Preparation for travel abroad

Are you planning to travel abroad as part of your studies at Wageningen University & Research? You need to have permission from WUR for international travel. This depends on the on the Dutch government's travel advice.

- Travel to green areas is allowed if you have registered your travel in Osiris.

- Travel to yellow areas is allowed if your supervisor and the chairholder have granted permission.

- Travel to orange areas is not allowed unless you participate in an MSc Disaster Studies internship/thesis and your supervisor, the chairholder and the Director of Operationshave granted permission. You also need unanimous, positive advice from the Advisory Committee (Student hierarchy)before you leave.If the colour code changes from orange to red before your departure, you cannot leave. WUR will not reimburse the expenses incurred.

- Travel to red areas is never allowed.

You request permission to travel to yellow or orange areas by completing the registration procedure. See ‘Registration of your travel’ for more information.

You also need a thesis or internship contract that you have drawn up with your WUR supervisor if you are going abroad for a thesis or internship.

The approval procedure may take some time. Be sure you start with this well in advance! If you travel without permission your trip abroad will be considered a private activity at your own risk and financial responsibility and you will not receive any credits (ECTS).

Exchange students who have been selected by the Exchange Team do not need to start an approval procedure. However, they are not allowed to travel to orange or red exchange destinations.

For further information, please contact your course supervisor, study adviser, or exchange coordinator.

Register your stay in Osiris

It is important to register your stay in Osiris if you are planning to study abroad, this because in case of an emergency we need to know where you are and how to reach you for help. Register here: link.

After registering and filling out your contact information in Osiris you are covered by the collective travel insurance of WUR for the study related part of your travels abroad.

Register your travel details with the government

All Dutch students, EU students and Non-EU students with valid residence permits for the Netherlands must register at 24/7 BZ Informatie Service. This is to ensure the Dutch Embassy/Consulate in the country you are visiting is aware of your presence.

All other foreign students must register at their own Embassy/Consulate in the country they are visiting.

Install the 24/7 reisapp

You can find the app here.

All students traveling as part of their study have to complete the course ZSS-06300 where you complete a personal risk assessment. The course can be completed at your own time, place and speed and is available all year round. After registering your trip in Osiris (see registration of your travel) you will be enrolled in the course automatically. More information on the course can be found here. 

For students traveling to areas with a high(er) security risk there are additional workshops to prepare you for your stay. Check the security risk for your destination on the security risk map at travelriskmap.com

Health insurance

Did you arrange your insurance for the trip? Are all activities covered by your insurance? Check with your current insurance company if your stay abroad is covered (note a difference between EU and global insurance). Ensure that the coverage of your insurance is clear to you.

Travel insurance

By registering in Osiris, your trip that is part of your study is covered by the WUR travel insurance. If you travel around after or before your study related travel, these activities not covered.

Who should you contact in case of emergency?

If you have travelled to/are in green areas according to the travel advice of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs, you contact our regular insurance company. For other areas you contact international SOS.

AIG/ Insurance (green):

Students traveling as part of their study at the WUR are covered by the collective travel insurance of Wageningen University & Research. The costs of this travel insurance are paid for by Wageningen University & Research. The travel insurance is in force as long as the travel duration does not exceed 365 days and the students are enrolled at WUR.

A health insurance policy (which everyone in the Netherlands is obliged to take out) also covers (emergency) medical costs abroad as the standard. Most health insurance policies have global coverage, but it is best to contact your insurance about what your coverage entails. WUR's collective travel insurance is supplementary, for example, in case of repatriation or if your own health insurance does not cover certain things or the costs exceeds those covered by your own insurance.

If you need assistance during your trip, please contact AIG Assistance +31 10 453 5656 (open 24/7).

The policy number for students is 60.19.8653.

Eigenaar polis: Wageningen University and Research

Important information and form:

- General terms and conditions

- Claim form for travel insurance

International SOS (yellow/orange):

you contact ISOS. Call the Assistance Centre, which is available 24/7:

If you are planning to travel for your study programme please check the checklist for entering or returning to the Netherlands from abroad.

Passport and Visa

International travel requires a valid passport (or ID card). If you already have one, check the expiration date and be sure that it will be valid for the duration of your travel and preferably beyond. Many countries require that your passport is valid for a number of months after leaving the country. If you do not have a passport, you must apply in person at a passport agency or a designated courthouse. This process takes about 6 weeks, so plan ahead! For VISA information, we refer to the website of the embassy in the Netherlands. http://www.visuminfo.nl/

OV-card

This is the Dutch student public transportation card. Remember to suspend your card during your semester abroad. The specific form can be downloaded from the DUO-IB-website and needs to be signed by SSC (service desk in Forum building), not at the Exchange Office. Remember to keep a copy of the form!

You must notify your move abroad to the municipality if you will be staying abroad for more than 8 months in the upcoming 12 months. This does not have to be a continuous period. You will then be deregistered from your address. The municipality will also inform other government authorities of your departure.

More information on your legal residence permit can be found here.

Culture

A metaphor for what it is like when you interact with people from different cultures to your own is a card game. Imagine you invite someone to play the game and ask if they know the game. They do and you sit down to play. As you are playing you discover that you and the other person are not playing according to  the same the rules. What happens? Confusion, frustration, emotions, quitting, curiosity?

Learning to work together with people from a different culture is like playing a game with different rules. You will encounter this during your travels. During your time abroad you will study or work with people from different cultural, religious or social backgrounds.

Culture shock

Culture shock is the impact of moving from a familiar culture – from one where you know the rules - to one which is unfamiliar. A culture in which you do not know how to play the game.  

What does culture shock look like?

When you experience culture shock you go through a series of phases: the honeymoon phase, rejection phase, regression phase, recovery and adjustment phase. These phases are completely normal to experience. It is good to be aware of them beforehand and ask for help or find someone to listen to your feelings and concerns if needed.

Phase 1: Honeymoon
You are in love with the place. You are excited about the culture, the food, the locals and more! Everything is fantastic! It is the best choice you ever made. You see similarities are everywhere and differences are fascinating. Your brain is stimulated by curiosity.

Phase 2: Rejection
After a while you may wonder: what am I doing here? Life becomes hard and the differences you thought were fascinating, become annoying. You desire what you had at home. The 'normal' things.

Phase 3: Regression      
Home, sweet home. Why did I ever leave? You look for company of people with the same background. Everything about your home country was wonderful (at least that is how you remember it). You experience home sickness.

Phase 4: Recovery
At-ease-at-last. In this phase you have accepted differences and feel more confident and relaxed. You are more familiar with new situations, in both your personal and educational/working life.

Phase 5: Adjustment
Fully adapted. You may have a positive attitude towards the new place. You feel as though you have mastered living and studying/working here.

After your return it is possible that you experience a reverse culture shock. You may find that without noticing it very much you have changed. The process of reverse culture shock starts. You have to readjust to the way of doing things and interacting in your home country. This takes time and after a while you feel that you can take all that you have learned during your time abroad and adapt it to life in your home country.

What can you do when you experience culture shock?

It is important to remember that we are more similar than different. During your time abroad, make friends with local and international people. Be physically active and socialize with other people.

In case of emergencies you can contact our insurance company, they will assist you 24/7 and know how to contact WUR if needed.

Green areas (According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs): you can contact AIG Assistance +31 10 453 5656 (open 24/7).

The policy number for students is 60.19.8653.

Eigenaar polis: Wageningen University and Research

Yellow or orange areas(According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs): you contact ISOS. Call the Assistance Centre, which is available 24/7: