Commission orders on foreign-tour disclosure at https://cic.gov.in

Last reviewed: 9 May 2026. Sources verified: statutory references and portal links cross-checked on 9 May 2026.