As of fall 2022 the university returned to standard pre-pandemic procedures for employee (faculty and staff) and non-employee (visitor) international travel. Student travel continues to require some additional review and approval.
International Travel Guidelines
Employees (faculty and staff)
- Employees should follow any international travel approval policy of their home department, school or campus. Check with your fiscal officer or department administrator if you are unsure whether your home unit has an approval procedure outside of the Chrome River trip authorization (TA) document.
- An approved Chrome River trip authorization (TA) report must be in place before making reservations for the trip whether you are using direct bill travel reservations in Egencia or other IU Designated Travel Agency (DTA) or will be requesting reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses associated with the trip.
All students
- Consistent with long-standing university policy on student international travel safety, no IU funds may be used to support student travel to countries under U.S. State Department Level 4 “Do Not Travel” Advisories.
- International travel by undergraduate students is subject to approval by IU Education Abroad.
Graduate students
- Individual graduate student travelers should submit an international travel form for each university-affiliated international trip. This is required for graduate student travel to Level 3 Advisory destinations, and strongly encouraged for Level 1 and 2 destinations as well.
- If the grad student travel is being booked through Chrome River, the signed form should be uploaded with the Chrome River pre-approval document for the trip to be authorized.
- If the travel is being supported through a cash award in SIS or by a third party, the form should be e-mailed directly to OVPIA at ovpia@iu.edu prior to travel, as well as filed in the student’s home department records.
- For a graduate student traveling abroad alone, based on a faculty or staff member’s recommendation or encouragement, no further documentation is needed, even if the student has IU funding to support their travel.
- Additional approval will be required in cases where a faculty or staff member is traveling with the student, or is substantially involved in establishing or facilitating arrangements (e.g., creating opportunities for research, scheduling musical performances or sports activities or setting up other non-credit travel abroad for students). In such cases, graduate student international travel must first be approved through the IU Education Abroad short form procedure.
International travel FAQ
Travel is university-affiliated if it is undertaken within the scope of the traveler’s role and responsibilities at IU, regardless of the source of funding for the trip. For faculty, examples include travel to conduct research, teach, or participate in a professional meeting; for graduate students, examples include travel for research or study at a foreign institution.
No. However, international graduate students planning personal travel overseas should review IU Office of International Services travel guidelines, and all graduate students and other travelers with university employment responsibilities should keep their supervisor informed of personal international travel plans, as remote work from overseas is generally not allowed.
No. They apply to all international travel undertaken within the scope of the traveler’s role and responsibilities at IU, even it is funded by a third party or by personal funds.
No exceptions will be granted.
OVPIA has collaborated with several IU offices to put together a resource page about travel assistance and trip cancellation/interruption insurance options for students, faculty, and staff.
Updated September 1, 2023
