Working with controlled items in the EU

Since 31 January 2021, the UK is no longer a member of the EU, and new rules for exporting some types of items to the EU have come into force. For research collaborations or other potentially export-controlled activities involving partners in the EU, PI’s should continue to carry out the normal self-assessment process to ascertain if any information, research data or knowledge (or if applicable, physical goods) that will be shared with those EU partners is controlled. In exactly the same way as if the collaborations were taking place outside the EU.

If you are exporting or transferring highly sensitive controlled goods or technology, you would still require a licence in place to send to EU destinations. These more sensitive controlled items are described in Annex IV of the regulations. Fill in and submit an Export Controls Compliance request (online form) with the Regulatory Compliance Team and they will tell you if you need a licence or not for your destination.

You can also check yourself whether or not your goods/technology require an export licence via the Government’s OGEL checker tool. Enter the codes you’ve identified, along with the country where your entity is based into the OGEL checker to determine if there are any Open General Export Licences (OGELs) applicable to your project. If there is an OGEL available, fill in and submit an Export Controls Compliance request (online form) with the Regulatory Compliance Team to register for that OGEL licence and inform them of any other requirements.

If the OGEL checker informs you that there is no OGEL available for that combination of code and destination, you need to apply for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL). Fill in and submit an Export Controls Compliance request (online form) with the Regulatory Compliance Team, who will apply for the SIEL licence for you and explain any further requirements. Government turnaround time for SIELs is around 60 working days.

Until you receive clearance (confirmation that a licence isn’t required, or that a licence has been granted), you can continue with high-level talks with your collaborators, but do not share any technical information, research data, or knowledge which is not publicly available.