Of the doctoral students who are a major part of the excellent research landscape at German universities, approximately 34% are international doctoral students, with 22% coming from non-EU countries. We have spoken with many international colleagues and believe that we need more support services to facilitate their participation in the academic system.

Conferences and workshops are an essential interface with the international research community, enabling researchers to present and discuss their findings and further expand their knowledge. Unfortunately, one in five doctoral students in Germany faces significant hurdles in accessing conferences and workshops outside the Schengen area. In addition, the financial resources available to doctoral students at universities are often very limited, which is why personal investments or advance payments are the norm.

We therefore call on our Federal Minister Dorothee Bär (Research, Technology, and Space) and Federal Minister Dr. Johann Wadephul (Foreign Office) to make adjustments to reduce these problems:

• Establish better agreements between countries to enable visa-free travel for research conferences.
• Establish fast-track procedures for short-term research visas for doctoral students who are employed or enrolled at German universities.
• Establish a Europe-wide initiative for comparable procedures.

As a federal association, we are available to all parties involved at any time for a goal-oriented discussion on this matter. If you would like to contribute to this discussion, please contact us directly. We have attached our complete statement of our demands below.