Travel advice & travel documents (including visas)
At Odisee, we care about your safety during a study or traineeship mobility abroad very. This is why the International Relations Office and more specifically your coordinator for traineeship or study mobility checks the travel advice from Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation for the destination of outgoing students.
Of course, COVID-19 can still play a role in the risk analysis in the region you are travelling to, but it is no longer decisive for the travel policy.
Your responsibility too
Given the large number of students going on an exchange and the multitude of destinations, we would like to ask you, as soon as your programme is confirmed and your Learning Agreement signed, to regularly check on the travel advice until your departure. Like this, the International Relations Office and yourself will monitor the safety at your destination.
What if the advice before your departure is negative?
If the (region of the) destination is advised against in the travel advice of the authorities, you are not allowed to leave. In concrete terms, this means:
- if there is a negative travel advice from the government.
- If it is mentioned that there are increased security risks or conflicts in the region (therefore non-essential travel is not recommended).
In the event of a natural disaster, war, pandemic or other unforeseen major situation, the Executive Committee, possibly in consultation with KU Leuven's Risk Destinations Committee, can impose a travel ban to certain regions. It is examined on a case-by-case basis whether any costs already incurred can be recovered and whether reorientation to another destination is possible.
What if the advice after your departure is negative?
In the event of negative travel advice after your departure, the relevant partner institution / placement partner and the Belgian diplomatic posts in the host country are consulted. It will be discussed whether an early return, in consultation with yourself (and possibly your parents), is appropriate.
In case of an acute increased risk in your country of destination (e.g. terrorist threat, pandemic, natural disaster or other drastic situations), the local emergency procedures and guidelines apply. If you or the partner institution/traineeship partner decide to return early, an arrangement will be made in consultation with DIRO and other services involved to minimise any loss of your study progress.
Steps to take before your departure
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Closely monitor your travel advice
Monitor the travel advice at your destination via the website of Foreign Affairs
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Register your departure & collect addresses of useful agencies
- Register your departure on travellersonline. This makes it easier for FPS Foreign Affairs to inform and assist you in the event of a serious crisis abroad.
- If you are going outside of Europe for study or a work placement, inform the local Belgian embassy or consulate of your stay abroad via travellersonline.
- Check with your local contact regarding safety, health & find out practical information such as payments (cash/bank cards) and insurance abroad.
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Make practical preparations
- Check which travel documents you need. More information on this at the bottom of this page.
- Create an email account which you can access from anywhere.
- Place a scan of valuable and official documents on your e-mail account and forward this scan to your fellow travellers and your emergency contact.
WANDA app - travelling healthily
Vaccinations? The Institute of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp) developed an app Wanda where you can easily consult the recommendations for your destination or look up additional information on health risks. Download the app on your smartphone before leaving so you can browse offline if necessary. -
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In case of emergency
Once your exchange has been approved, several preparatory steps will follow. One of these steps is that you get access to Odisee's emergency data. In addition you inform us who to contact in case you are in an emergency situation. We retrieve this data via the document 'data for emergency situations'.
Travel documents
In order to travel abroad, certain official documents are required. Check beforehand which travel documents apply to you and make sure you retrieve them in time.
As a student, you will have to take care of all travel documents yourself, but you can always contact the coordinator of your traineeship or study mobility if Odisee needs to intervene or if Odisee needs to provide certain documents.
A description of the formalities related to passport and possible visa application are available on the website of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For more specific information you can also consult the embassy of the country of your destination in Brussels.