Yale Health & Safety Resources

It is important to be aware of all the Yale resources available to you while you are pursuing activities outside of Yale. Before you leave campus, whether for summer-long travel, shorter vacation, or business trips, please install the International SOS travel app on your smartphone.

Important Note: Yale College students must abide by the Yale College Travel Policy.


Contact International SOS travel assistance. Available to all students 100+ miles from Yale.

All members of the Yale community are automatically enrolled with International SOS (ISOS), which provides pre-travel consultations and 24/7/365 domestic and international emergency medical, security and travel assistance for Yale travelers and accompanying family while more than 100 miles from home.

Visit Yale’s International Toolkit for the following important information:

  • Register Your Travel: In the event of a major emergency, Yale will be able to contact you.
  • Understand Medical Insurance Abroad: Check with your medical insurance provider before you travel to verify coverage of routine medical needs and coverage limitations while you are outside the U.S.  For students enrolled in Yale Health Basic and Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage, your Yale Health insurance coverage is good worldwide in the event of a health emergency.

Travelers on Yale-related business (including students traveling on study abroad programs, doing research, attending conferences or student organization travel) now have coverage for up to $250,000 in out-of-country medical expenses for treatment for accidents or sicknesses that occur while traveling.  Visit https://ogc.yale.edu/erm/ISOS and click on “Out-of-country medical care coverage” for additional information.

Leave electronics that you don’t really need at home (cybersecurity.yale.edu/travelsecurely).

Before you get on a plane, train, or in an automobile consider protecting your electronic devices while away.  Take a quick look at these travel tips and look into registering a secondary or alternative phone for multi-factor authentications.

International students and scholars on non-immigrant visas.

Consult the OISS travel guidance web page before you depart and check with OISS if you have any concerns about your travel plans or return to the U.S.  F-1 and J-1 visa holders should check the signature line of their I-20 or DS-2019 forms.  Advice on handling immigration emergencies can be also be found on the OISS website.

U.S. sanctions and embargoes

These may require you to have U.S. government approval before you travel to an embargoed country or may restrict your activities in that country. If you violate these rules, you may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties.

  • Those traveling to Iran, North Korea, Syria, or the Crimea region of Ukraine must contact Don Deyo, Director of Export Controls, at (203) 785-3817.
  • Those traveling to Cuba must review the Cuba sanctions page on Yale’s International Toolkit and email the Office of the General Counsel at IOCC@yale.edu with a description of your proposed trip. Restrictions on travel to Cuba remain in place:  trips to Cuba that are primarily tourist-oriented, along with many other transactions relating to Cuba, continue to be prohibited.

Additional Yale resources