Announcements & Resources
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Read the latest news and announcements:
As a reminder, disruptions due to COVID-19 continue to impact international travel. If you plan to travel internationally, please be prepared in the event you test positive for COVID-19 immediately before or during your trip. Travelers that test positive for COVID-19 while abroad must isolate and avoid travel in accordance with CDC guidance.
May 10
As of May 10th, 2022, CITRA will continue with the next phase of this careful, but deliberate return to Penn’s international activities, by removing all COVID-19 related restrictions on student travel.
Travelers may still require internal approval to travel from their departments, Schools/Centers, and budget leaders. Individual travelers will also be personally responsible for understanding the complex border restrictions and entry requirements of their individual itinerary. Read more.
February 17
COVID-19 continues to impact international travel. Please reference these travel recommendations for International Travel Over Spring Break.
January 4
There has been no change to the existing Penn policy regarding international travel and we remain in a restricted travel status. The Penn-Affiliated International Travel Notice from CITRA - Committee on International Travel Risk Assessment - has no current plans to rescind approval on previously approved petitions for individual or group travel. Should travel policy change, you will be immediately notified.
Utilize our destination specific coronavirus (COVID-19) testing requirements or coronavirus.upenn.edu for information & resources, up-to-date responses to questions about Penn Cares, testing, Penn Open Pass, and more.
September 7
- Faculty, Staff, and Post docs on individual travel no longer need to submit a petition.
- Registration in MyTrips is still required for all international travel.
May 18
Penn ended the COVID-19 suspension on all domestic and international Penn-affiliated travel and moved to restricted status. For all Penn-affiliated travel occurring on or after May 18th, 2021, a COVID-19 vaccination is required. This applies to both domestic and international travel, unless an exception has been granted for medical or religious reasons.
People are considered fully vaccinated:
- 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
- 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
Visit Penn's Heightened Risk Travel page for more details. In addition, The University of Pennsylvania continues to follow Center for Disease Control (CDC) and US Department of State (DOS) health and security travel guidance.
Penn Travel Guidelines and Procedures apply to Penn-affiliated (outbound) travel only. The following (inbound) travel is NOT considered Penn-affiliated and therefore does not fall under the purview of Penn Travel Guidelines and Procedures, nor is it managed through Penn Global, International Risk Management, or CTRA:
- Visitors to campus who are not current students, faculty, staff, or Post Docs of the University
- Commuting to campus by faculty, staff, students, or post docs currently living or temporarily located outside the Philadelphia and TriState area
- International student, faculty, staff, or post docs returning to the US from abroad
- Personal Travel
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.
For more information visit:
The regulatory and market constraints of international shipping are changing every day due to COVID-19. Although shipping is generally considered an essential service and exempted from most lock-down measures, deliveries may be impacted. In some countries service is continuing normally, while in other countries there are significant disruptions in service. As essentials and medical supplies are prioritized, other deliveries may be delayed. Also, many providers are applying surcharges, due to increased supply chain demands coupled with staffing disruptions. The following are links with international shipping alerts, updates, and available services.
DHL | FedEx | UPS Alerts | UPS Map | Geodis
For shipments in the EU, from January 30 to July 31:
VAT and duty will be waived for vital medical equipment for state organizations and charitable or philanthropic organizations approved by the EU member states.
