To submit a plan, please view the Instructions tab first. If you are traveling with a Faculty-Led program, you do not need to submit your own Higher Risk Travel Safety Plan. Your leader will submit one for the entire group.
- Check below to see if your destination, where you are traveling on university-related travel, is on the University Higher Risk Travel List.
- Thoroughly research your destination with a variety of sources, including those lsted in the 'Resources' section below.
- Once you begin an applicaton in VIA, our online database, if your location is on the Higher Risk List, you will recieve a Higher Risk Petition form in VIA to complete with an expected due date of completion. You must also follow the regular EAO education abroad application/registration requirements outlined here.
- After submission, your plan will be forwarded to the Student International Travel Oversight Committee for review. A normal review period is 3-4 weeks.
- If your plan is approved, you will complete the Destination of Higher Risk waiver. USC can withdraw approval of the experience if the situation in the area changes drastically prior to your departure. If the situation changes after you have arrived in the country, it will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
In some cases, the Higher Risk Travel ("HRT") designation applies to an entire country. In others, the HRT applies only to a specific region(s) or area(s) of the country; in these cases, the traveler is only required to submit a higher risk safety plan if traveling for a university-related purpose to the HRT region or area.
|
Country |
HRT Region(s) or Area(s) |
|
Afghanistan |
Entire country |
|
Algeria |
Entire country |
|
Angola |
Cabinda Province; Luanda metro area; Lunda Norte Province; Huamba city |
|
Armenia |
Border region with Azerbaijan |
|
Azerbaijan |
Entire country |
|
Bahrain |
Entire country |
|
Bangladesh |
Entire country |
|
Belarus |
Entire country |
|
Belize |
Belize City |
|
Benin |
Areas bordering Burkina Faso, Niger, and the Nigerian states of Kebbi, Niger, and Kwara |
|
Bolivia |
Chapare Province, La Paz |
|
Brazil |
Informal settlements; Fortaleza; Salvador; Within 100 miles of borders with Bolivia, Columbia, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela; "Satellite cities" including Ceilandia, Santa Maria, Sao Sebastiao, and Paranoa in Brasilia |
|
Burkina Faso |
Entire country |
|
Burma (Myanmar) |
Entire country |
|
Burundi |
Entire country |
|
Cambodia |
Cambodia-Thailand border |
|
Cameroon |
Within 20km of the borders with Central African Republic, Chad, and Nigeria; Southwest, Northwest and Far North Regions |
|
Central African Republic |
Entire country |
|
Chad |
Entire country |
|
China |
Entire country |
|
Colombia |
Entire country |
|
Cote d'Ivoire |
Northern Border Region |
|
Cuba |
Entire country |
|
Democratic Republic of Congo |
Entire country |
|
Djibouti |
Eritrean border |
|
Ecuador |
Guayaquil; Quito; Duran canton in Guayas province; Carchi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Los Rios, Morona-Santiago, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos, Manabí, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and Zamora Chinchipe provinces |
|
Egypt |
Entire country |
|
Eritrea |
Entire country |
|
Ethiopia |
Entire country |
|
Georgia |
The Russian-occupied regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; Imereti; Mtskheta-Mtianeta; Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti; Shida Kartli |
|
Ghana |
Entire country |
|
Guatemala |
Entire country |
|
Guinea |
Entire country |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
Entire country |
|
Guyana |
Entire country |
|
Haiti |
Entire country |
|
Honduras |
Entire country |
|
India |
The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh); the India-Pakistan border; Central and East India; Manipur; Northeastern states |
|
Indonesia |
Central Papua (Papua Tengah); Central Sulawesi; Highland Papua (Papua Pegunungan); North Sulawesi; Papua |
|
Iran |
Entire country |
|
Iraq |
Entire country |
|
Israel, The West Bank and Gaza |
All areas |
|
Jamaica |
St. Ann's, St. Catherine, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, Hanover, St. James, Kingston and St. Andrew's, Manchester, St. Thomas, and Westmoreland parishes |
|
Jordan |
Entire country |
|
Kenya |
Entire country |
|
Kosovo |
North Mitrovica; Leposavic; Zubin Potok; Zvecan |
|
Kuwait |
Entire country |
|
Laos |
Xaisomboun Province |
|
Lebanon |
Entire country |
|
Liberia |
Gbarpolu; Grand Cape Mount; Grand Gedeh; Lofa; Maryland; Nimba; River Gee |
|
Libya |
Entire country |
|
Macau |
Entire country |
|
Madagascar |
Entire country |
|
Mali |
Entire country |
|
Mauritania |
Entire country |
|
Mexico |
Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Durango; Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacan, Morelos, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas states |
|
Moldova |
Transnistria |
|
Mozambique |
Entire country |
|
Nepal |
Entire country |
|
New Caledonia |
Entire country |
|
Nicaragua |
Entire country |
|
Niger |
Entire country |
|
Nigeria |
Entire country |
|
North Korea |
Entire country |
|
Oman |
Entire country |
|
Pakistan |
Entire country |
|
Panama |
The "Mosquito Coast" (Caribbean side); Darien Region; Colombian border |
|
Papua New Guinea |
Entire country |
|
Peru |
Colombian - Peruvian border area in the Loreto Region; the Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM), including areas within the Departments of Ayacucho; Cusco (but not popular tourist sites incl. Sacred Valley, Inca Trail and Machu Picchu), Huancavelica; Junin |
|
Philippines |
The Sulu Archipelago, including the southern Sulu Sea; Mindanao |
|
Qatar |
Entire country |
|
Republic of the Congo |
Likouala Department; Pool Department |
|
Russia |
Entire country |
|
Rwanda |
Entire country |
|
Sao Tome and Principe |
Entire country |
|
Saudi Arabia |
Entire country |
|
Sierra Leone |
Entire country |
|
Somalia |
Entire country |
|
South Africa |
Entire country |
|
South Sudan |
Entire country |
|
Spain |
Ceuta |
|
Sudan |
Entire country |
|
Syria |
Entire country |
|
Tajikistan |
Afghanistan border; Districts of Republic Subordination; Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region); Khatlon Region |
|
Tanzania |
Entire country |
|
Thailand |
Narathiwat; Pattani; Songhla; Yala |
|
The Kyrgyz Republic |
Batken; Balal-Abad (Manas) |
|
Timor-Leste |
Entire country |
|
Togo |
Entire country |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
Entire country |
|
Tunisia |
Within 16 km of the Algerian border except for the cities of Tabarka and Ain Draham; Within 16 km of the border with Libya; Mount Chaambi National Park; Mount Salloum; Mount Sammamma; Mount Mghila in Kasserine governorate; Mount Orbata area in Gafsa governorate; Desert south of Remadaone |
|
Turkey |
Borders with Syria and Iraq; Batman; Bitlis; Diryarbakir; Elazig; Gazientep; Hakkari; Hatay; Kilis; Mardin; Sanliurfa; Siirt; Sirnak; Tunceli; Van |
|
UAE |
Entire country |
|
Uganda |
Entire country |
|
Ukraine |
Entire country |
|
Uzbekistan |
Ferghana |
|
Vanautu |
Entire country |
|
Venezuela |
Entire country |
|
Yemen |
Entire country |
|
Zambia |
Copperbelt Province; Northern Province; North-Western Province |
|
Zimbabwe |
Entire country |
The UTW List is updated when specific conditions warrant and is reviewed twice a year in its entirety. The UTW List was last updated in August 2026.
The University Higher Risk Travel ("HRT") List is compiled of destinations deemed to be higher risk areas for travel by the University of South Carolina. HRT decisions are made by the Student International Travel Oversight Committee (SITOC). SITOC assesses safety and security by reviewing U.S. Department of State (DOS) travel advisories, the risk ratings of the university's international security vendor (Crisis24), and information published by other governments' foreign affairs commissions, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Generally, an area is included on the HRT List if it meets any of the following criteria: the area has a DoS advisory of Level 3 or 4; Crisis24 assigns a risk rating of 4 or 5 to the area; the country carries a CDC Level 3 advisory for reasons other than COVID. SITOC may also determine that is appropriate to include or exclude additional areas based on other factors.