The UCD Travel Policy (currently under review), which is endorsed by the University Management Team, has been developed to inform all persons engaged in international travel about the University’s travel safety and travel insurance provisions and limitations. This policy describes the approvals process within UCD related to international travel and the Requirements for Safety and Travel Insurance Purposes.

It is important that persons undertaking approved international travel on behalf of the University are familiar with the provisions of this policy and adhere to its provisions.

International Fieldwork is defined as any work carried out by staff or students for the purposes of teaching, research or other activities while representing the institution outside of a fixed premises outside the Republic of Ireland. This extends to include work in outdoor environments, interviews in interviewees’ homes or public locations. This does not include temporary visits to third party research facilities or fixed premises.

Requirements for International Fieldwork Safety and Travel Insurance Purposes

• Notification of travel to the SIRC Office
• Fieldwork Risk Assessment
  A written assessment of the risks to the traveller posed by their fieldwork and the identification of risk control measures that may be taken to reduce said risk. A template for completing such a risk assessment has been prepared by the SIRC Office.
• High Risk Travel Risk Assessment (where required)

Notwithstanding the approval required for all travel on university business under the UCD Travel Policy, additional approvals are required for some travel for safety and travel insurance purposes.  

• Travel to a country / region subject to a DFA ‘Avoid Non-Essential Travel’ travel advisory, requires approval from your Head of School / Unit and your relevant UMT Member (College Principal / Vice President) 
• Travel to a country / region subject to a DFA ‘Do Not Travel’ travel advisory also requires approval from your Head of School / Unit and from the UMT (through your relevant UMT member) 
• All travel under these DFA advisories ‘Do Not Travel’ or ‘Avoid Non Essential Travel’ must also be risk assessed using the  UCD High Risk Travel Risk Assessment Template and must be submitted to the SIRC Office in advance to confirm travel insurance is available.  
• All travel to be notified to the SIRC Office at least ten days in advance of any travel to confirm insurance cover (see Notification of Travel section below)
• Persons travelling should not assume travel insurance cover is in place until this has been confirmed by the SIRC Office. Any areas subject to DFA advisories against travel may be subject to reduced levels of cover. 
• These approval and risk assessment requirements are set out in Table 1. Below.

Table 1. Travel Approval and Notification Requirements (Taken from UCD Travel Policy)

Please notify your travel to insurance@ucd.ie.

Notifications of travel to the SIRC Office seeking confirmation of travel cover must include the following details:

• Travel destination, dates of travel and purpose of travel
• UCD High Risk Travel Risk Assessment Template if applicable 
• Fieldwork Risk Assessment if applicable

Submissions should be made to insurance@ucd.ie at least ten days in advance of any travel.

Persons travelling should not assume travel insurance cover is in place until this has been confirmed by the SIRC Office. 

• All travel under the DFA advisories ‘Do Not Travel’ or ‘Avoid Non-Essential Travel’ travel must also be risk assessed using the UCD High Risk Travel Risk Assessment Template
• All international travel involving fieldwork is subject to a Fieldwork Risk Assessment  irrespective of the location. 

Once travel has been notified to the SIRC Office, confirmation of cover will be provided to include details of the limits of cover in place and emergency contact numbers to be used for medical emergencies whilst abroad.

Travel Safety and Insurance Guidance Documents

All persons travelling on behalf of the University are advised to read the (opens in a new window)UCD Travel Safety Guidelines and the (opens in a new window)UCD Travel Insurance Guide for Staff or the ‌‌(opens in a new window)UCD Travel Insurance Guide for Postgrads. 

Notwithstanding the extension of UCD’s insurance cover all persons travelling within the EU and the EEA are advised to obtain a (opens in a new window)European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This allows access to the public health systems of countries within these areas and is free of charge.

Any queries in relation to making a claim under the university travel and personal accident policy can be sent to (opens in a new window)insurance@ucd.ie

Assessment of any claim will be subject to the policy term and conditions.

For any persons undertaking approved international travel on behalf of the University, before travelling it is important to establish if you need a visa for your trip.  E.g., If you are a non-EEA citizen living in Ireland, you will need a Schengen visa to travel to the Schengen Area.  Please contact the nearest (opens in a new window)Embassy or Consulate of the country you plan to visit for visa requirements. It is your responsibility to make sure you have the correct visa for your stay in another country.

Where individual travel insurance letters are required for VISA applications, please send your request to (opens in a new window)sirc@ucd.ie at least 5 days in advance of your visa appointment. Please note, we cannot guarantee that requests for visa letters made at short notice (including on the day of visa appointments) will be met. 

Please provide the following information:

• Name of the person travelling as it appears on Passport
• Destination of travel
• Travel Start Date
• Travel End Date
• Purpose of Travel

You should note that for many countries, your passport needs to be valid for at least six months after the date that you travel.

Note that if you miss a flight due to not having the correct visa, then this cost is not recoverable from the travel insurers