People Operations Abroad

Reach out to GSS early in your planning and budgeting process to help find the best route for you.

Personnel needs abroad are complex due to meeting both U.S. and foreign country labor and tax regulations. Before starting, consider the following:

The Activity
The Country
Penn's status in that country

Penn department/centers (Programs) should consider the employment laws of the host country and the planned activities of the staff. In addition, they should try to anticipate how staffing needs may change in subsequent years after the program is established.

Paying People Overseas

Fall 2021: Penn will return to its normal policy that all employees (faculty, staff, students, postdocs, etc.) must be working from within the United States in order to be on U.S. payroll. This includes any individuals who continue to work remotely. Previous accommodations due to COVID-19 will no longer be in place.

Faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students continue to have the opportunity to perform activities outside of the United States when they are part of a formal and approved research, study, dissertation, or sabbatical program.
Business travel of up to 90 days in any one country in a calendar year is generally considered acceptable without requiring additional compliance review. However, such travel is generally not recommended if the traveler may face difficulty returning to the U.S. due to visa issues or current travel restrictions.

If you have a specific situation that you wish to discuss, please contact Becky Struwe.

Non-Service Stipends

Educational Fellows and Pre-doctoral Trainees may continue to receive non-service stipends if they are located outside of the US.

If the student is a returning student, with proper documentation for an I-9 as well as a US bank account, follow the established process to create the appropriate role in Workday.

If the student is a new student, cannot meet the I-9 requirements, or does not have a U.S. bank account, you may process these non-service stipends via a Non-PO payment through the Penn Marketplace:

Students will need to be onboarded as Suppliers in the Penn Marketplace.
Choose object code 4198 when processing the request.
Whenever possible, Departments should process one payment for the entire semester to alleviate burden on tax and AP in processing these payments.

This payment method is for non-service stipends only.

In-Country Considerations