Travel Support Terms

01What these terms cover

These Travel Support Terms (the "Support Terms") apply when you ask us, through the travel and visa support request on hackmeridian.com, for any of: a visa invitation letter, help with travel costs, or a place to stay for HackMeridian Lisbon 2026 ("Support"). They sit alongside the HackMeridian Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy; where they say something more specific about Support, the Support Terms apply.

HackMeridian is organised by Grow with Guava LLC ("Guava", "we", "us"), 254 Chapman Road, Ste 208, Newark, DE 19702, United States, on behalf of the Stellar Development Foundation. Support is offered by Guava. Questions: meridian@growwithguava.com.

02Who can ask for support

• You must be 18 or older on 25 October 2026. HackMeridian is an 18+ event.
• You must be able to attend in person in Lisbon across the support window, 24 October to 29 October 2026.
• You must register for HackMeridian separately. A support request is not a registration and does not replace one.
• You must give us accurate information. Support decided on the basis of incorrect information can be withdrawn.

03Nothing is guaranteed

Asking for Support does not guarantee that you will receive any of it. Support is limited, discretionary, and subject to availability and eligibility. In particular, and as you acknowledge when you apply:

• An application does not guarantee travel funding, accommodation, or an invitation letter.
• An invitation letter does not guarantee a visa, and neither we nor the letter can guarantee admission to Portugal. That decision rests entirely with the consulate and border authorities.
• A place at HackMeridian is not guaranteed by any form of Support.

Every decision about Support is made by a named person at Guava. We do not automate decisions about people. Decisions are final, and we are not able to give reasons for individual decisions.

04Visa invitation letters

If we issue you an invitation letter, it confirms that we have invited you to attend HackMeridian as our guest. It states your name, job title or occupation, and company or organisation exactly as you gave them to us, and it is addressed to the Portuguese consulate or visa application centre whose city and country you told us. It contains no passport details; we do not ask for your passport to prepare it.

• Check the letter against your passport the moment you receive it. A single character of difference between the letter and your passport is grounds for refusal. If anything is wrong, reply to the email and we will reissue it. We are not responsible for the consequences of a mismatch you did not tell us about.
• We cannot advise on your visa application, your appointment, or your documents. The consulate's requirements are the consulate's to state.
• The consulate is welcome to verify a letter by writing to meridian@growwithguava.com.
• Please tell us the outcome of your application as soon as you know it, either way. A refusal releases a place and, where relevant, a bed for someone else.
• A letter is issued for the purpose of attending HackMeridian and may not be used for any other purpose.

05Travel support

Travel support is a reimbursement. You book and pay for your own travel, attend HackMeridian, and then claim against receipts up to the amount we approved for you. We do not book travel for you and we do not pay suppliers directly.

• Your approved amount is a cap, not an entitlement. We reimburse what you evidenced, up to that cap, and never above it.
• Payment is conditional on completing an identity verification (KYC) step with the provider we designate, after approval and before any payment. We cannot pay without it.
• Claims are paid after the event, against receipts that meet the standard set out in your approval email. Incomplete or unevidenced claims are not paid.
• Amounts are set in US dollars. Reimbursements are paid to the Stellar address you supply through your secure update page after approval.
• Payments to a wrong address cannot be reversed by us or by anyone else. You are responsible for the address and memo you supply. We validate the address format, we confirm every change to you by email, and we will never ask you to change your payout address by email or through a link; treat any such message as not from us.
• Advances before the event are by exception only, decided by a named person, and requested by email to meridian@growwithguava.com with the subject line URGENT: travel support. An advance is deducted from your claim.
• You are responsible for any tax that applies to support you receive.

06Accommodation

Where we offer a place to stay, it is a bed in shared accommodation that we have arranged, for the nights we confirm to you, and it is offered in kind. It is not transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash or for a different property.

• Up to five nights are provided, from 24 October 2026. Additional nights are not covered.
• Accessibility requirements are allocated before any other placement. Tell us early.
• If you are refused a visa or cannot attend, tell us as soon as you know so the bed can go to someone else.
• You are a guest of the property and must follow its rules and the HackMeridian code of conduct.

07Confirming, lapsing and withdrawal

• An offer of Support states a confirmation deadline. If you have not confirmed by that date, the offer lapses and is released to the waiting list, without exception.
• We may withdraw Support if the information you gave us was inaccurate, if you no longer meet the eligibility conditions, if you breach the HackMeridian Terms of Service or code of conduct, or if the event is changed or cancelled.
• If you withdraw after confirming, tell us immediately. Costs you have already incurred are not reimbursed unless we had already approved them in writing.

08Your information

How we handle the information in your request, including the status token, the audit trail, and the services we use to process it, is described in the Travel & visa support section of the Privacy Policy. We do not collect your passport details on the support form.

09Liability

Support is provided as a courtesy to help you attend. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Guava is not liable for any loss arising from a visa refusal, a travel disruption, a change to the event, an error in information you supplied, or a payment sent to an address or memo you supplied. Nothing in these Support Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law. The limitation of liability and disclaimers in the Terms of Service apply.

10Governing law

These Support Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, in the same way as the HackMeridian Terms of Service. If you are a consumer in the EEA or UK, you keep any protections your local law gives you that cannot be waived.

11Changes

We may update these Support Terms. The "Last updated" date above will change when we do, and we will tell applicants with an open request about any material change by email.

12Contact

For anything about Support: