R994-403-302. Foreign Travel

(1) Benefits will not be denied if the claimant is required to travel to seek, apply for, or accept work within the United States or in a foreign country where the claimant has authorization to work and where there is a reciprocal agreement. The trip itself must be for the purpose of obtaining work. There is a rebuttable presumption that the claimant is not available for work when the trip is extended to accommodate the claimant's personal needs or interests, and the extension is for more than one-half of the workweek.

(2) Unemployment benefits cannot be paid to a claimant located in a foreign country unless the claimant has authorization to work there and there is a reciprocal agreement concerning the payment of unemployment benefits with that foreign country.

(3) Unemployment benefits are intended, in part, to stimulate the economy of Utah and the United States and thus are expected to be spent in this country. A claimant who travels to a foreign country must report to the Department that he or she is out of the country, even if it is for a temporary purpose and regardless of whether the claimant intends to return to the United States if work becomes available. Failure to inform the Department will result in a fraud overpayment for the weeks benefits were paid while the claimant was in a foreign country. The claimant may be eligible if the travel is to Canada but must notify the Department of that travel. Canada is the only country with which Utah has a reciprocal agreement. If the claimant travels to, but is not eligible to work in, Canada and fails to notify the Department of the travel, it will result in a fraud overpayment for the weeks benefits were paid while the claimant was in Canada.