Elevated Risk & Travel Advisories

Travel to the Middle East

Effective immediately, and through at least March 31, 2026, Stanford strongly recommends against all university-sponsored travel to or through Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey*, and United Arab Emirates.

Undergraduate students are prohibited from traveling to these locations to participate in university-related activities.

Due to the potential for conflict and the most recent escalations, the University’s ability to render emergency assistance, up to and including emergency evacuation from the countries listed above, will likely be severely curtailed without prior notice.

Individuals planning Stanford-sponsored or -organized travel to these countries are strongly encouraged to email globalrisk@stanford.edu to schedule a safety/security consultation well in advance of their planned departure. As a reminder, all international Stanford-sponsored travel must be registered in accordance with the university’s registry requirement.

*Travel to or through Istanbul, Turkey, may proceed.

Risk Ratings

While all international travel involves inherent risks, it is important to stay informed about conditions that could pose a threat to your personal health, safety and security as well as to your research, studies, work. Through the International Travel Assistance Program, Stanford partners with Crisis24 which provides a thorough risk rating overview to guide you as you prepare to travel.

To review detailed location intelligence, including risk ratings, please visit the Crisis24 Horizon Platform.

Elevated Risk Ratings

Below is a list of destinations which have elevated risks and may be impacted by the Provost's International Travel Policy. The destinations either have "High" or "Extreme" overall ratings from Crisis24, privacy or cybersecurity concerns, or require working with export controls. Review the notes and action items by traveler type for how to proceed.

Elevated Risk Destinations

Country	Crisis24 Overall Rating	Notes	Undergrads	Faculty, Staff, Postdocs, Grad Students
Afghanistan	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Algeria	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Bahrain	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Bangladesh	High		Exception Required
Belarus	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required	Please contact Stanford’s Export Control Officer at exportcontrols@stanford.edu
Burkina Faso	Extreme		Exception Required
Burundi	High		Exception Required
Cambodia	Moderate	No presumption of privacy
Central African Republic	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Chad	High		Exception Required
China	Low	Stanford Activities in China No presumption of privacy	Travel may proceed with specific mitigations. Please email globalrisk.stanford.edu
Colombia	Moderate		Travel may proceed with specific mitigations. Please email globalrisk.stanford.edu
Congo (DRC)	High		Exception Required
Cuba	Low	No presumption of privacy		Please contact Stanford’s Export Control Officer at exportcontrols@stanford.edu
Cyprus	Moderate	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required	Stanford recommends against all non-essential travel
East Timor	High		Exception Required
Egypt	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Eritrea	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Ethiopia	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Gabon	High		Exception Required
Guatemala	Moderate	Guatemala City is high risk - transit through the city is not permitted for undergraduates	Exception Required
Guinea	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Guinea-Bissau	High		Exception Required
Haiti	Extreme		Exception Required
Hong Kong	Low	No presumption of privacy
Iran	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Travel Prohibited	Please contact Stanford’s Export Control Officer at exportcontrols@stanford.edu Stanford recommends against all university travel
Iraq	High	No presumption of privacy	Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Israel	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Jordan	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Kenya	High		Exception Required
Kuwait	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Lebanon	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Liberia	Moderate	No presumption of privacy
Libya	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Madagascar	High		Exception Required
Mali	Extreme		Exception Required
Mexico	Moderate	High Risk Destinations: Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Guerrero, Leon, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas	Travel may proceed with specific mitigations. Please email globalrisk.stanford.edu
Mozambique	High		Exception Required
Myanmar	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Nepal	High		Exception Required
Niger	High		Exception Required
Nigeria	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
North Korea	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required	Please contact Stanford’s Export Control Officer at exportcontrols@stanford.edu
Oman	High		Exception Required
Pakistan	High		Exception Required
Palestinian Territories	High		Exception Required
Papua New Guinea	High		Exception Required
Qatar	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Russia	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required	Please contact Stanford’s Export Control Officer at exportcontrols@stanford.edu
Saudi Arabia	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Sierra Leone	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Somalia	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
South Africa	High		Exception Required
South Sudan	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Sudan	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Syria	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Taiwan	Low	No presumption of privacy
Togo	High		Exception Required
Turkiye	Moderate		Exception Required	Stanford recommends against all university travel. Travel to or through Istanbul may proceed.
Uganda	Moderate		Travel may proceed with specific mitigations. Please email globalrisk.stanford.edu
Ukraine	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required	Please contact Stanford’s Export Control Officer at exportcontrols@stanford.edu
United Arab Emirates	High		Travel Prohibited	Stanford recommends against all university travel
Venezuela	High	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Yemen	Extreme	No presumption of privacy	Exception Required
Zimbabwe	High		Exception Required

If your destination was not listed or you would like more information, please login to the Crisis24 Horizon Mobile Platform and navigate to "Location Intelligence".

For undergraduate students if a destination requires an exception, please review the processes here. Exceptions are only considered in rare cases.

For faculty, staff, postdocs, grad students if your destination requires reaching out to the Privacy Office or Export Controls, please do so. See below for additional recommended protocols.

Risk Rating FAQs

How do I interpret the Crisis24 risk ratings?
- To determine a location’s Crisis24 overall risk rating, select your transit and destination country(-ies) from "Location Intelligence" on the left side of portal. The overall risk rating for a country is clearly displayed on the left side. Scroll down to find detailed risk ratings. For more specific destination ratings, use "Related Locations" to select the province(s), and/or city(-ies).
  It is important to consider all the ratings and how they may impact you as an individual traveler, as well as the impact they may have on your research, studies, work.
  Undergraduate students are not allowed to travel to - or through - cities, regions, areas, or countries that have a "High" or "Extreme" overall rating or where there is other reliable information of significant health or safety risks. If you have questions about a destination, contact globalrisk@stanford.edu for guidance.
  Note that conditions in any country may change at any time.
Who should review a student’s travel itinerary?
- Students should first conduct their own self-assessment to ensure their travel is permissible under Stanford’s International Travel Policy. This first step requires the student understand the Crisis24 overall risk rating for their destination, how it will impact them and the work, research, study they will engage in while abroad.
- A student’s next point of contact should be the department or program administrator coordinating or sponsoring the opportunity. The department or program has primary responsibility for reviewing travel itineraries, giving the green light to travel, and assigning any required pre-departure steps.
- If the student is traveling on a self-organized trip (without a department sponsor), they should contact the the global risk team for support in reviewing their itinerary and preparing for a safe trip (globalrisk@stanford.edu).
Can a traveler proceed or do they need additional reviews to travel to a specific location?
- For faculty, staff and graduate students, Stanford University strongly recommends against, but does not prohibit, travel to countries where the Crisis24 overall risk rating is “High” or “Critical,” or where there is other reliable information of significant health or safety risks for either the country destination, or for the particular region or location of intended travel within the country destination, or where there is other reliable information of significant health or safety risks. To determine a location’s Crisis24 overall risk rating, review the Crisis24 Horizon Platform.
- For undergraduate students, Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized trips are prohibited to countries or regions and locations within a country where the Crisis24 overall risk rating is “High” or “Extreme,” or where there is other reliable information of significant health or safety risks. To determine a location’s Crisis24 overall risk rating, review the Crisis24 Horizon Platform.
  - No university funds or resources may be used, university sponsorship provided, or academic credit awarded, in support of travel to these locations. All individuals engaging in university-sponsored travel must comply with all applicable travel policies.
What is the process for requesting an exception to Stanford’s International Travel Policy?
- With the full support of their sponsoring unit/program, undergraduate students may apply to request an exception to the Stanford International Travel Policy for travel to locations that pose a higher risk.
- Exceptions for travel to high risk destinations are only considered in rare circumstances.
- The process for destinations with high overall risk usually turns around in six weeks.
- Full details on the Travel Policy Exception process can be found here.
Is student personal travel affected by these advisories?
- The International Travel Policy applies to Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized travel. Personal travel does not fall under this policy. However, International Affairs and Global Risk encourage students to familiarize themselves with the risks present at locations they choose to travel to during personal time.
Is travel by graduate students, faculty, or staff affected by these advisories?
- Stanford University strongly recommends against, but does not prohibit, travel to countries where the Crisis24 overall risk rating is “High” or “Extreme,” or where there is other reliable information of significant health or safety risks for either the country destination, or for the particular region or location of intended travel within the country destination.
- Global Risk has developed some guidelines for travel to "High" or "Extreme" risk destinations. Some of the protocols include:
  - Secure program and/or Dean of School trip approval, indicating travel is related to a Stanford purpose
  - If you are a U.S. citizen, register with the local US Embassy through the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). (If you are not a U.S. citizen, the Department of State's equivalent in your country might have a similar program.)
  - Contact Global Risk (globalrisk@stanford.edu) to review itinerary, security, and logistics
  - Download the Crisis24 Horizon Mobile App (Apple App store, Google Play) and sign up to receive country/region/city risk reports
  - Sign the Stanford waiver, if necessary
  - Ensure all key program agreements/contract(s) are in place
  - Keep emergency contacts/communication plan on file
  - Review the Zurich policy summary for coverage of unforeseen medical and security incidents. Verify with personal medical insurance provider to understand international medical coverage for exclusions under the Zurich policy / routine or preventative medical treatment abroad.
- Travel Sponsors may decide to require itinerary review or pre-departure steps for travel to high-risk areas. At a minimum, International Affairs and Global Risk recommend using the pre-departure checklist, and contacting the Global Risk team (globalrisk@stanford.edu) for support in preparing for a safe trip.
- There are no restrictions for travel to countries or regions within a country with a "Insignificant", "Low", or "Moderate" ratings.