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Individuals who wish to carry out research in an EU country for more than 90 days and who signed a hosting agreement (or a contract) with a research organisation.
For detailed information on a specific EU country, select the migration profile ‘researcher’ and your destination on this map.
First, you must sign a so-called hosting agreement (or a contract) with a research organisation, such as a university, a research institute or a company. This hosting agreement establishes that a valid research project exists and provides some relevant information (dates or duration of the project, area and title, etc.).
You must also have the following documents:
Depending on the EU country, you may also be asked to submit the following documents:
For more details, please check the page related to researchers of each Member State.
You or the research organisation (depending on the EU country) need(s) to apply for a residence permit or a long-stay visa to the competent national authorities. The immigration services of the host EU country will decide on your application as soon as possible, and within a maximum of 90 days.
Your residence permit will be valid for at least one year or at least two years if you are covered by a Union or multilateral programme that comprises mobility measures, and it is renewable for as long as you continue to meet the necessary conditions. Your long-stay visa will be valid for one year maximum; if your stay is longer (e.g. because you are covered by such programme/agreement), you will have to apply for a residence permit before the expiry of the visa.
If the research project lasts less than one year, your residence permit or visa will cover the duration of the project.
Your application for a permit/visa can be refused, the permit/visa withdrawn or not renewed under certain circumstances, for example if:
Each EU country may apply different grounds to reject your application or withdraw or not renew your permit/visa. Please check the page related to researchers of the Member State.
If anything like this happens, the national authorities will inform you of their decision.
Yes, you will have the right to legally challenge any decision with the relevant national authorities.
Yes, you will be allowed to teach but the EU countries may set specific rules, notably a maximum number of hours or days per week.
You will be allowed to bring your spouse and minor children with you, generally for the duration of your stay, subject to some specific rules.
You will benefit from similar treatment with citizens of the host EU country as regards:
Depending on the EU country you reside in, there may be some restrictions.
Yes. Your residence permit or visa will allow you to carry out part of your research project in another EU country, as long as you meet the relevant conditions. If you go to the other EU country for less than six months, you can do so on the basis of the residence permit or visa issued by the first EU country and you may have to provide some documents. If you go for longer than six months, you may need to submit a specific application.
For details, please check the page related to the mobility of researchers of the Member State in question.
Yes, after having finished your research, you are allowed to stay in the EU country where you were a researcher for at least nine months to look for a job or set up a business. You need however to apply for a residence permit for this purpose and fulfil the relevant requirements.
