The Scientific Visa Package facilitates the procedure of admitting researchers coming from non-European countries (third-country nationals) to Europe for the purpose of scientific research. There is a distinction in the procedure for:
-long-term admission, for researchers intending to stay in Europe for more than three months and
-short-term visas, for entry of less than three months.
The Scientific Visa Package is available for researchers in public and private organisations. Students are not eligible. A researcher is defined as: a third-country national holding an appropriate higher education qualification which gives access to doctoral programmes, and who is selected by a research organisation for carrying out a research project for which the above qualification is normally required. Individual European countries do not have identical rules of procedure. They need to be verified for each country .
Country
Please note that the UK and Denmark do not participate in the Scientific Visa Package. Legally, the Scientific Visa Package is consists of an EU directive 2005/71/EC and two recommendations 2005/762/EC and 2005/761/EC.
1) Once you have obtained a researcher's residence permit, you will have equal status to that of nationals of your host country in terms of pay and working conditions, access to goods and services, recognition of professional qualifications and social security.
2) A residence permit may be granted to your family members for the duration of your residence permit.
3) You can take up a teaching position.
In order to obtain 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:
a) be in possession of a valid travel document (e. g. passport or national identity card)
b) be in possession of a signed hosting agreement
c) provide evidence that the researcher does not pose a threat to public policy, security or health, as certified by his/her local authority
d) fulfil the demand made by some Member States that require the researcher to have 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.
The "hosting agreement" is an agreement issued by a public or private approved research organisation in the Member State, 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 scientific skills. In addition, the researcher must have sufficient financial means and health insurance.
Only a research organisation approved by the Member State can sign a hosting agreement. A list of approved research organisations can be found for the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
To view templates of hosting agreements please click on the following examples: Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Sweden. For the remaining countries, the lists can usually be found on national websites (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Research or Ministry of Education).
Once a researcher has a formal hosting arrangement with a research institution he/she will be granted a residence permit for at least one year, and does not need a work permit. However, an entry visa must still be applied for.
Once awarded the residence permit, a researcher may carry out his/her research not only in the country of his/her residence permit, but also in another EU Member State . If a researcher would like to, for example, participate in a research conference or carry out a part of his/her research in another Member State for up to 3 months, no new application process needs to be made. If the stay should be longer than 3 months, a new Hosting Agreement will need to be signed with an organisation in the new country.
All the Member States except Denmark and the United Kingdom.
The participating Member States are:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The national EURAXESS Services Centres will be able to assist you with details on entry requirements.
There is no standardised procedure for the application of short-term visas. The EU has drafted a recommendation encouraging EU Member States to facilitate the entry of a researcher into an EU Member State for a period of up to three months. This mostly addresses researchers who travel very often to an EU Member State for short periods to undertake their research or to participate in a research conference, for example. The Member States are encouraged to faciliate the issue of visas without administrative fees for researchers.
The recommendation concerns all EU Member States with the exception of the UK, Denmark and Ireland, who have chosen to exclude themselves from the short-term scientific visa.
The national EURAXESS Services Centres will be able to assist you with details on entry requirements.
With the aim of making Europe even more attractive for foreign researchers, the European Commission proposed on 25 March 2013 a new visa directive for working periods exceeding three months.
The new visa application shall be shorter, more opportunities to access the labour market while facilitating intra-EU mobility will be provided. The current two directives - Researchers and Students Directive - have not fully overcome all hindrances researchers face when wanting to come to Europe for a research project.
The Commission is now proposing to set of clearer, more consistent and transparent rules that will improve:
- Procedural guarantees: The 60-day time limit for Member States' authorities to decide on a visa application or residence permit will make the application process more straightforward and transparent.
- Access to the labour market: Researchers will be allowed to remain for up to 12 months on the territory after finalisation of their research to identify new job opportunities or set up a business. This will not amount to an automatic right to work, as granting a work permit remains a national responsibility.
- Simpler and more flexible rules will increase the possibility for researchers, students and remunerated trainees to move within the EU for their projects. Family members of researchers will also be granted certain mobility rights.
Next steps
The proposed Directive will be discussed and agreed upon by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The Commission estimates that the new rules will take effect as of 2016.
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