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Safety and travel
Keeping informed before departure
In our continuing efforts to give you the best possible preparation for your upcoming study abroad experience, we are including information about Country Information Sheets. Prior to departing the U.S., we ask that you carefully read the Country Information Sheet about the country/countries to which your program will take you. Please feel free to call our Travel Security Analyst at 517-353-8920, if you have any questions or concerns regarding the information you find in the Information Sheet(s).
Also note that the U.S. State Department has developed specific travel advice for students.
Between now and your departure, and once you have left the U.S., it is your responsibility to stay informed about developments in the country/countries in which you will spend time (including any countries you will visit that are not part of your study abroad program’s itinerary). You can do so by checking the U.S. State Department’s Web page.
On that page you will find four different types of information: Country Information Sheets, Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, and Country Background Notes. This information is updated based on current events worldwide. According to the State Department:
- Country Information Sheets are available for every country of the world. They include such information as location of the U.S. embassy or consulate in the subject country, unusual immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties. If an unstable condition exists in a country that is not severe enough to warrant a Travel Warning, a description of the condition(s) may be included under an optional section entitled "Safety/Security." On limited occasions, we also restate in this section any U.S. embassy advice given to official employees. Country Information Sheets generally do not include advice, but present information in a factual manner so the traveler can make his or her own decisions concerning travel to a particular country.
- Travel Alerts are a means to disseminate information about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term and/or trans-national conditions posing significant risks to the security of American travelers. In the past, Travel Alerts were called Public Announcements and often referred to short-term coups, violence by terrorists and anniversary dates of specific terrorist events.
- Travel Warnings are issued to describe long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable. A Travel Warning is also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff. Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have Travel Warnings as well as Country Information Sheets.
- Country Background Notes are factual publications that include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty. The Notes are updated/revised by the Office of Electronic Information and Publications of the Bureau of Public Affairs as they are received from the Department's regional bureaus and are added to the database of the Department of State website you are now using.
For a more detailed description of each of these types of travel information, please refer to the State Department Web page. Aside from providing you with interesting information about your host country/countries, reading this information may spare you from unpleasant surprises. Periodically checking this Web page is especially important if your program and/or travel take you to regions of the world where unstable conditions exist or are likely to develop.
02/08 jaf
