Student Travel
Registry
All university-sanctioned travel outside of the greater Montreal area must be registered.
Pre-departure
Orientation
All McGill students going abroad outside of Canada must complete Pre-departure.
Emergency
Contacts
Know who to contact in case of an emergency or crisis.
Review key information about wellbeing abroad and reducing risks
Travel Insurance
All individuals traveling for McGill-sanctioned activities must have sufficient travel and medical insurance that covers medical emergencies, emergency evacuation, and trip cancellation and interruption. Make sure that you have a copy of your travel insurance policy with you while abroad.
Most members of the McGill community already have some travel coverage through SSMU or PGSS, the McGill Supplemental Health Insurance Program, or International Student Services, but students must verify their coverage dates and note any exclusions and limitations. These can relate to:
- Opting out of coverage in previous years.
- Personal health factors.
- Participation in political demonstrations.
- Extreme sports, consumption of alcohol/drugs, and other risky activities.
- Travel advisories issued for the host country and/or regions within.
- Other circumstances that may affect insurance coverage.
Research and planning
Consult reliable and varied sources regarding potential hazards in your destination and identity-related travel advice, formulate your emergency response plan, and explore resilience strategies to maximize the impact of your experience.
Understand the destination:
- Government of Canada travel advice and advisories.
- Equaldex - Index and tracker of LGBTQ+-discriminatory laws.
- Follow local news outlets and set Google alerts to stay updated.
Explore identity-related travel advice:
- For women travellers.
- For LGBTQ+ travellers.
- For travellers with disabilities.
- For racialized/travellers of colour.
Consult resources on student safety abroad, and formulate your own emergency response and resilience plan:
- Risk analysis and management and emergency plan template.
- Understanding culture shock and the importance of goal-setting while abroad.
Other recommended resources:
- The McGill Student Pre-Departure Checklist.
- GuardMe - A free, 24/7 mental health counselling service available to all McGill students, even when abroad.
- McGill University’s Sustainable Travel Guide.
Connectivity abroad
While abroad, it is important to stay connected to receive important information and stay safe. Sign up for the Registration of Canadian Abroad and ensure that you will be able to access your McGill accounts with Microsoft Authenticator, sign-up for travel advisories from the Canadian government, and find sources for reliable emergency information in your destination.
Students travelling abroad should set-up two-factor authentication (2FA) on their mobile device prior to their scheduled departure. This will allow students to sign into their McGill affiliated email address while travelling if they will be using a different phone or SIM card while travelling. Please contact the IT Service Desk for support.
McGill students abroad must continue to check their McGill email regularly for the duration of their trip. Students must also log into the Student Travel Registry app once every 30 days, or it will enter hibernation mode.
Students should also be mindful of their data security and privacy while travelling, and consult advice from McGill IT Services.
McGill Policy on Student Safety Abroad and exemption requests
McGill’s Policy on Student Safety Abroad stipulates that students are not permitted to participate in university-sanctioned international activities in locations with an “Avoid non-essential travel” advisory by the Government of Canada, without an approved travel exemption.
If you deem your travel to a location that is listed as "Avoid non-essential travel" by Global Affairs Canada to be essential, or if you are currently abroad in such a location and deem your participation in a university-sanctioned international activity in your current location to be essential, you must request an exemption.
Exemption requests made prior to departure must be submitted with sufficient notice to allow for a detailed evaluation process to take place - at least 4 weeks before making any travel arrangements or 2 months before travel or start of the activity. Exemptions for travel or stay in a country, city or region with an “Avoid all travel” advisory will not be granted.
