Forms + Checklists
Traveler Checklist
Click through to view a list of required forms and best practice to-dos prior to your international travel, as well as what to do upon return.
At least 6 months before...
Read Stanford's International Travel Policy
- Stanford's International Travel Policy impacts students, faculty, and staff traveling on Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized travel abroad.
Review the travel advisory and country information for your destination(s)
- Crisis24, Stanford’s international assistance provider, presents nuanced overall travel risk ratings as well as health and medical risk ratings in addition to mitigations.
- The U.S. Department of State issues a travel advisory for every country in the world, in addition to detailed country information pages with important safety, security, and immigration information for travelers.
- Stanford’s Global Risk team maintains the Elevated Risk & Travel Advisories page dedicated to Stanford-specific advisories and a chart of Elevated Risk Destinations.
Verify that your travel plans comply with Stanford's International Travel Policy
Undergraduate students on Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized trips are prohibited from traveling to countries, regions/provinces, and/or locations where the "Overall" Crisis24 risk rating is “High” or “Extreme,” or where there is other reliable information regarding significant health or safety risks for either the country, province, or city of intended travel. To determine a location’s risk ratings, review the Elevated-Risk Destinations page, check the Crisis24 Horizon Platform by selecting "Location Intelligence" and entering your destination, or reach out to Global Risk, globalrisk@stanford.edu.
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.
For undergraduates only: if you are not in compliance with Stanford's International Travel Policy, discuss your options with your program sponsor. See Travel Exceptions Criteria, and Process and Timeline for more information.
Faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars: Stanford University strongly recommends against, but does not prohibit, travel to Elevated-Risk Destinations. Travelers who opt to undertake such travel are encouraged to seek advice from Global Risk (globalrisk@stanford.edu) to develop appropriate risk mitigation strategies.
The final decision about traveling to a destination lies with the individual making the trip. However, the University reserves the right to require the execution of an appropriate release or waiver before permitting such travel.
Travel to countries with ongoing conflicts and/or significant safety concerns that pose a danger to personnel may require additional notification and registration of travel itineraries prior to departure and may result in additional costs to individual travelers and the sponsoring unit. Faculty, staff, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are therefore strongly encouraged to consult with Global Risk well in advance of their travel dates to obtain advice on how to minimize risks to themselves and to their research.
Get a passport or check passport validity
For U.S. citizens, a passport application can take approximately four to six weeks to process. For non-U.S. citizens, check with your consulate for current processing times. Some countries require that a traveler’s passport be valid for six months after our arrival or, in some cases, planned departure date.
To find out what those requirements may be, select your destination country and refer to the “Entry/ Exit Requirements” section on the U.S. State Department Country Specific Information page.
Note that, entry/exit requirements are subject to change without notice.
Apply for a visa (if required)
For U.S. citizens, refer to the “Entry/Exit Requirements” section on the U.S. State Department’s Country Information page to determine whether you need a visa. Citizens of other countries can contact the destination country's embassy. Citizenship and purpose of travel will determine the type of visa needed. If you prefer, you can engage the services of a visa agency that specializes in obtaining visas. Agencies recommended by the University that specialize in obtaining visas for foreign travel include:
VisaHQ
VisaHQ for Stanford University offers access to special rates and priority processing for Stanford-related travel. Contact them online, by email support@visahq.com or by phone at: 1-800-363-8412. Use code 'Stanford.'
VisaCentral by CIBT
VisaCentral by CIBT offers online Stanford rates; or contact the local office:
VisaCentral San Francisco
555 Montgomery Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: 1-877-535-0688
Walk-in hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2 months before your trip
For students: Take the International Travel Preparation course, International Academy, on Canvas
- This self-paced Canvas course for students is designed to help travelers navigate the logistics of international travel and lay the groundwork for a safe, informed, and educational experience.
To enroll:
- Students who are taking this course as a program pre-departure requirement will receive an enrollment link from their travel sponsor.
- Students who wish to self-enroll in the course may go to the link below.
For students: Attend a Pre-Departure Orientation
- Global Risk offers virtual Pre-Departure Orientations which help travelers understand specific risks associated with the region to which they are traveling, navigate resources to understand their individualized risks, prepare to mitigate those potential risks, access tools to respond in the event of an emergency, and connect with other Stanford students who may be in the region.
- Pre-Departure Orientations
For faculty, researchers: Attend a resource review session
- Global Risk offers monthly virtual resource review sessions specifically for internationally traveling faculty, and researchers. In the session, Global Risk will discuss current events impacting travel, traveling as a non-U.S. citizen, traveling to destinations with restrictive privacy laws/data security concerns/elevated medical and security risks, incident response processes and resources as well as campus services available to support them, their research, and their work.
For Travelers Conducting Fieldwork: Assemble Your Field Safety Plan
- A field safety plan serves as a tool to document the hazard assessment, communication plan, emergency procedures, and training for staff, researchers, or students planning to engage in field activities. This plan is intended to identify hazards, as well as precautions and actions taken to address and mitigate those hazards. It also acts as a reference document for the team in the case of an emergency.
Familiarize Yourself with Stanford's International Travel Assistance Program
- Through the International Travel Assistance Program Stanford University has 24/7 resources on-call, online and on-the-ground to help with medical, security and logistical questions and concerns that may arise when you travel internationally or live abroad on Stanford-related business for up to 365 days. Note that some services may result in additional costs to the traveler.
International Insurance Coverage
Stanford University provides insurance for unforeseen, urgent/emergent medical and security incidents that travelers may encounter while abroad. This insurance, via Zurich, is provided at no cost to the traveler on Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized travel. Travelers can moast easily access this coverage by calling Crisis24 at +1(443)716-2305. There are exclusions under the Zurich policy, and we advise travelers to familiarize themselves with the policy summary prior to travel.
If you do not call Crisis24 for assistance, you will be expected to pay for any treatment you receive. You should retain all receipts and documentation of care in order to file a claim with Zurich.
- Travelers are required to maintain coverage for the duration of their time abroad and should contact their personal medical insurance provider (e.g. Cardinal Care) to understand their international medical coverage for exclusions under the Zurich policy. If a traveler is seeking routine or preventative medical treatment abroad, they will be expected to pay for these services and seek reimbursement from their personal medical insurance provider.
- International Travel Assistance Program
- Cardinal Care for Stanford students
- Cigna Short-Term Assignment International Plan for Stanford benefits-eligible faculty and staff
- Insure My Trip
- Divers Alert Network
Schedule a Travel Medicine Consultation and obtain necessary vaccinations
- At least 6-8 weeks prior to departure, schedule a travel medicine consultation to discuss issues specific to your health history, destination, and planned activities. For travelers with self-identified risk factors and/or disease symptoms, a medical services evaluation might also be useful to ensure you stay safe and healthy during your trip. The Travel Clinic at Vaden Health Center, Travel Medicine Clinic at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, and Occupational Health Center (for faculty and staff) are convenient on-campus options. Depending on your destination, you may also need an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (also known as the Carte Jaune or Yellow Card) to document necessary vaccinations for traveling to and from certain countries.
Ensure a supply of medication for the duration of your trip and check that it is legal to bring into your destination country
- If you have prescription medication, plan ahead and obtain prescriptions from your primary physician for the entire duration of your stay if possible. Some medications may not be readily available overseas. Some medications that are common in the U.S. may not have the same status in other countries and may even be illegal. Confirm with Crisis24 or a travel clinic.
Identify specific challenges in the country(ies) to which you will travel and develop a contingency plan
- Gain comprehensive knowledge on your destination(s) through the U.S. Department of State’s Country Specific Information Page, Crisis24 Location Intelligence, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advice for travelers. Talk to others who have traveled there before. Think about likely scenarios that could affect your health and safety, and how you would respond if they were to happen.
Sign Stanford's Assumption of Risk form and return it to your travel sponsor
- Any student planning to travel off-campus on Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized trips must read and sign Stanford's Assumption of Risk form and return the signed form to the department or center sponsoring their travel. (Not sure if you need to sign the form? Check out the decision tree.)
For international students or scholars: Get a travel signature
- A valid travel signature on the I-20 or DS-2019 is required for re-entry during the F or J program after travel abroad. Only authorized advisors at the Bechtel International Center can provide such signatures for students/scholars sponsored by Stanford. Student/scholars sponsored by other program sponsors such as Fulbright or LASPAU, must contact those sponsors to obtain the required travel signature.
A few weeks before...
Read and understand guidelines for international expenses
- For travelers who are traveling on University business, you may submit a request for reimbursement via an expense report within Stanford's Expense Requests System.
- If there is a departmental administrator who has "SU Expense Requests" authority and handles expense reports that result in a reimbursement, you can submit your invoices or receipts to the administrator to process the reimbursement request.
If you submit a request via Expense Requests, you need to enter a business purpose and attach/upload supporting documentation. Business purpose includes the reason for the expenditure and explains how it supports Stanford University business and addresses Who, What, Where and Why. Please refer to the Guidelines for Writing Clear Business Purpose.
The U.S. Department of State provides an online guide where you can look up foreign per diem rates by location.
Additionally, please read the Expense Guidance for Business Meals that includes additional regulations and guidelines that pertain to expenses for alcoholic beverages, location of the business meal, and meals provided to a spouse.
Research international phone and data plans
- Roaming (calls or using data services outside of your cellular provider's coverage area) charges can get very expensive. Call your cell phone provider to find out what kind of international phone plans they have for your destination country. Each cell phone provider is different and plans may vary depending on your provider. Alternatively, you can bring an unlocked phone that accepts a foreign SIM card, or purchase a local cell phone and SIM card upon arrival.
Create a communication plan including key contacts
- Create a communication plan and share it with family and relevant Stanford staff so that they know how you plan to keep in touch, and how often. Include relevant contact details for destination country, home country, and Stanford as well as methods of communication. Ensure that an escalation plan is in place if you do not check in as planned.
Make paper copies of all travel documents and communication plan
- Before you go, make copies of your passport, visa, and the fronts and backs of any credit cards you might bring with you. Also copy other important documents such as flight and hotel information, documents regarding prescriptions, medical conditions and vaccination records, and your communication plan. Leave copies with a trusted friend or family member or someone in your department and pack a copy of each in your luggage in case you lose the originals.
Book and Register Your International Travel
All international airfare must be registered with the university travel registry prior to departure.
Book Your Trip Using the Stanford Travel Program
- Booking through the Stanford Travel Program allows Stanford to contact you and offer assistance in the event of a major emergency or changing circumstances related to your travel destination. If you have booked your trip through the Stanford Travel Program (e.g. Egencia, Key Travel, Stanford Travel Connect, or Student Universe), your itinerary is automatically registered and you do not need to do anything further.
or
Register Your Travel through Crisis24
- If you booked university travel (airfare) outside of the Stanford Travel Program, you can register your airfare by forwarding your itinerary confirmation, exactly as it was received from the airline or booking source, from your Stanford email address to Stanford@tripdata.crisis24.com. For detailed instructions visit the Booking page.
Register your trip with the U.S. Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)
- If you are a U.S. citizen, register your trip with the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so they can better assist you in an emergency, e.g. you lose your passport. You can also subscribe to receive country specific updates. If you are not a U.S. citizen, the Department of State's equivalent in your country might have a similar program.
1 week before your trip
Notify financial institutions of your travel plans
- Call your banks and credit card companies to let them know that you are traveling, and for how long. Failure to alert your issuer can result in a hold on your account due to suspected fraud, leaving you in a bind when you need your card the most.
Reconfirm Your Entry/Exit and Visa Requirements
- To find out what those requirements may be, select your destination country and refer to the “Entry/ Exit Requirements” section on the U.S. State Department Country Specific Information page. Note, entry/exit requirements are subject to change without notice.
During Travel
- If you experience an emergency or require medical or security assistance during your Stanford-sponsored or Stanford-organized international travel, contact Crisis24: +1 (443) 716-2305.
Upon return from international travel
- Report any incidents to your sponsoring unit, Global Risk.
Sending Unit Checklist
If you send students abroad, succinct guidance for supporting them can be found on the International Travel Checklist for Units that Send Students Abroad.