Travel to Embargoed/Sanctioned Countries
If you travel to Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba or the Crimean, Donetsk People's Republic or Luhansk People's Republic regions of Ukraine for a University business purpose (i.e., attending a conference, a teaching engagement or performing research), please be aware that UCSB cannot reimburse your travel expenses and you will be in violation of U.S. law if you have not received approval from the Export Control Officer ahead of your travel and either 1) obtained a specific license from the Department of the Treasury or 2) the Export Control Officer has confirmed that your activities are permitted by a general license.
If you need to travel to these countries, please contact the Office of Research’s Export Control staff at exportcontrol@research.ucsb.edu, to coordinate and facilitate the submission of a license application. Please note that licenses take between 4 to 10 months to obtain, making it important to notify the Office of Research's Export Control staff as early as possible.
The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) within the Department of Treasury is the licensing authority for travel to sanctioned countries related to conference attendance, teaching or performing research. The list of countries subject to these restrictions can and will change.
Please note that this is not a new restriction and has been in-place for many years. The University of California, as a result of specific and direct guidance from the Federal Government, is committed to complying with these existing laws across its ten campuses.
OFAC administers a number of different sanctions programs; the Sanction Programs and Country Information website helps the Office of Research's Export Control staff determine if a license for travel is required:
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Pages/Programs.aspx
In order to ensure that you can be reimbursed for travel expenses and that you are not in violation of U.S. law, contact the Office of Research's Export Control staff, exportcontrol@research.ucsb.edu, as soon as you identify a need to travel to any of the countries listed above. Our Export Control staff will help you determine if a license is required and will assist you in applying for it, if necessary.
Please direct any questions or concerns you may have to the Export Control Officer, at exportcontrol@research.ucsb.edu or at (805) 893-7725.
Electronic Devices and International Travel
When traveling overseas with electronic devices, it is important to consider what devices and information you take and take appropriate measures to safeguard your devices and information. Prior to traveling, you are encouraged to review guidance from the University of California on Traveling with Electronic Devices and UCSB's Cyber Security Tip: Cyber-Smart Traveling webpage to review ways to protect yourself and your data while traveling.
