University of Manitoba - School of Art - FIELD TRIPS
FIELD TRIPS

Important Information for Students Travelling to the United States and Abroad

IDENTIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

It is YOUR responsibility to make sure you have the proper identification and travel documents BEFORE departing on your field trip. Documents will be checked by School of Art staff before you board a bus and airline ticket agents before you board an airplane. The law is the law, and we would hate to leave you behind at the US border crossing or airport.

Passport Canada recommends that you apply for a new passport if your current passport is damaged or inaccessible. Students travelling with a passport that is damaged in any way could face significant delays or be denied entry at border crossings, or be denied boarding on flights.

If you are a Canadian citizen, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) is a U.S. law that requires all travellers, including U.S. citizens, to present a valid passport or other approved secure document when entering the United States from within the western hemisphere. For more information on what identification is accepted for air, land, or water travel please visit the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) web page.

If you are a citizen of a country other than Canada or the United States, please contact your consulate or embassy for entry requirements, or contact the Sales Super Centre at 1-800-581-9499. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires international visitors to the U.S. from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries to apply online for travel authorization prior to travel at www.cbp.gov/esta.


TRAVEL INSURANCE

The School of Art highly recommends you have travel medical insurance BEFORE you travel abroad. It is ultimately YOUR responsibility to ensure you have travel insurance. The School of Art and/or the University of Manitoba will not be responsible for any medical costs for any students on any field trip.

Most students are required to purchase the UMSU Health + Dental Plan when they pay their tuition; thus, most students will have some sort of Travel Insurance via that plan (more information available on the UMSU website). Students already covered by an extended health plan through a private plan – that is, parents, spouse, or employer – may have opted out of the UMSU Health + Dental Plan through opt-out process. If this is case, please make sure your medical plan includes travel coverage BEFORE we depart. Also, some credit cards companies have travel insurance; make sure to check your credit card policy.

To remain on schedule, students travelling by bus to the United States WILL NOT be able to purchare travel insurance from the Duty-Free shop at the border.

If you need to purchase or would like to supplement your current travel insurance with additional coverage, here are a couple convenient locations to do so:

Travel Cuts
123 University Centre
www.travelcuts.com

Manitoba Blue Cross

599 Empress Street (across from Polo Park)
www.mb.bluecross.ca


FORM Y38*: IDENTIFICATION OF ARTICLES FOR TEMPORARY EXPORTATION


Before travelling outside Canada with valuable items (such as, laptops, tablet computers, cameras, smart phones, etc), you may wish to take advantage of a free identification service to prove you acquired your valuable items in Canada or lawfully imported them and did not purchase them on your field trip. If you cannot provide proof to the officer when returning to Canada that you purchased your valuables in Canada before you crossed, you may have to pay duty and taxes on those items.

When you show your valuables to a border services officer and state that you acquired them in Canada or lawfully imported them, the officer will list your valuables and their serial numbers on a wallet-sized card called a Form Y38*. If you are questioned about your goods when you return to Canada, show your card to the officer. This will help identify the valuables that were in your possession before leaving the country.

You only need to obtain a Form Y38* for your valuables if:

  • the item was purchased recently and still looks new; and
  • you don’t have the receipt for the item.

* If you need a Form Y38, please obtain one BEFORE you board the bus or plane in Winnipeg. (The bus WILL NOT stop at the Canadian Border for you to obtain a Form Y38.) You can obtain a Form Y38 at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport; bring your valuables with you. The Canadian Customs Office is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.