• Inform us, the International Office Humanities, as to where you are and what your plans are via international-fgw@uva.nl.
• Given the circumstances, we would also advise you to register with the Dutch embassy or consulate, so they can contact you if that is necessary. Contact details of the Dutch embassies/consulates are available at the National Government website. We kindly ask that international students do the same with the diplomatic representation of their home country.
• Try to arrange your own return journey as much as possible. Please keep us informed about the current state of affairs.
• Register with Special Assistance Abroad. You can register via this platform and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, insurance companies and the travel industry will take care of stranded travellers as much as possible. Do not wait with doing this, but register now!
• Please indicate as soon as possible whether you wish to make use of the Dutch government's emergency flights. Because many regular scheduled flights are no longer operational currently, the Dutch government will be organising a limited number of ‘emergency flights’ in the coming days. For this purpose, it is necessary to identify and list how many people are located in which region as a matter of urgency. We hereby urgently request that you pass on where you are currently located and whether you would like to make use of an emergency flight as soon as possible via international-fgw@uva.nl. Even if you have been able to arrange a flight yourself, we would like to be informed of this as soon as possible. The communication about the emergency flights will also take place via the embassies, so make sure that you are known to them.
• When planning your return journey, please follow the instructions on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs -> enter the country where you are located. In some cases, it is compulsory for you to fill in a statement (online form) in order to be allowed to travel out of the country. If you have to travel through several countries to return home, you should also check the travel advice for the countries in question. Do this even if you are only transferring to another flight.

The emergency number of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is +31 247 247 247.

• We want you to return to the Netherlands even if there is a lockdown in place. You can find consent forms for this on the website of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
• Should you be fined when leaving your house, which is unlikely when travelling back to your home country incidentally, please keep the proof of payment as proof of extra travel costs incurred for insurance purposes.

• The most important thing is that you check whether you can travel home safely. In the event that you are ill or exhibit mild symptoms, please consult a doctor (locally, or your Dutch GP). Please ask for advice about your return journey to the Netherlands or a different home country.
• Please keep as informed as much as possible via international-fgw@uva.nl.

Concerns about risk of infection that occur during a journey are totally understandable. Although the risk of infection is not inconceivable, we kindly ask you, with the future in mind, to return to the Netherlands or a different home country anyway. This difficult message is due to the following:

• There is a possibility that the travel guidelines will be tightened further and you will no longer be able to return to the Netherlands or a different home country at all. We want to avoid this scenario, also because it is uncertain how long this situation will continue.
• Think about any future care that it would be better for you to receive in the Netherlands, should you become ill yourself, and about your social network from which you may become isolated.
• Even if less COVID-19 infections have been registered in your host country than in the Netherlands at the moment, that doesn’t tell you anything about what the situation will be in the near future. The way the virus spreads is extremely unpredictable, but very quick. The number of cases registered worldwide is also unreliable due to the lack of tests.
• The UvA is currently still able to organise and financially compensate your return journey and any accommodation. If you ignore the travel ban, the risks and costs will be at your own expense.

• You can submit the costs of maintaining two homes as extra costs in connection with the repatriation. The compensation options are currently being examined. Please keep overviews and receipts of that in any case.
• If you do not have accommodation in the Netherlands, please contact us. We can bring you into contact with UvA housing, who may be able to do something for you in terms of temporary rental of furnished rooms.

There are various options to reduce the risk of study completion delay:

• Continue the host university’s study programme online as far as possible.
• Register for courses at the UvA. This study programme will be offered online as far as possible in block 5 (and possibly 6). More information about the options can be found on the student website.

There is a ‘force majeure’ arrangement for the Erasmus grant. This exists in the event of circumstances beyond one's control, such as this situation. The UvA is discussing the implementation procedure with regard to this arrangement with the Nuffic (Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education). We would advise you, in any case, to keep the correspondence from the UvA and with your host institution (internship/work placement or educational institution).

Although it is difficult to say anything about this now, we would like to help with this. This also applies to most host universities.

• For information about this, please refer to the information at www.uva.nl/coronavirus (frequently asked questions).

• In the case of cancelled flights, claims can be submitted to volmachtschade@meijers.nl. Any financial compensation will be provided by the UvA in consultation with Meijers.