Travelling Guidelines & Requirements

Research periods outside the University—whether for conferences, summer schools, or visiting foreign laboratories—are a fundamental part of your PhD. However, strict procedures must be followed to ensure you are covered by University insurance and to guarantee the reimbursement of your expenses.

Please read the guidelines below carefully before planning your trip. It is absolutely forbidden to leave without having submitted the request for permission to travel.

Mandatory Online Authorization For any traveling activity outside of UNIPD for study or research, you must submit an online request before departure. This is a strict requirement for insurance purposes; reimbursement of expenses will be refused if this request is not submitted before leaving.

  • How to request: Use the web application accessible from your personal SIT page.
  • Private Vehicles: Traveling using a private or rented car must be exhaustively justified.

Conference & Course Fees Within the SIT request, you can ask for a credit card to be issued for the advance payment of conference/course fees.

  • If fees must be paid by bank transfer, you must open a ticket on the DII Helpdesk (section SERVIZI CONTABILI:3 Missioni) and upload the payment instructions. In this case, the SIT request must be submitted at least one month before departure.

Note: To attend virtual conferences or courses, you do not need SIT travel authorization. You only need to submit a specific form for the advance payment of fees.

Extended Periods Off-Campus If your period outside UNIPD (either in Italy or abroad) lasts for 15 days or more (applicable from the 38th cohort onwards), you have to fill two different authorization forms:

Procedure:

  • Download the UNIPD Traveling >15 Days Form from the UNIPD pages.
  • Download the “Traveling >15 Days Form” from our Forms & Downloads section.
  • The form must be signed and sent to the Secretariat, your Supervisor, and your Curriculum Contact Person.

Research Periods Abroad If you spend 15 days or more abroad, you need an additional form. This procedure also allows students with a scholarship to request a 50% increase in their grant for the period spent abroad.

1. Before Departure:

  • Send the specific “Traveling Abroad >15 Days Form” to the Secretariat, your Supervisor, and your Curriculum Contact Person.
  • The Secretariat will return the form signed by the Coordinator.
  • You must send this signed form to the central PhD Office (phd@unipd.it) before you leave.

2. Upon Arrival:

  • If you requested the 50% wage increase, you must send a formal letter from the host institution (e.g., from the hosting professor) stating the exact start date of your research activity to phd@unipd.it.

3. Before Returning to Italy:

  • All students spending more than 15 days abroad (even without the scholarship increase) must obtain a formal letter from the host institution clearly stating the exact period spent there.
  • This letter must be sent to the PhD office (phd@unipd.it).

Claiming Your Expenses Once you return from your mission, you must officially close it to request the reimbursement of your expenses.

  • Online Procedure: Submit your reimbursement claim through the same online procedure in your personal SIT page. You must upload a scan of all receipts and travel documents.
  • Hard Copies: The ORIGINAL copies of all documents (receipts, boarding passes for air travel, etc.) must be physically delivered to the Accounting Office: Settore Contabilità e Acquisti – DII (Sede G).
  • Returning from Abroad: Do not forget to send the final confirmation letter from your host institution to the central PhD office.