Travel Guidance

Current Travel Advisories

UGANDA: Due to ongoing Ebola virus outbreaks in Uganda, please note the following UCSF travel advisory:

  • UCSF faculty, staff and students should reconsider non-essential travel to Uganda.
  • Until further notice, UCSF faculty, staff and students who do travel to these areas or are already in country should not engage in any clinical care activities while visiting these countries.
  • For those UCSF employees or students who do travel to any of these countries, you must:
    1. Contact San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) upon return for follow-up guidance and recommendations. Restrictions and reporting requirements for travelers returning from this region may be implemented by SFDPH.
    2. Also contact Occupational Health Services at 415-353-7842 (M-F, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to schedule a post-travel assessment and discuss return to work.

UKRAINE UPDATE: UC Office of the President Travel Advisory: The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 4 — Do Not Travel Warning for Ukraine due to the conflict. As a result, and out of concern for the well-being and safety of the UC community, we are directing all members of the UC community to avoid all travel to Ukraine at this time. Additionally, travel to neighboring countries should be carefully evaluated.  

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: UC Office of the President Travel Advisory: Due to escalating security risk within the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, all non-essential travel to this region should be avoided for the foreseeable future. Any travel determined to be essential needs to be thoroughly evaluated prior to departure. Risk Advisory and Insurance Services is available to support the evaluation of travel and provide guidance to travelers. More information can be found in the UCOP announcement.

International Travel Requirements for Students

  • International UCSF-sponsored travel requires approval. Travel to other states and U.S. territories does not. 
  • Allowable Travel Defined: Travel for UCSF-sponsored clinical work, research or conferences that are approved by the designated individual at UCSF's Institute for Global Health Sciences (IGHS), School of Dentistry, School of Medicine; School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, or the Graduate Division. 
  • Approvers for Students: Approvers are listed on each of the two Student International Travel Approval forms, which are used for low-risk or high-risk travel.  
    • Low-Risk Destinations are defined as those with a U.S. Department of State Security Rating of 1 or 2, and Worldcue Trip Planner Overall Security Rating of 1 to 4. High-Risk Destinations are defined as those with a U.S. Department of State Security Rating of 3 or 4, and/or a Worldcue Trip Planner Overall Security Rating of 5. 
    • If a destination is considered high-risk according to travel risk ratings of the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and/or the United Kingdom, a high-risk travel form and related processes may be required by the approver, even if the US DOS and UC Trip Planner ratings are low-risk.
    • High-risk destinations, will continue to require approval at the dean/designate level. Note: high-risk destinations are rarely approved.
    • Low-risk destinations will require approval by defined individuals selected by each of UCSF's four schools, the Graduate Division or IGHS, according to program involvement by the student.

Required Travel Approval Process for Students

  • The student should complete the appropriate form according to the risk rating of their destination: the Student International Travel Approval Form – Low Risk or the Student International Travel Approval Form – High Risk. ​If you have not heard about your approval within 10 days after your request, notify Travis Pentz, and include these details: Dates of trip, location of trip, your designation (Student), and to whom the Travel Request was submitted.   
  • The student must attach and email the form to the correct approver listed on the Student International Travel Approval Forms. Broader approval may be granted for multiple travel events for an individual traveler in one identified country at the discretion of the Approver and within a clearly defined period of time, and according to the laws and regulations of that country.  
  • The Approver receives and reviews the Request. Based on the travel itinerary and justification, the Approver accepts or does not accept the Request, and signs and dates the form. For high-risk destinations, approvers may require an additional risk evaluation before making a decision, and they will notify the International Study & Travel Risk Manager, who will contact the student for a brief interview.   
  • Each approver must keep a copy of all requests (whether approved or not) in case of emergency. A copy of all High-Risk forms, both approved and denied, should be emailed to Travis Pentz.
  • The approver sends a signed approved copy back to the student, who takes the document abroad to use the links in case of emergency. The approver must also email an unapproved copy back to the student without a signature and with or without an explanation.
  • If the approval form is returned to the student without a signature and without an explanation, the student should reach out to the approver to understand the issue. 

For additional guidance and resources related to health, safety, insurance, and emergency response, review the Health, Safety, and Security page and Risk Advisory and Insurance Services' Travel Resources page.