High Security Risk Travel Application for Individual Student Travel

Completion of this form is required to apply for a waiver to MIT’s Student Travel Policy for MIT-related academic travel. Do not apply if your travel is for purely personal reasons, such as return to your home country which may be the Institute's high-travel risk destination list. Please consult the MIT High-Risk Travel Destination list. Some countries are entirely high-risk, while others have areas of high-risk needing an application - if your travel is in that area. If you are unsure after reviewing the high-risk travel destination list, contact high-risk travel committee at high-risk-travel-comm@mit.edu for a determination. Kindly note that undergraduates are not eligible to apply for a Level 4/Do Not Travel location. The MIT Student Travel Policy explains how these determinations are made. Please apply at least two months prior to your anticipated departure date in order for the review and decision process to be carried out. Applications submitted less than four weeks prior to the intended departure may not have enough time to go through the process. NOTE: If you are able to accomplish your objectives in another region or country not listed on MIT's High-Risk Travel Destination List, you do not need to complete this application.

Note: This form autosaves after each section and not after each question. Please ensure have enough time to complete a section and return to complete other sections at a later time. Each 'next step' arrow is a save point.

The purpose of this form is to ensure the appropriate balance between safety concerns for the destination(s) and the academic value of the activity, per MIT’s Student Travel Policy. Once submitted, a member of the High-Risk Travel Review Advisory Team will contact you within five (5) business days to discuss the proposed trip and process. 

The applicant is responsible for collecting all relevant materials and is invited to consult with the Program Manager for International Health and Safety prior to starting this process. When completed, clicking 'submit' will send the form to high-risk travel committee at high-risk-travel-comm@mit.edu and provide you a copy.

Elevated Risk Project Review - Please note that there are activities subject to additional review in tandem with the high-travel risk process. Countries subject to this are China, including Hong Kong and Macau, Russia, and Saudi Arabia; however and occasionally, projects not involving these three countries that are deemed by the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) to pose heightened risk to MIT may be subject to additional review. “Projects” refer here to engagements undertaken by members of the MIT community which are bound by formal MIT contractual relationships and agreements but not to informal or ad hoc interactions and collaborations. (If your travel / activity is outside the formal scope, it may be informal. For help and guidance on informal international collaborations involving these three countries, including how to navigate federal laws, regulations, and agency requirements bearing on such collaborations, please refer to the Informal International Collaboration (IIC) tool.) Please carefully review MIT's Export Control's International Travel Information and contact Export Control as you may need a statement to submit with your application. 

Faculty Endorsements - three academic endorsements are required. The Committee recommends this be one letter signed by all three parties. The endorsers are the traveler's faculty advisor / PI, the department head, and finally the dean of the school. Prior to requesting endorsements, your application must be submitted. The Committee Coordinator will conduct a preliminary review and contact you if further information is needed. An endorsement-level review will be written and validated with you. After this validation you may start the endorsement process. It is recommended you use a template provided by the Committee Coordinator which you will contextualize for the faculty advisor / PI to review and sign with the following supporting documents: the validated risk review, the US State Department Advisory, and the International SOS Trip Brief. Other documents may be included upon recommendation from the High-Risk Committee Coordinator. 

For those conducting group travel where travelers will be participating under the same itinerary, please use the group application form. 

Travel Logistics Planning
Please note that to the extent possible your arrangements should be made with refundable tickets/bookings. A policy waiver may be rescinded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor if the risks at the time of the approval have deteriorated. You may wish to consider discussing this with the MIT Travel Office as related to International Travel. Refer to the MIT travel booking page and / or contact an MIT travel advisor.

Review and Evaluation

Waiver requests are evaluated based on the following criteria:
The High-risk Travel Committee Coordinator will initially review the application and supporting documents. Following this review and if no further details or documentation are needed, the full committee will review.
If there are no further questions or concerns, the Committee will make its recommendation to the Vice Chancellor.

Once the Vice Chancellor makes the final decision, the Coordinator of the High-Risk Travel Review Committee relays the status to the applicant.
There is no appeal for a negative decision.