FAQs

Please note that it is the delegate’s responsibility to investigate visa requirements for Germany and apply for a visa, if necessary. Delegates are advised to apply for their visa as soon as possible and no later than 90 days before the conference.

Applicants are required to personally submit their visa applications, along with all the required documents, at the German mission or embassy responsible for their place of residence or the nearest representative office.

Find out more about visa applications on the AIDS 2024 Immigration page.

Fully registered delegates can obtain an invitation letter from the IAS to support their visa application.

Delegates requiring an invitation letter from IAS can request one while completing the online registration form. Registration for AIDS 2024 opens on 15 November 2023. To receive an invitation letter for AIDS 2024, delegates must first register for AIDS 2024, pay in full and submit any required supporting documentation, if applicable. Delegates who did not request an invitation letter during the registration process should get in touch with the AIDS 2024 Registration team at registration@aids2024.org.

It is important to note that this letter of invitation does not impose any financial obligations on the IAS. All costs associated with participating in the conference are the sole responsibility of the delegate. Furthermore, the letter of invitation does not guarantee the issuance of a visa for entry into Germany.

If you have submitted a scholarship application, please do not register for the conference separately. If your application is successful, the IAS will contact you and instruct you on how to register and receive an award and invitation letter by early April 2024.

Please be aware that the Federal Foreign Office of Germany retains exclusive authority over the visa approval process, and the IAS is unable to offer additional support in the event of a visa denial. If your visa application is declined, you have a one-month window to submit a written appeal (remonstrate) to your local representative of the German authorities, such as the mission or embassy, in your country or the nearest country. The mission or embassy will then reconsider the application. Find more information on visa rejection and appeal here.

If you choose the option to appeal, we strongly advise you to ensure that all the required documentation and additional information, emphasized in your rejection decision notification, are included and completed. If any documents were missing in your application, please make sure to include them.

Additionally, we recommend that you address the reasons provided in the initial rejection decision notification. We also recommend that you provide a detailed explanation (a narrative) of how the conference will be beneficial for your professional development once you return to your home country.

Please do not attempt “visa shopping”, the practice of making further visa applications to other EU states when a first application has been rejected. Schengen states use the Visa Information System (VIS) to verify fraudulent behaviour.

If the delegate applied for the visa in time (that is, at least three months before the travel date) and can show proof that the visa was not granted even though all requested documents were submitted, the delegate may request:

• Changing their in-person plus virtual registration to a virtual registration and getting the difference to their in-person and virtual registration fee refunded
• Full reimbursement for their in-person plus virtual registration minus a handling fee of USD 65

To request either of these options, delegates must contact the AIDS 2024 Registration team by email and provide the visa rejection letter no later than 19 July 2024. No requests will be accepted after 19 July. The request to change to virtual registration or request a refund will not be acted upon until the delegate has received written acknowledgement from the AIDS 2024 Registration team.

For general information and recommendations about the visa process, please visit the AIDS 2024 Immigration page.

If you have further questions, please contact the AIDS 2024 Immigration Support team at visa@aids2024.org.

Before submitting your proposal, you will be asked to create a conference account. One or several proposals can be submitted through the same account.

To submit your proposal, please log in to your conference account and select the relevant submission category. You will be able to modify your submission at any time until the submission deadline, 23 January 2024. After submission, you will receive a confirmation email with a reference number. Please use this reference number in all conference correspondence.

Find out more about submitting abstracts for AIDS 2024.

Yes. AIDS 2024 will host a Global Village in person at the Messe München: the Trade Fair Center Messe München and the ICM – International Congress Center Messe München.

The Youth Pavilion is the main networking space for young people. As part of the Global Village, it is a space to host youth-led and youth-related meetings and forums that highlight achievements of young people, facilitate networking opportunities, and engage participants in dialogue.

Young people will play an active role in all aspects of AIDS 2024. Young people will not only be delegates; they will also be activity organizers, speakers, leaders and peers. The AIDS 2024 Munich Youth Force aims to be the driving force behind an inclusive and meaningful programme that represents young people in all their diversity. The Youth Force sets its own programming to demonstrate the work and needs of young people worldwide.

Find out more about the Global Village here.

Yes. AIDS 2024 will offer about 20 high-quality, targeted workshops to promote and enhance opportunities for knowledge transfer, skills development and collaborative learning.

Find out more about workshops here.

Yes. For AIDS 2024, event organizers will be able to apply for Affiliated Independent Event status and benefit from being visible and promoted to the large and diverse network of IAS Members and conference delegates.

Affiliated Independent Event applications for AIDS 2024 will open in February 2024. More information will be coming soon.

Yes. AIDS 2024 will offer tailored hybrid and pre-recorded satellite symposia packages in Munich and virtually.

Find out more about AIDS 2024 satellite symposia here.

Please view the programme at a glance for provisional satellite symposia dates and times. These dates and times are subject to change.

Find out more about AIDS 2024 satellites here.

Yes. Commercial and non-commercial organizations can choose to order from three packages: shell scheme booths, space-only options and the virtual exhibition.

Find out more about the AIDS 2024 exhibition here.

To host a satellite symposium and/or exhibit at AIDS 2024, commercial and non-commercial organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Support the vision and goals of the conference.
• Address HIV and AIDS, co-infections or issues faced by individuals or organizations affected by or responding to the HIV pandemic.
• Reflect the conference policies and goals of diversity and inclusion.

Yes. Pre-conferences will take place on 20 and 21 July 2024.

Find out more about AIDS 2024 pre-conferences here.

Yes, interpretation and English captioning will be available for the opening and closing sessions, plenary sessions, special sessions, the rapporteur session, Global Village sessions and symposia. Pre-conference sessions or satellite symposia may also offer interpretation and captioning. 

To access interpretation, please have your phone and headphones ready. Simply scan the QR code provided in each session room, select your preferred language, and click “Join”. You will then have the option of reading captions or listening to audio.  

The IAS promotes the use of non-stigmatizing, people-first language. Our interpretation software uses artificial intelligence and is highly accurate. Nevertheless, occasional translation errors may occur. We provide automated translation services to make our content as widely accessible as possible. Although efforts have been made to train this technology, it may not always respect the people-first language of the original version. 

As headphones will not be provided, we kindly ask that you bring your own to avoid disrupting others during live interpretation. Your cooperation ensures a pleasant experience for all conference participants. 

The IAS endorses freedom of expression as an essential principle in the response to HIV and in promoting full participation in the International AIDS Conference. Activism and advocacy advance commitment, policy and practice aimed at ending the pandemic. However, the IAS has zero tolerance for discrimination against groups or individuals based on their identity, harassment, intimidation, hate speech, violence against people, destruction of property, prolonged disruption of conference sessions, or any other action preventing other participants from fully benefitting from the conference for a prolonged period.

If you have witnessed any abusive, discriminatory or other behaviour that contravenes the code of conduct, you can write to report@iasociety.org. You may also address any IAS staff member on site; you can identify them by their conference badge bearing the word, “Organizer”.

Registration for AIDS 2024 will open on 15 November. Please find more information here.

Yes. AIDS 2024 allows you to change your type of registration until 14 May 2024.

If you change from in-person plus virtual registration to virtual registration, we will refund the difference to you free of charge.

If you change from virtual registration to in-person plus virtual registration, the difference will be charged to you.

Read the terms and conditions here.

If the IAS changes the conference format to fully virtual, all in-person registrations will be converted to virtual registrations and the difference refunded.

Read the terms and conditions here.

Yes. The IAS will offer a comprehensive in-person volunteer programme. Applications open in March 2024.

The IAS is committed to accommodating the needs of individuals with disabilities. For any accessibility-related questions, please contact the AIDS 2024 Accessibility team at accessibility@aids2024.org.

If you wish to apply for a scholarship, you must do so via your conference profile by 23 January 2024, 23:59 CET. Find out more about the scholarship programme here.

The IAS has implemented a bag policy and a prohibited items policy that limits the size, type and contents of bags that may be brought into the AIDS 2024 venue. This measure will significantly enhance public safety and make it easier for all guests to gain access to the conference. We therefore advise you to leave your luggage at your hotel and limit the number and size of bags you bring with you to the venue as much as possible. If required, credentialled AIDS 2024 attendees can store luggage (for free) in the cloakroom (subject to availability and operating on a first-come, first-served basis due to space restrictions).

To help with your planning, the AIDS 2024 Accommodation team (c/o K.I.T. Group, the official housing provider for AIDS 2024) has pre-booked hotel rooms in Munich. For further information, including how to make a room reservation or a group booking via the accommodation booking system, please click here.