Updated International Travel Guidelines

The University of Louisville International Travel policy states students cannot travel to CDC levels 3 or higher locations for any reason. However, on June 7, 2021, the CDC updated the verbiage in their COVID advisory levels. Prior to June 7, a COVID level three stated, “avoid nonessential travel,” and it was updated to, “make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling. Unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel.” With this updated guidance in mind, programs that begin in the Fall 2021 semester, fully vaccinated students may appeal to travel to CDC COVID Level 3 destinations, if they meet the following criteria:

Regardless of the CDC or State Department level, the destination must be allowing US citizens to travel to the country.
  • The borders to the destination must be fully open, not temporary openings.
  • If the location is also a State Department Level 3 for COVID, fully vaccinated travelers may appeal to travel.  
  • Students appealing to travel to these locations continue to be required to travel with a pre-existing UofL program (through a third-party provider, faculty-led, co-op partner, exchange institution, etc.).  
  • Students should have a compelling reason: why this location, why now?
  • Approved travel is subject is reevaluation. If the CDC or State Departments’ level for a country changes prior to departure, permission to travel may be withdrawn. It is highly recommended that the traveler purchase cancel for any reason insurance, details can be found on the Study Abroad and International Travel’s travel insurance page. http://louisville.edu/studyabroad/resources/travel-insurance.

Study Abroad Appeal Process

All students traveling to Level 3+ Department of State or CDC countries must appeal to receive approval to study abroad this summer. Note that while you may appeal and receive permission to study abroad, the global COVID-19 situation is fluid and approval can be revoked at any given time up to and including the student's departure date. The appeal process is only valid for countries at a Level 3 or Level 4 due to COVID-19.

Appeal Process for COB Majors

  1. Write your petition letter detailing how you will mitigate your risk while abroad. To include: in-country emergency contact information, steps on what to do in case of emergency, COVID-19 policies and procedures, whether in-country quarantine is required, when and where are masks required/recommended be worn, where can a COVID-19 test be administered in-country, what fees (if any) are involved with quarantine or testing, and any other relevant COVID-19 information. Student can easily obtain this information from their third-party program provider contact or host university International Office. 
  2. You must finalize your course equivalency approvals.
  3. Then you must meet with your COB academic advisor to sign off on the courses and your academics. That is the late tab on the excel version or the bottom half of the page on the paper version. Your academic advisor needs your petition letter as well. 
  4. Then your advisor must send your documents to the Department Chair (CC-- Kimber.guinn@louisville.edu) that you have academic approval to go abroad.
  5. The Department Chair then will send an email to the COB Dean that they endorse your semester abroad. Again, Kimber.Guinn@louisville.edu should be CC on this email.
  6. The COB Dean will then send the final email to Kimber.Guinn@louisville.edu to endorse your participation in Study Abroad.
  7. Kimber will compile all documents and endorsements and email them to the Dean of Students for final approval. You will receive an email from Kimber with the approval decision.

Appeal Process for non-COB Majors 

  1. Obtain the appeal PDF from your Study Abroad Advisor. Use a laptop or desktop for this. This form requires digital signatures and can only be completed via Adobe Acrobat. You have free access to Adobe as a UofL student. Download Adobe and/or get help here. 
  2. Type your name as it appears (or will appear if you're waiting on it) on your passport in the top cell, upper right-hand corner of Page 1
    1. This information will auto-populate on the rest of the pages
  3. Type your UofL Student ID number in the cell beneath your name in the upper right-hand corner 
    1. This information will auto-populate on the rest of the pages
  4. Section 1 should be completed by you. We know you may not have all the answers for the Safety and Security Assessment portion (page 2), but please answer to the best of your ability.  Use your available resources (namely your provider or exchange university) to get questions answered. You do not have to fill the entire empty answer space. Question 14 has a hyperlink to the CISI Insurance website. On the left-hand side of that website, halfway down the page is a 'Request Intel for your Destination' option. You can click that to obtain information to be used for this appeal. Question 14 also asks for a personal plan to pay for any up-front medical costs. If you cannot afford to pay for medical costs while abroad, you can apply for Student Emergency Funds through the Dean of Students Office.
  5. After you have completed Section 1, save the form. 
  6. Section 2 should be completed by a faculty member (professor). You will email your saved form to the professor of your choosing and ask them to complete Section 2. This section is essentially a recommendation letter in PDF form. The professor you ask should have had you in class or know you decently well. 
  7. The faculty member should save the form once complete and email it to the Dean of your college (Arts and Sciences, Education, School of Music, School of Nursing, etc). The Dean will complete Section 3 and then email the fully completed form to me, Kimber Guinn at kimber.guinn@louisville.edu 
  • Kimber will then send the completed form to the Dean of Students for final approval. You will receive an email from Kimber with the approval decision.
  • **It is your responsibility to ensure the form gets completed appropriately. Incomplete information will cause a delay in processing. Our office can answer basic questions regarding the form, but we cannot complete the form for you. 

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