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.”

1. Is it permissible to combine an official business trip with a private stay?
Yes. Under the Federal Travel Expenses Act (Bundesreisekostengesetz – BRKG), it is generally permissible to combine an approved official business trip with a private stay. The following conditions must be met:

• The official purpose must take precedence.

• The private stay must be declared and approved in advance.

• The employer (public authority) must not incur higher costs than would have arisen from a purely official trip – a cost comparison is required for this purpose.

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2. How long may the private stay last?
The private stay may not exceed five calendar days.

If this period is exceeded, the trip will generally no longer qualify as a combined business trip within the meaning of travel expense regulations. In such cases, reimbursement of travel expenses may be reduced or denied altogether.

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3. What is the required cost comparison?
In the case of a combined trip, a mandatory cost comparison must be carried out between two scenarios:

• A hypothetical purely official trip (without a private stay)

• The combined trip actually undertaken

Reimbursement is limited to the costs that would have been incurred for an exclusively official trip.

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4. Which costs must be taken into account in the cost comparison?
The cost comparison must be complete and detailed. This means that all cost components must be included, in particular:

• Airfare (including all ancillary costs, e.g. baggage fees, seat reservations, etc.)

• Rail tickets (including reservations)

• Accommodation costs

Important:
The comparison must not be limited to the base ticket price alone. Especially in the case of air travel, additional costs such as baggage fees must also be taken into account.

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5. What happens if the combined trip is more expensive?
If the combined trip actually booked is more expensive than the hypothetical purely official trip, only the lower amount will be reimbursed. Any additional costs must be borne privately by the traveler.

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6. How are accommodation costs handled?
Only overnight stays that are required for official purposes are eligible for reimbursement.

Overnight stays during the private portion of the trip are not reimbursable.

In the case of a continuous hotel stay, it must be clearly identifiable:

• which nights were for official purposes,

• and which were private.

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7. What about per diem allowances (meal allowances)?
Meal allowances are granted exclusively for travel days that are officially required.

There is no entitlement to meal allowances for days of the private stay.

For business trips and secondments, travel expenses must be submitted within 6 months of the return date.

1. Fill out the form

The form (also available in English) can be found here:

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

• On page 1, please enter all the details of your trip, as you did when applying for the business trip.
• On page 2, please list all the costs for which you are requesting reimbursement under “Expenses.”
• Please sign the form at the bottom of page 2 in the “Date/Signature of applicant” field and send it to your secretariat for final approval by the cost center owner.

Important information for filling out the form:

• In the “Advance payment/installment” field on page 1 of the application form, please enter either the amount of your installment payment or, if you have not received an installment payment, a “0” or a hyphen. Please do not simply leave the field blank. This way, the travel expenses office will know immediately that there was no installment payment and will not have to check this unnecessarily.
• In the “Means of transport” section on page 2 of the application form, please fill in all the fields that apply to you.
• Please also enter any amounts in foreign currencies in the original currency (do not convert to EUR; this will be done by the central travel expense office).
• Keep all original receipts for 6 months from the date of submission of your travel expense report and scan them. It is sufficient to attach a scan of the report.
• Important: please submit proof of payment (e.g., bank statement) for each invoice (including train tickets) to show that you have actually made the payment.
• If you no longer have a receipt for a specific amount, make a clear note of this under “Explanation of expenses.”
• You do not need to calculate and enter amounts for per diem allowances. This is done by the central travel expense office.

2. Documents to be enclosed

Please enclose the following documents with your travel expense claim:

• Approved business trip application (you will have received this from the business trip office of your department).
• All invoices and corresponding proof of payment
• If applicable, a cost comparison if the trip was combined with a private stay (see FAQ “Business trip combined with private stay”)
• If applicable, an approved request for advance payment (see FAQ “Advance payment”).

3. Format of the application

Please create a single PDF file in the following order:

1. Travel expense report form
2. Approved business trip application
3. Approved application for advance payment, if applicable
4. Invoices and associated proof of payment

4. Submission of the application

Please send the PDF to the department's business travel office at dienstreisen@polsoz.fu-berlin.de. They will review the application and forward it to the central travel expense office and the team responsible for the PolSoz department (Ms. Elisabeth Gruber) at 55@reisekostenstelle.fu-berlin.de. You will then receive the final notification of the reimbursement of your travel expenses from there.

• The current daily allowance rates in Germany can be found here.
• The current accommodation rates in Germany can be found here.
  • (see point 6. “When and how much accommodation allowance is payable?”)

Please also note the information in point 6 regarding higher accommodation costs:

"If the actual costs for the accommodation booked by the employee exceed the amount of EUR 70 or the location-specific price cap specified in the hotel directory, the unavoidability of the costs incurred must be explained and proven in each individual case. Increased accommodation costs are unavoidable, for example, if no other reasonably priced hotel was available or if a specific hotel must be used to carry out the business trip (conference hotel). Without proof of necessity, only €70 can be reimbursed in these cases. The prerequisite for full reimbursement of necessary hotel accommodation costs, including breakfast costs, is that the hotel bill is issued to the employer and the name of the business traveler is only mentioned on the bill as an overnight guest (employer-initiated booking).

• The current rates for daily allowances and accommodation allowances abroad can be found here.

If you need an advance payment for the expected costs (e.g., for purchasing your airline tickets) of your business trip, you can receive an advance payment for this immediately after submitting your business trip request.

This advance payment amounts to a maximum of 80% of the expected costs (which must be at least EUR 200) and can also be submitted before the trip has been approved (while the application for approval is still being processed).

You can find the form “Application for an advance payment for expected travel expenses” here: https://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/abt-1/formulare/05dienstreisen

Procedure:

1. Fill out the form with the requested information.
2. Calculate the amounts (max. 80%) based on the specified costs and enter them in the appropriate fields.
3. If the advance payment is also to cover accommodation costs and daily allowances, please tick the box “Please include an additional 80% of the meal and accommodation allowances in the advance payment.”
4. Date and sign the form under “Signature of the business traveler.” You can leave the field “To the paying agency” blank.
5. Collect the relevant invoices and proof of payment (e.g., bank statements) and attach them to the application form.
6. Send everything in a single PDF file by email to the department's business travel office at dienstreisen@polsoz.fu-berlin.de.
7. The travel office will return the form to you after approval. With the approved application, your responsible secretariat can prepare a payment request for you. You will usually receive the payment within one week.

The remaining travel expenses will be reimbursed to you as part of the regular travel expense report after the end of your trip. For more information, see the FAQ “Travel expense report.”

For business trips from Freie Universität Berlin to other EU/EEA countries, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, an A1 certificate is always required, regardless of how short the trip is (even for one day), as it proves that German social security law continues to apply and that no social security contributions need to be paid abroad. Employees and civil servants must apply for this document from their health insurance fund or pension insurance fund and carry it with them during their trip.

When you need an A1 certificate:

• Travel within the EU/EEA: (e.g., to France, Italy, Spain).
• Travel to Switzerland.
• Travel to the United Kingdom (UK).
• Regardless of the duration: even for one-day trips.

What the A1 certificate does:

• It confirms that you are still subject to the German social security system.
• It ensures that you do not have to pay social security contributions in the country where you are temporarily staying.

What you need to do:

• This information sheet on the A1 certificate for business trips provides clear instructions on how to apply for the A1 certificate. There is a separate application procedure for salaried employees and civil servants.

If you have any questions, please contact your local office.