On October 20, 2023 the University of California Office of the President released a letter regarding travel in the Middle East and North Africa. “In recent weeks, we have seen an escalating security risk within the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Region, including anti-Israel and anti-United States protests and violence in several countries. Due to this heightened risk and our concern for the health and safety of University of California students, faculty, and staff, I am directing the UC community to avoid all non-essential travel to the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region for the foreseeable future.”

All members of the UC Davis community traveling on university business to the Middle East or North Africa are required to register international travel on university business, per UC Davis policy. Registration takes less than a minute and provides travelers with critical, location-specific travel updates, important insurance information, and ensures timely response in the event of a crisis anywhere in the world.

Please submit a request for approval to the UC Davis Travel Security Program by emailing TravelSecurity@ucdavis.edu. This request should include who is traveling, a complete itinerary for the trip, as well as a brief description of the purpose for travel.

Travelers should also:

• Review U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories related to your destination(s) prior to making travel plans.
• Attend a pre-departure travel briefing. This can be done by emailing TravelSecurity@ucdavis.edu.
• Register your travel with the U.S. State Department’s STEP Program to receive timely notifications of safety and security concerns.

In addition, the U.S. State Department has issued its own Worldwide Caution: Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution.

U.S. citizens should:

• Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive information and alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency overseas.

Please email travelsecurity@ucdavis.edu with any additional travel security questions.