NEW (05.03.25): Message from the CERN Duty Travel Coordinator: As a reminder, the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is part of the UK government’s plans to strengthen the UK border through pre-approval and digitalization. ETA is a digital permission to visit or transit through the UK.
An ETA is now required for many nationalities that did not previously require a visa or other pre-approval for travel. Starting April 2, 2025, travellers who travel visa-free will require an ETA to enter or transit/layover through the UK. It will be linked to passports electronically, permitting travel to the UK but will not be a promise to enter. Eligible Europeans can apply for an ETA from today March 5, 2025.
The UK visa checking tool can be found here.
The ETA can be obtained directly by travellers from the GOV.UK website or by using CIBT Visas.
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NEW (28.02.2025): An IT Technical Forum dedicated to Safety and Duty Travel took place on 28.02.2025, you can retrieve the presentation here.
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As a reminder of 1 January 2024, transportation (flights, trains, car rental at destination) must be booked through Egencia. Travellers are no longer able to purchase their own transportation tickets and will not be reimbursed by the claim office if they do so.
Egencia is CERN’s Online Booking Tool (OBT) for all Official Duty Travel bookings. It proposes Flights (including low-cost), Trains (on-line request form), Car rental and Hotels.
General recommendations:
New recommendations for making environmentally responsible travel choices
PREPARING YOUR TRIP
As soon as you know of a travel you will have to make on CERN business, you need to fill in the EDH Travel form (TRVL), including for missions in the local area.
Only once your travel request has been approved by your Group Leader and the budget holder, you must:
- Mark your absence in EDH
- Update your profile in the Online Booking Tool (OBT) on the Egencia website, or mobile app
- The transport must be booked by CERN (via Egencia): book your flights, trains and/or rental cars (at destination) directly on the Egencia website or mobile app (e-learning available here)
- For transport booking on Egencia: you will see a red flag on the flights that are considered as out of policy. If you choose to book it, please add a justification in the dedicated comment section on Egencia and it will be sent to the Travel Manager for approval or escalated.
- Accommodation can be booked through Egencia (preferable) or on your own. If you opt to book your accommodation on your own, proof of payment must be provided, and reimbursement will be made on the basis of real costs up to a maximum amount corresponding to 60% of the Daily Travel Allowance (DTA).
- For accommodation booking: you will see a red flag on the accommodations that are considered as out of policy. If you choose to book it, please add a justification in the dedicated comment section on Egencia. Your request will be sent to the Travel manager who will ask for the Department Head approval.
- Regarding the conference fees payment, there are two options. You can either send your invoice to the IT Secretariat and they will create the payment request or pay the fees yourself and get reimbursed upon your return, provided that you attach the receipt/invoice and proof of payment to your travel claim.
Public transport must be used whenever possible. The use of taxi should be limited to duly justified cases (no suitable public transport, bulky equipment to carry, strenuous travel conditions). If taxi transfer to Geneva airport is necessary, please note that the IT Secretariat can book taxi vouchers for you prior to your departure.
The use of private vehicle must be justified in the Demande de mission/Travel request. (e.g. no suitable public transport/bulky equipment to transport and no rental vehicle available). If the use of a private vehicle is duly justified and authorized, the traveller will be reimbursed an amount equivalent to the most cost-effective means of public transport (parking fees, fuel and motorway tolls are not reimbursed).
The roles and responsibilities of the traveller, travel arranger, travel manager, travel coordinator, group leader, and budget holder are detailed on the page of the Duty Travel Coordination.
If your destination country requires a VISA, please refer to CIBT
If you need a visa to travel to Russia, please follow the admin eGuide procedure.
Certain formalities must be completed for trips to Australia, Canada, United Kingdom or the United States. For more details:
Please remember to take your UNIQA card with you. More information available on the CHIS pages.
Assistance before and during an official travel:
CERN has partnered with a specialized travel assistance company, International SOS (ISOS), to provide medical and security assistance to its members of personnel traveling for official purposes. You can find the details of their services and practical information on the corresponding admin eGuide page.
Cancellation
In case your trip is cancelled but expenses were already incurred and cannot be refunded (transport, registration, etc.), please do not reject or cancel the EDH TRVL. When the document returns to you, please contact the IT Secretariat for instructions.
REIMBURSEMENT CLAIM
When you return from your trip, you will receive a notification from EDH to confirm your itinerary. Please note that all the questions need to be answered carefully: itinerary, meals, hotel nights and other expenses, etc. If the accommodation is booked on your own, you are requested to attach a scan of your hotel invoice to your Travel request. For transport by train, please make sure to attach your train tickets to the travel claim.
NB: The same rules apply for lecturers invited by CERN. See "Reimbursement formalities" for additional information.
Private stay / Personal choices
"If travellers plan to add a private stay to their duty travel or to make their own travel arrangements (e.g. private vehicle) for private reasons, the Travel Arranger must search, prior to the travel, for a comparative lowest price public transport journey in the online booking tool or website, create a print screen of the price and attach it to the Demande de mission / Travel request (TRVL) form. Any additional expenses resulting from a personal choice have to be deducted from the final reimbursement under the section Other expenses by adding a negative position."
For external trainings (including the local area), a travel request must be created.