Regardless of your nationality, whether you are a Master's or PhD student, or in an advanced stage of your career, EURAXESS can help unlock your potential in Europe.
The benefits of a researcher's residence permit in an EU country
- A researcher's residence permit will give you the same rights as a national of your host country in terms of pay and working conditions, access to goods and services, recognition of professional qualifications and social security.
- A residence permit will be granted to your family members for the duration of your own permit, if the conditions are fulfilled.
- You can take up a teaching position. Member States may set a maximum number of hours or of days for the activity of teaching.
Can a researcher move to another European country?
Once granted the residence permit or long-stay visa, a researcher may carry out their research not only in the country of their residence permit/long-stay visa, but also in other EU Member States under specific conditions.
The procedure to follow depends on the country where the researcher will go and the duration of stay:
A researcher wishing to carry out a part of their research in another EU Member State for up to 6 months may need to send a number of documents to the authorities of that Member State and is then allowed to move there immediately after.
A researcher wishing to carry out a part of their research in another Member State for more than 6 months will need to follow, depending on the Member State concerned, either the same procedure as for a stay shorter than 6 months, or will need to apply for a "long-term mobility" permit in that Member State.
Visa and Entry conditions
With the aim of making Europe even more attractive for foreign researchers, the European Union adopted in May 2016 the Directive (EU) 2021/1883, a Directive for the entry and residence of non-EU researchers. Moreover, the Directive (EU) 2021/1883 clarifies the conditions of entry to and residence in the European Union of non-EU nationals for the purpose of highly qualified employment from 2023.
Students and Researchers Directive
The Directive (EU) 2016/801 addresses the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals, for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects and au pairing.
A researcher is defined as: a “third-country national holding a doctoral degree or an appropriate higher education qualification which gives access to doctoral programmes, and who is selected by a research organisation for carrying out a research activity for which the above-mentioned qualification is normally required.”
The Directive applies to researchers intending to stay in Europe for more than three months. For those coming for less than three months, rules on short-term visas apply.
This directive sets clearer, more consistent and transparent rules, such as:
- Procedural guarantees: The 90-day time limit for Member States' authorities to decide on an application will make the process more straightforward and transparent.
- Stay after the research is completed: Researchers will be allowed to remain for up to 9 months in their Member State of residence after finalisation of their research to identify job opportunities or set up a business. This will not amount to an automatic right to work: the researcher who finds a job will have to apply for a work and residence permit.
- Simpler and more flexible mobility rules: will increase the possibility for researchers to move within the EU for their projects. Family members of researchers will also be granted mobility rights.
The directive states that in order to enable researchers to move easily from one research organisation to another for the purpose of research, their short-term mobility should cover stays in second Member States for a period of up to 180 days in any 360-day period per Member State. Long-term mobility for researchers should cover stays in one or several second Member States for a period of more than 180 days per Member State. Family members of researchers should be entitled to accompany the researcher during mobility.
Those rules apply to researchers in both public and private organisations.
Individual European countries do not have identical rules of procedure, they need to be verified for each country.
While most EU member states are participating in Directive (EU) 2016/801, Ireland and Denmark have opted out and are not bound by its provisions.
EU Blue Card
The EU Blue Card Directive establishes the conditions of entry and residence of highly qualified non-EU nationals in 25 EU countries. The related residence and work permit is called EU Blue Card.
More information on the key provisions of the new EU Blue Card Directive can be found in the Summary of EU legislation – EU Blue Card (for example eligibility conditions, length of validity, related rights)
What is the admission procedure for short-term stays?
For stays of less than 90 days in any 180-day period, a different procedure must be followed, depending on the Member State concerned and your nationality.
You can find country-specific information on the EURAXESS national portals or you can contact the national EURAXESS Service Centres, which will be able to assist you with more details on entry requirements.
What is a hosting agreement?
The “hosting agreement” is an agreement signed by a public or private research organisation in the Member State and the researchers, through which they both agree to undertake a research project. The research organisation can only sign a hosting agreement with a researcher if there are funds available for the research and they are satisfied with the researcher's qualifications and skills. It must include some information, notably the title or purpose of the research activity and the start and end date of the activity or its estimated duration.
How can one obtain a long-stay visa/residence permit?
In order to obtain a long-stay visa or a residence permit (for a period of more than three months) from the relevant national authorities, a researcher will have to meet the following requirements:
- be in possession of a valid travel document (e. g. passport; Member States may require the period of validity of the travel document to cover at least the duration of the planned stay),
- be in possession of a signed hosting agreement with the research organisation,
- prove that they will have sufficient resources and sickness insurance during their stay,
- not pose a threat to public policy, security or health
- some Member States require the researcher to present a statement of "financial responsibility" issued by their research organisation, under which they will pay any costs incurred if the researcher stays beyond the time their residence permit is valid.
Related Information
Individual European countries do not have identical rules of procedure; they need to be verified for each country. Have you decided your next work destination yet?