According to UCF Policy 2.903.3 on International Travel, the university may restrict travel to countries for which the U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 3 or Level 4 Travel Advisory or for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Travel Health Notice related to a high-risk, contagious disease.
At its discretion, the university may also restrict certain other destinations where the security, health, and /or political situation is unstable. This restriction does not apply to privately funded travel that is not related to university business or is in no way affiliated to UCF (e.g. personal vacation/personal travel).
Furthermore, to comply with Florida Statute 1010.36 regarding foreign influence, preapproval and screening is required by the Office of International Collaboration and Export Control (OICEC) and UCF Global, for any university-related international travel engaged in by all faculty, researchers, and research department staff.
KEY FEATURES
UCF encourages international travel in the pursuit of our global strategy and academic mission while aiming to make those travels as safe as possible. To this end, UCF constantly monitors global health, safety, and security information. In accordance with UCF Policy, Florida statutes, and U.S. law, certain destinations have been identified as “restricted”.
Furthermore, considering the inherent risks generally associated with international travel, especially to restricted countries, as defined by the U.S. Department of State and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the university has established a travel approval process (See Policy 2.903.3) to comply with Federal and State mandates, as well as mitigate the risks that may occur while a traveler is overseas. In addition, a safety plan will be implemented should the need arise.
Considering the above, international travel approval to a restricted destination must be sought through a Travel Approval Petition (TAP). The TAP is submitted through UCF Global via online form.
RESTRICTED DESTINATIONS
Please read the country-specific travel advisories from the Department of State and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for updates on the impact of COVID-19 worldwide.
UCF International Health and Safety reserves the right to make immediate adjustments if conditions in a country change significantly. Students should always monitor advisories for their intended location by for downloading AlertTraveler.
Likewise, we encourage faculty and staff to register for the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
PLEASE NOTE: Travel Approval Petitions must be submitted to UCF Global at least 10 business days prior to departure to allow reasonable time for review and risk assessment by UCF Global and the Office of International Collaboration and Export Control (OICEC).
The traveler is responsible for factoring in additional time that may be required for funding, research, or other unit/department approvals. In some cases, export control licenses may take up to 90 days to acquire. Please plan accordingly.
For more information, please read: UCF Policy 2.903.3.
Questions or concerns may be directed to International Health & Safety at intlsafety@ucf.edu.
When adding a country or region to the Restricted Travel List, we factor in criteria from government, insurance, and in-country resources.
Some of which include but are not limited to:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL (OFAC)
Issues comprehensive sanctions against countries that prohibit all direct or indirect imports/exports, trade brokering, financing or facilitating against most goods, technology and services. Visit the Office of Export Compliance for more details.
UNITED HEALTHCARE GLOBAL
A UCF partner that helps monitor and identify risks throughout the world. They use threat level ratings 1 (Very Low Threat) to 5 (Very High Threat) to rate risks abroad.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)
Issues travel notices to inform travelers about current health issues related to specific designations and are categorized by Warning Level 3 (avoid nonessential travel), Alert Level 2 (practice enhanced precautions) and Watch Level 1 (practice usual precautions).
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Issues travel advisories for every country, including four standard levels of advice, risk descriptions and actions that U.S. citizens should implement to help ensure their safety.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Countries Classified as a Terrorist State
- Countries under U.S. Sanction, embargo or that are working on sensitive projects or equipment, may require additional government approval.
- Questions or concerns may be directed to the Office of Export Compliance.
Countries Classified as a Terrorist State
According to Chapter 1011.90 (6), Florida Statutes:
- There is no process to approve travel using any university funds to the following countries: Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Iran, and Syria.
- “None of the state or non-state funds made available to state universities may be used to implement, organize, direct, coordinate, or administer, or to support the implementation, organization, direction, coordination, or administration of, activities related to or involving travel to a terrorist state.”
