The UN assignment grant and relocation shipment entitlement explained

A vacancy announcement talks about grade, duty station and contract type — rarely about what it actually costs to get there. For internationally recruited staff taking up a new posting, the assignment grant and the wider installation package exist for exactly that gap: a set of entitlements meant to cover the real, upfront cost of relocating a household to a new duty station, separate from the ongoing salary and allowances covered elsewhere in this series. This guide covers what the package actually includes, who qualifies, and how it relates to the repatriation grant paid at the other end of an assignment.

As with every figure in this series, exact amounts, day counts and weight limits are set through ICSC decisions and each organization’s own administrative instructions, and are periodically revised — what follows is the structure to expect, not a snapshot of numbers to quote in a negotiation.

What the assignment grant actually is

The assignment grant is a lump-sum-plus-daily-rate payment made to an internationally recruited staff member taking up a qualifying appointment or reassignment away from their recognised home country, intended to offset the immediate costs of settling in — temporary lodging, a first set of household purchases, and the general disruption of establishing a household in a new country. It is paid once per qualifying move, not as a recurring allowance, and is separate from base salary, post adjustment and the mobility and hardship allowance, which begin (or change) from the effective date of the move but do not themselves cover relocation costs.

The wider installation package: grant, DSA and shipment

“Assignment grant” is often used loosely to mean the whole installation package, but it is really one of three distinct pieces staff receive around a qualifying move. The assignment grant itself is the lump-sum-plus-daily component described above. A separate daily subsistence allowance (DSA) covers hotel and subsistence costs for the traveller and eligible dependents for an initial, capped number of days immediately after arrival, while permanent accommodation is still being arranged. And the unaccompanied shipment entitlement, covered below, pays for moving household effects rather than living costs. Organizations administer the three together as one installation package, but they are calculated on different logic and can be claimed on different timelines.

Who qualifies

Eligibility generally requires an internationally recruited appointment of a qualifying minimum length — commonly a year or longer, or expected to last that long, similar to the threshold used for the repatriation grant — and a genuine relocation of residence to take up the post, rather than a move within the same city or a short-term temporary duty assignment. It applies both to a new hire joining from outside the organization and to serving staff reassigned to a different duty station, though the exact components paid can differ between an initial appointment and a subsequent reassignment. Locally recruited General Service and National Professional Officer staff, who are by definition recruited to serve in their own country, generally do not qualify.

How the grant is actually calculated

The assignment grant is typically structured as a one-time lump sum plus a daily rate paid for a fixed initial number of days, with a higher combined amount where dependents are also relocating than for a single staff member moving alone. The underlying rates are set by the ICSC and reviewed periodically, in the same way as the base salary scale and the mobility and hardship allowance, rather than being a single figure fixed indefinitely. Because the grant is meant to offset real relocation costs rather than reimburse them item by item, it is generally paid as a lump sum regardless of what the staff member actually spends it on.

Unaccompanied shipment of household effects

Separately from the cash components, staff taking up a qualifying assignment are generally entitled to ship personal and household effects to the new duty station at organization expense, up to a weight or volume limit set by grade, contract type and family status — commonly referred to as the unaccompanied shipment or unaccompanied baggage/household effects entitlement. Non-family and hardship duty stations, covered in the duty station classification guide, often carry a reduced shipment allowance reflecting the smaller household actually relocating there. The entitlement typically has to be used within a defined window after arrival (or before departure at separation, mirrored in the repatriation and end-of-service guide), and is administered through the organization’s approved shipping process rather than reimbursed after the fact for a self-arranged move.

How this differs from the repatriation grant

The assignment grant and the repatriation grant are close mirror images of each other, which is why they’re easy to conflate. The assignment grant is paid at the start of a qualifying assignment, to help a staff member establish a household at a new duty station away from home. The repatriation grant, covered in detail in the repatriation and end-of-service guide, is paid at separation, to help a staff member who genuinely relocates back away from the duty station after service ends. Both require a minimum qualifying period and a genuine change of residence, and both scale with family status — but they are two separate entitlements assessed on separate eligibility rules, not one payment split across a career.

Why consultants generally don’t get this

As with health insurance and the dependency and mobility allowances, the assignment grant and shipment entitlement are staff benefits tied to an international staff appointment under the applicable staff rules. Individual contractors and consultants engaged under an ICA, SSA, PSA or LICA — covered in the consultancy contracts guide — generally arrange and fund their own relocation, with any travel provision limited to what the specific terms of reference state rather than a standard installation package. This is worth pricing in explicitly when comparing a consultancy fee against a staff offer at a duty station that requires an international move.

Where to check the current rules

Assignment grant rates, DSA day counts and shipment weight or volume limits are set through ICSC decisions and each organization’s own administrative instructions, and are periodically revised — the same structural point that runs through this whole series. Your organization’s HR or entitlements office holds the current, authoritative figures for your specific grade, family status and duty station; a previous posting’s amount or a colleague’s experience elsewhere is a general guide only, not a substitute for confirming your own case before you book a move.

A short checklist

1. Confirm the qualifying minimum appointment length before assuming a short-term or temporary duty move carries the full package.
2. Ask about the shipment weight/volume limit for your grade and family status before booking movers yourself.
3. Check the DSA day count so you know how many nights of hotel costs are actually covered while you find permanent housing.
4. Don’t assume a consultancy includes this — confirm what, if anything, the terms of reference cover before accepting an offer that requires an international move.

The assignment grant is one more piece of the total-compensation picture alongside salary and post adjustment and the entitlements paid at separation. Current vacancies across every contract type are always live on the board, and a free changemaker profile keeps your applications organised while you compare offers.