Export Compliance
 

I've never taken my work laptop out of the US, but I want to take it on a leisure trip to Austria. I will have technical documents on it, but nothing like proprietery blueprints or encryption. Will I have any problems or do I need any documentation?

A non-issue largely speaking unless you have what could be considered official secrets or govt./govt.-contract related work on it. Also pornographic or religious or political material on laptops may cause problems in some countries, but rarely is anything said of bringing a laptop, even on a leisure trip, as long as you declare it to customs and intend to take it back with you.

I wouldn't worry much about it. We do have some stupid rules about not exporting some encryption technology, but I don't think that applies to your stuff.

I took my laptops into and out of Vienna a little over a week ago, so if Austria is your destination, don't even make the laptop an issue.

[This message has been edited by GUWonder (edited 02-05-2003).]

The only place I've ever seen it to be an issue was for a while in the UK they would randomly pick one as they came through and look for kiddy porn on it. They even had a warning not to have any on your laptops as they were looking for it.

You should have no problems at all, if it's brand new you may want to either register it with customs or make sure you have a sales slip so they don't try to charge you duty on the way back in, but in general it won't even get looked at.

I was travelling to BKK recently. The Thai customs document explicitly calls out computers as items to be declared and to be taken through the red zone.

Now, normally I'd just assume this was something that would be ignored, as I've been through lot s of countries and no one has ever cared about a laptop in the last couple of years on entry. I had some extra time, however, so I declared my laptop and proceeded, for the first time in a l-o-n-g time to the red zone.

The Thai customs people listened to my explanation about why I was distracting them from their conversation, took my form, and then they basically told me to beat it.

I'm revising my personal rule of thumb on gaming Customs so that, except in Canada or German speaking countries, it's not worth declaring a laptop. (Of course, this guidance doesn't apply to Russia, anyplace in Africa, or, generally, any place you have to pay dash to get things done.)

So, if the Austrian customs instructions explicitly call out laptops, flip a coin about declaring it. It may be that the red line is short and they'll just shoo you away.

Of course, if your number has come up and the inspector has to make some "stats," you're hosed anyway, so advice for the general case might be worthless on the micro level.
Rich

Talk to your company's export-compliance officer. I deal with commercial, non-government, technical data. But, it is still export-controlled.

I can appreciate your feelings - I was concerned the first time I took my laptop abroad in 2001 (to South Africa). Absolutely nothing happened. Since then I've taken my laptop to 10-12 other countries (not including Austria, to be honest) and have never had a problem. I did have to take it out of my bag for routine security checks, but other than that I can't recall anyone questioning it. I do think it's a good idea to bring a copy of your recipt/proof of ownership. I did take out extra luggage insurance in case of loss, and did not leave it unattended in hotel rooms, etc. I have heard of ATA Carnet documentation that you can get to facilitate import/export issues (there is a link via the Department of State website). If you are really concerned, you might want to look into this. My opinion and experience is that a person travelling with a laptop for personal use is exceedingly common these days (and it's a great comfort for email, researching your destination, checking up on things back home, and keeping a journal). Have a great trip and be sure to write about your experience when you get back. I wish you and your laptop safe and swift passage at all points!

In Brazil if you are stopped at customs inspection (which is likely to happen if you have a lot of luggage), all they are interested in whether the laptop is new. They worry that you are bringing a new laptop to sell in the country, going around their import regulations. If you prove to them that it is yours, and it is used (fairly trivial exercise), they don't care much.