International Travel
Certain types of international travel, research, and other activities may involve export control regulations depending on the travel destination and the items, software, and/or technical data that are taken. When you travel abroad, everything you take is an export, including high-tech equipment, confidential, unpublished, or proprietary information or data. Before you travel, please contact the Export Control Officer for license, license exception, export declaration review and advice for items, information or software to be hand-carried, sent or shipped internationally.
In addition, it is recommended that business related travel arrangements made by UC employees be booked through one of the two preferred Connexxus Travel suppliers, BCD Travel or UC Travel Center. The travel reservation will automatically be registered for traveler insurance coverage.
Register your trip with UC Away - If travel reservations are made by an agency outside the Connexxus Travel program, then trip registration is required for University related trips out of state and to foreign countries.
OFAC Sanctioned Countries
The Department of the Treasury, through its Office of Foreign Asset Control, administers economic and trade sanctions that may restrict or require licensing for activities involving specific countries, individuals and entities. Before traveling to a sanctioned country, check with the Export Control Officer.
The most comprehensive sanctioned countries include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Ukraine (Crimea, Donetsk, & Luhansk regions).
Protecting Research Data and Materials While Abroad
Research data is the property of The Regents of the University of California regardless of the medium or ownership where the research data is collected or stored. This includes research data that is collected or stored on personal devices.
Access to and use and retention of research data and tangible research materials are not only critical to substantiate results, but also to provide a foundation for the advancement of scholarship. Because new research may build upon data collected before the importance of such data could have been envisioned, it remains critical that research data and tangible research materials are properly curated, collected, recorded, securely retained and appropriately managed.
Please visit OIT’s webpage on International Travel for information and guidance
Hand Carrying Items Internationally
EEI Filing Requirements
An Electronic Export Information (EEI) must be filed through the Automated Export System (AES) for exports valued over $2500 (per HS code) or if an export license is required whether it is shipped or hand carried. If an EEI is required, the AES ITN (proof of filing transaction number) must be listed on the airway bill. The export declaration EEI can be filed through a UC authorized freight forwarder or transport carrier.
Items hand-carried or packed in baggage to China, Russia, and Venezuela listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL), regardless of value or whether an export license is needed, requires an EEI filing. Examples of CCL items can include everyday items such as computers, GPS, cell phones, as well as research equipment and materials.
Click here for more information on EEI filing requirements. See below for an exemption.
"Tool Of Trade" Temporary (TMP) License Exemption
There is an exemption for filing in AES when exporting a Tool of the Trade for temporary export. This typically applies to items you are hand carrying. To use this exemption, please submit a completed Temporary (TMP) Export License Exception Certification to Export Control for review and approval.
To qualify for the “tool of trade” exception, the export must:
- Be for less than one year.
- Be usual and reasonable kinds and quantities of tools of trade (commodities, software, and technology) for use in a lawful enterprise or undertaking of the exporter (i.e. “tools of trade”).
- Be under the traveler’s effective control. This means that the item must be kept in the traveler’s physical possession at all times, or secured in a hotel safe, a bonded warehouse, or a locked conference facility.
- The travel cannot include a sanctioned country (Cuba, Iran, North Korea or Syria).
Travelers should not take ANY of the following without first obtaining specific advice:
- Data or information received under an obligation of confidentiality.
- Devices, equipment or computer software received with restrictions on export to or on access by foreign nationals.
- Devices, systems or software specifically designed or modified for military or space applications (even if these items are used in an academic research setting).
Travelers are responsible for knowing how export controls apply when taking equipment, devices, software or technical data outside the U.S. Additionally, information and data taken on laptops, PDA’s or storage devices must qualify as public domain. Other items such as research samples and devices, systems or software originally designed for military or space applications (such as a camera with a focal plane array or a high end GPS), technology associated with strong encryption, or controlled biological agents will not qualify for this exemption.