To participate in external workshops, conferences, guest lectures, and, if applicable, to be reimbursed for related expenses, FU employees must submit a business trip request, even if no expenses are to be reimbursed.

The required application form "Application for Approval of a Business Trip" and helpful information can be found on the website of the PolSoz department administration, business travel department:

https://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/abt-1/formulare/05dienstreisen 

Most forms are now also available in English.

The request must be accompanied by supporting documents relating to the business trip, e.g., the program or invitation. A business trip request can be submitted with or without travel expense reimbursement. In the first case, the estimated costs must be listed on the request form.

Procedure: 

• The person submitting the application fills out the form, signs it at the bottom left under "Signature of the traveler", and submits it to their supervisor (or the responsible secretariat) with a request for approval. 
• In the "Travel expenses" section, indicate whether and, if so, which expenses are to be reimbursed and how high the estimated costs, including per diem, will be (for more information on per diem and accomodation rates, see FAQ "Per diem and accomodation rates"). 
• If the business trip is combined with a private stay, please indicate this and the duration of the stay in the corresponding field in the form and remember to compare costs (see FAQ "Business trips in connection with a private stay"). 
• Finally, the application (either by the traveler(s) themselves or the responsible secretariat) with the attachments justifying the trip (program/invitation) is sent in a single PDF file to the business travel department of the department at dienstreisen@polsoz.fu-berlin.de. The department send the approved application back to the applicant. 

Important: For business trips lasting longer than 6 weeks, such as a guest stay at an external university, a business trip application is not required; instead, an application for secondment (Antrag auf Entsendung) must be submitted. For more information, see the FAQ “Secondment.”