Regardless of your nationality or career stage—PhD student, postdoctoral, established, or leading researcher—a wide range of resources and support measures are in place to ensure that your relocation goes as smoothly as possible.
EURAXESS offers the support and opportunities you need to advance your career in Europe.
Discover the practicalities of coming to Europe, including visa and entry conditions, residence permits, hosting, and EU and national regulations.
Visa and Entry conditions
If you are a researcher from outside the EU considering a move to Europe, it’s important to know that both the European Union and its Member States are working to make the process clearer and easier. Immigration policy in the EU is a shared competence, meaning that both the European Union and its Member States have the authority to legislate and adopt legally binding acts in this area.
In recent years, EU Member States have significantly expanded tailored visa and residence initiatives to attract global research talent. These programs are designed to cut red tape, accelerate entry procedures, and offer long-term security for researchers.
The EU Immigration Portal is an online resource that provides up-to-date, practical information on both EU-wide and national immigration rules, tailored to different types of professionals, including researchers. It offers detailed, country specific guidance on admission requirements, necessary documents, and application procedures. Available in multiple languages, the portal serves as a comprehensive and user friendly guide for navigating the immigration process across the EU.
In addition, for guidance tailored to the specific country you’re moving to, visit the EURAXESS national information page to explore natinoal entry conditions, visa procedures, and support services.
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 short-term mobility period should cover stays in second Member States for a maximum of 180 days in any 360-day period.
The long-term mobility period should cover stays in one or several second Member States for more than 180 days.
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
An EU Blue Card gives highly-qualified workers from outside the EU the opportunity to live and work in an EU Member State, provided they hold the necessary higher professional qualifications, or, where appropriate, higher professional skills, and an employment contract or a binding job offer for at least six months with a salary at least equal to, but no higher than 1.6 times, the average gross national annual salary of the country concerned. . The EU Blue Card applies in 25 of the 27 EU Member States. It does not apply in Denmark and Ireland
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 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.
Moving between European countries
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.
When a researcher moves to another EU Member State, the procedure to follow varies based on the destination country and the duration of their stay:
- Short-Term Mobility (Up to 6 Months)
Researchers planning to conduct research in another EU Member State for up to 6 months may need to submit specific documents to the national authorities. Once submitted, they can relocate immediately.
- Long-Term Mobility (More than 6 Months)
For stays exceeding 6 months, researchers must follow country-specific procedures. Some Member States require the same process as short-term stays, while others mandate a long-term mobility permit application.
Connect with EURAXESS Worldwide
Would you like to link up with EURAXESS representatives outside Europe before making the move?
EURAXESS Worldwide has regional hubs in Africa, ASEAN, Latin America and the Caribbean, China, India, Japan, Korea, and North America. These hubs offer international researchers tailored information, networking opportunities and practical guidance to support a smooth transition and successful research career in Europe.