Travel to a Critical or High Risk Country

Below is the current list of regions or countries where travel is categorized as "Critical Risk" or “High Risk,” meaning additional planning or review is required to have travel to these destinations potentially approved. This list is continuously monitored and updated using the latest data available from SMU’s Medical and Travel Assistance Company (MTAC), Exlog Global.

Additionally, the Global Safety and Security office will work with the Travel Oversight Committee (TOC) to review open source intelligence, and government and non-government agencies on the ground to evaluate the university’s risk tolerance in Critical or High Risk Countries.

Under current guidelines, countries or regions that have been categorized as “critical” or "high" on the risk assessment summary linked below, are considered Critical or High Risk countries and thus require increased scrutiny for safety planning. Travel requests to these locations may require additional time for review and approval. As a reminder, travel to a Critical or High Risk Country is not guaranteed and a travel booking can be canceled without proper approval from the TOC. Travel to a Critical or High Risk Country without proper prior approval from the TOC may also result in the university's denial of reimbursement of funds related to travel.

Travelers should plan to submit their travel requests no later than 60 days prior to their intended travel date.