Overview

There are some actions that you must take when planning to travel to help ensure that you have a safe and productive trip.

Please allow enough time to complete the necessary pre-travel planning steps.

Complex trips abroad, working in remote areas or involving high risk activities, may take a number of weeks or months to organise adequately.

If you need to find out more about The University's definition of a business trip please refer to [The University’s policy and definition of business travel] on the Finance Division website.

Steps for planning a work trip

1. Country guidance and visas

Check if:

• It is safe to travel - see the government’s latest foreign travel advice
• You are travelling to a known high risk area: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, any other territories where there are current cases of Ebola
• You are travelling to a country where trade restrictions have been imposed: Crimea (Ukraine), Cuba, Syria, Sudan and South Sudan, North Korea

If you are planning to travel to any of these countries please contact the Insurance Team as soon as possible at insurance@admin.ox.ac.uk.

> More information about travel insurance referrals on Finance Division’s website

Visas

Check the government’s latest foreign travel advice for entry visa requirements for the countries you’re travelling to.

If you’re a sponsored migrant worker you should contact The Staff Immigration Team for advice about travelling outside the UK for University business.

2. Travel health

The Occupational Health Service (OHS) provides a travel clinic for health advice, vaccinations, and some antimalarial drugs. This applies to travel for University-related business only.

Contact OHS as soon as you know you will be travelling overseas for work, since some vaccine schedules require up to 3 months to gain adequate immunity.

You will need to complete a travel health assessment form and send it to Occupational Health Services.

OHS will assess your trip based on the information you provide and may offer you an appointment and/or advice if required.

> More information about travel health on Occupational Health’s website

3. Risk assessment

If your trip involves fieldwork or travel to high risk countries you may need to submit a detailed written risk assessment to The University’s Safety Office. 

If you are travelling overseas you will need to complete a risk assessment before you apply for travel insurance.

Submit your risk assessment as early as possible to allow time for The Safety Office to gather more information if necessary.

4. Fieldwork safety and training

If your trip includes fieldwork you must read and follow The University’s health and safety policy on fieldwork.

You should also attend any relevant fieldwork safety training courses. The Safety Office run several courses.

5. Travel insurance

The University provides travel insurance for University employees, students and volunteers travelling within the UK or worldwide on University business.

Cover is not automatic, and you need to apply.

Your trip must be approved by your department before you apply.

You may also need to:

• Check the government’s latest foreign travel advice to make sure it’s safe to travel
• Submit a full written risk assessment with your application if your trip involves fieldwork or travel to a high risk country
• Contact the Insurance Team in advance if you are travelling to a high risk country to arrange additional cover. These ‘referrals’ can take up to six weeks to process.
• Contact the Insurance Team in advance to arrange additional cover if your trip involves high risk activities, or if you are over 75

For more detailed information and to check the full conditions of cover please refer to the Travel insurance section on the Finance Division website.