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International Travel

Registering International Travel

In accordance with the Controller’s Office Procedure 20335a: Travel Overview, ALL international travelers (including presenters, students, visitors, and other business associates) whose travel expenses are to be charged to university public funds (e.g., sponsored programs, operating, various, etc.) are required to notify the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance prior to the international travel. The office is integrated into the workflow of Chrome River and preapproval in that application serves as the primary means to notify the office of the international travel.

In addition to an Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance (OESRC) notification through Chrome River preapproval, Virginia Tech Policy 1070: Global Travel Policy requires all university-supported international travelers to register their travel with the Global Education Office before their expected departure date and to provide updates as additional information becomes available or changes occur during the trip, including cancellations and travel to additional countries.  To satisfy Global Education Office international travel requirements, follow the Procedure for Registering International Travel.

Exportation of University Property

All Virginia Tech employees and students are subject to U.S. export and sanctions regulations. The physical export outside of the United States of university commodities, software or technology is subject to control under U.S. export control laws and regulations.

In most cases, university employees may temporarily export common items, software and technology subject to the export administration regulations (EAR) outside of the United States under a “no license required (NLR)” declaration, so long as this property is not exported to a sanctioned country (Cuba, Iran, Syria, and North Korea).

The Office of Export and Secure Reseach Compliance does not require notification for the temporary export to a non-sanctioned country of commercially available laptops, tablets and/or cell phones with standard commercially available software because no license is required. For export of any other types of university commodities, software or technology, contact oesrc@vt.edu prior to your travel to ensure no export license is required. 

Published information, fundamental research, open source software, and other information in the public domain is not subject to these regulations and may be discussed and shared freely. 

We recommend that you do not export confidential/proprietary technical data as it may be subject to export control and may require an export license or other government approval.

Loaner Laptops

Be aware that a number of universities have reported installation of malicious software in employee computers when left unattended in foreign countries. To avoid any potential issues of data leaving the United States or contracting malicious software on your regular workstation, the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance will loan you a clean laptop for the duration of your travel.  

The loaner laptops are prepared and available to pick up at RB 1311 in Blacksburg, Virginia. If you are located in Northern Virginia, the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance will need to be provided with a shipping waybill in order to ship the laptop to you.

Use the Loaner Laptop Request form to submit a request.  

An Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance representative will contact you to understand your computing needs while on travel, set up the computer for you, and arrange a meeting to deliver the hardware. If you have reason to believe the computer you take with you (whether your workstation or the OESRC-loaner) has been compromised, contact Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance immediately.

International Travel Guidance

Presentations and discussions must be limited to topics that are not related to controlled commodities, software, or technology unless that information is already published or otherwise already in the public domain.

Verify that your technology or information falls into one or more of the following categories prior to traveling:

  • Research which qualifies as fundamental research
  • Published information
  • Publicly available software
  • Educational information

Do not take any commodities, software, or technology that fall into one of the following categories:

  • Classified, controlled unclassified, or export controlled
  • Limited distribution, proprietary, confidential, or sensitive
  • Specifically designed for military, intelligence, space, encryption software, or nuclear related applications
  • Data or information received under a non-disclosure agreement
  • Data or information that results from a project with contractual constraints on the dissemination of the research results
  • Computer software received with restrictions on export to or on access by non-US Persons

Here are some additional resources that travelers may find useful: