Travel Safety and Security

Travel Safety and Security

Team member safety and security are a top priority for GitLab. If a team member feels uncomfortable or unsafe traveling to a location on GitLab’s behalf due to concerns about the location, region, personal health, or other safety or security risks, please contact People Connect via Slack or email. The People Connect team will assist by helping to connect the team member with the right resources.

Please note that team member travel is not required unless deemed essential to the role. Please speak to your manager about whether the travel is mandatory and required for your role.

Trade Compliance Considerations

Although GitLab is an all-remote company that encourages working from anywhere, some places are subject to trade control restrictions. For this reason, team members cannot take company-owned devices to or otherwise work from US-embargoed countries or regions under any circumstances. US-embargoed countries currently include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria and US-embargoed regions include the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine; however, that list is subject to change without notice. Additionally, team members cannot take company-owned devices to or otherwise work from Russia or Belarus, which are also subject to various restrictions.

Information Security Considerations

Please refer to the Internal Handbook for Information Security Considerations for GitLab Team members traveling abroad.

Business Travel Emergency Support and Insurance

Quick Emergency Contacts

Emergency Assistance Program with International SOS

GitLab provides team members with comprehensive emergency support through International SOS (ISOS) during business travel worldwide. Your coverage is automatic and year-round.

When to Use International SOS
  • Medical emergencies or illness during travel; including payment of Emergency Medical Expenses
  • Claims Assitance for the Business Travel Insurance Policy
  • Safety and security concerns
  • Pre-trip planning and health advice
How to Access ISOS Services

App

  1. Download the ISOS Assistance App
  2. Register using your GitLab email address (use a unique password, not your GitLab credentials)
  3. Press the “Need Assistance” button to connect with the nearest emergency center

Note: This is not a GitLab application and is managed by ISOS.

Online Portal & Membership Card

  • Access your digital membership card here
  • Print or save a photo of the card with emergency contact details

Direct Contact

Business Travel Insurance Coverage

GitLab’s Business Travel Accident Policy provides comprehensive protection for team members traveling domestically and internationally on business. View policy document.

Key Coverage Details
Coverage Type Benefits
Accidental Death 5× Annual Salary (up to USD 500,000)
Emergency Medical Up to $250,000 per occurrence
Security Evacuation Includes natural disaster evacuation
Personal Deviation Extended coverage for personal travel (25% of business trip length)
Trip Duration Covered for trips less than 180 days
Baggage Protection Maximum of $2,500, see policy for details
Family Coverage Includes spouse, domestic partners, and children under 26 when traveling with you

Note: This policy is primary and will pay before any personal accident policies

See the Policy details for limits and exclusions

Using the Policy

If You Need Medical Assistance While Traveling

  1. Contact International SOS immediately using the app, phone, or email
  2. ISOS will arrange appropriate medical care
  3. ISOS handles payments directly with providers
  4. ISOS submits insurance claims to AIG on your behalf

If you’ve already paid for medical care during business travel:

  1. Contact International SOS
  2. They will provide instructions for submitting claims to the insurer

Visa Letter Documentation

For team members needing confirmation of coverage for visa applications:

  1. Complete the AIG Visa Letter Form
  2. Follow the submission instructions on the form

Secure your data during travels

During your working travel your restricted data could be exposed. If you feel that your travel frequency may expose your data please keep in mind the following points to ensure that sensitive data contained in your devices will not be compromised:

  • VPN - If you are connecting from an untrusted network you should use a VPN connection to avoid MITM Attack or similar.
  • Devices in public places - If you are using your device in a public place someone could read restricted data from your screen, you should protect your screen with a special film that ensure your privacy, here you can find some samples.
  • Speaking in crowded places - Ensure that when you are talking about restricted data you are in a secure place and no-one can hear you.
  • 1Password travel mode - If you are approaching travel in a risky country or you have to leave your devices in an insecure place, please use Travel Mode in 1Password to ensure that your vaults will be safe if your device is compromised.

When traveling, there is the possibility that customs, border control, or other law enforcement agents demand that you provide the password to your laptop or mobile device. If this happens to you in regards to a company-owned account or device, GitLab recommends that you comply with any such requests without protesting. If you do end up providing a password to any device or account that has access to GitLab resources (including your personal devices), you should follow the process to engage Security on-call as soon as you can safely do so. Even if you do not provide a password, if any of your devices are permanently seized or even temporarily removed from sight, you should also engage the Security on-call.

For additional security specifically when traveling through an airport, the following advice is provided:

  • Completely power-off laptops and mobile devices before any security checkpoints. This reduces the risk of attacks that may be conducted against machines in a sleep mode, where the disk encryption is not being actively enforced.
  • Prior to the trip, remove any sensitive data from your local machine that is not absolutely required. Refer to the Data Classification Standards for more information.
  • If you are aware of any circumstances with your travel that may present a unique security risk (such as traveling to speciality conferences like Defcon), you may request advice in the #security-division Slack channel.

Expenses While Traveling

Understand the guidelines of our Global Travel and Expense Policy before you travel.

Sponsored Travel
Sponsored travel is travel usually to a customer site that is sponsored by the customer or entity usually though contractual services such as statements of work.
Last modified April 3, 2025: Update BTA Policy and ISOS details (468c7938)
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