Visitors Policy

Effective January 1, 2023

To protect the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students, the university has established this policy for visitors to the Yale campus.

  • All visitors to campus, except for those visiting spaces open to the general public, must be invited by a university host.
  • All domestic visitors must be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • International visitors, at least two weeks before arriving on campus, must complete  a primary series of a  COVID-19 vaccine that has received full approval or Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or has been issued Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO). If an international visitor will be on campus for more than four weeks and they have not yet received an updated booster for which they are eligible according to CDC criteria, then they must do so within two days of arriving on campus.
  • All visitors must carry vaccination and booster documentation and be prepared to provide it if asked, some visitors may also be required to complete a vaccination attestation (see below).
  • All visitors must follow university mask guidance and all other university health guidelines.
  • Events, gatherings, and meetings that include visitors must comply with the events, gatherings, and meetings policy.

Limited exceptions are noted in the Exceptions to Visitor Requirements section below.

Yale does not grant vaccination exemptions to visitors.

Who Are Visitors?

A visitor is any individual coming to campus who is not a Yale student, employee, or trainee.

Which Visitors Must Complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Attestation?

Visitors who are:

  • staying overnight or longer in congregate residential housing,
  • on campus 4 days or more within a given calendar month, or
  • hosted by an individual, unit or school that requires attestation

must complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Attestation for Visitors.

Who is the Host?

The Yale faculty or staff member, post-doctoral trainee, graduate/professional or undergraduate student who is responsible for overseeing the visit and assuring the visitor follows Yale’s requirements during the visit is considered the host. A department, school, or organization may designate the Lead Administrator, the Health and Safety Leader or other managerial employee as the university host to assure compliance with these visitor requirements.

Host and Visitor Responsibilities

Host Responsibilities

  • Ensure the visitor is aware of the vaccination requirement, whether the visitor is required to attest to their vaccination status, and their visitor responsibilities.
  • Instruct visitors to complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Attestation for Visitors form if required.
  • Report any concerns or issues to the Health and Safety Leader.
  • Report any visitors who test positive for COVID-19 to the Campus COVID Resource Line.

Note:  Hosts are strongly encouraged to review the visitor’s vaccination and booster documentation upon arrival.

Visitor Responsibilities

While PCR testing for visitors is generally not available through Yale’s testing program, PCR tests are generally available through New Haven area testing services or Yale New Haven Hospital test sites. Alternatively, rapid antigen tests are readily available from a number of sources including pharmacies.

Exceptions to the Visitor Requirements

Exceptions to the visitor requirements are included in certain approved health and safety plans which are identified below: