Attending an academic conference is what type of travel?

It might differ between countries but for Italy, as an international graduate student in USA, I was told by the consulate that for attending a conference, it has to be tourism not business. I originally chose business and followed the document check-list for business stay. However unlike the tourism, the business check-list doesn’t mention lodging confirmation so I didn’t bring it to my appointment. Fortunately they just told me to email them the confirmation later and still accepted my application. Hope that this might be helpful for who will travel to Italy.

I am a working scientist who has followed a link to this question from academia.stackexchange.com.

The correct Schengen visa type for attending a scientific meeting is “Business.” This is a short interaction for professional purposes (graduate students are considered professionals as well), and thus falls into that category. If you hold a passport from a waiver country or qualify for one of the other exemptions, you can be automatically granted a visa of this type. Otherwise, you need to follow the full process.

I had to apply for a short stay visa for attending a developer conference in The Netherlands and I selected “Other” as none fit the description. This is different than a “professional conference” (some certifications require you to attend a certain number of professional conferences a year).

During my interview process I explained that I was attending a conference, and I provided the following documentation:

1. Invitation letter from the organizers of the conference.
2. Travel ticket
3. Hotel reservation
4. Letter from my employer stating my employment status and salary (proof of funds)

I had no issues and my visa was granted. I was not presenting at the conference though, and if I were, this would only help the visa process.

Annex II of the Schengen Visa Code (EU regulation 810/2009) includes a non-exhaustive list of “supporting documents” that sheds some light on the categories. Here are the most relevant bits:

1. for business trips:

   (a) an invitation from a firm or an authority to attend meetings, conferences or events connected with trade, industry or work; […]

   (c) entry tickets for fairs and congresses, if appropriate; […]

   (e) documents proving the applicant’s employment status in the company;

2. for journeys undertaken for the purposes of study or other types of training:

   (a) a certificate of enrolment at an educational establishment for the purposes of attending vocational or theoretical courses within the framework of basic and further training;

   (b) student cards or certificates of the courses to be attended;

3. for journeys undertaken for the purposes of tourism or for private reasons: […]

4. for journeys undertaken for political, scientific, cultural, sports or religious events or other reasons:

   invitation, entry tickets, enrolments or programmes stating (wherever possible) the name of the host organisation and the length of stay or any other appropriate document indicating the purpose of the journey;

Those are just examples but it’s clear that “study” is definitely out, it means something quite different and you won’t have any of the documents listed. Both “business” and “cultural” could fit, the former seems pretty safe especially if you are employed by the university where you are pursuing a PhD (do submit documents to that effect).

If you are still unsure, you could also simply check “other” and write “academic conference” to prevent any misunderstanding. It’s important to be forthcoming about your purpose and to submit as much relevant documentation as possible but, unlike some other countries, the Schengen area does not have strictly defined visa categories. The category is there to help processing, your visa will not mention “business” or “culture” and it won’t be checked at the conference or anything (this does happen in some other places like Colombia).

All of the reasons except Business and Study are clearly and obviously not applicable to your case. Let’s ignore them.

Is your main reason for attending to present, or to attend? If you’re there to present, saying “study” is deceptive – you aren’t there to learn anything. If you were already graduated, and employed (in academia or in private industry) I think you would check Business. Money doesn’t have to change hands for something to be a business trip. For example, when I travel to attend a conference and learn about new things, it’s a business trip for me. When I travel to meet people and discuss ways my company can help them in the future, it’s business even though I don’t charge for that conversation. And so on.

It’s not like this single word is the only explanation you are able to provide, is it? You’re going to be asked for a little more detail, surely? So go with Business, and explain what you’re doing and why.

Are you being paid to present at the conference? If so business would make sense. However, if not, this is definitely a trip that is part of your studies.