You must apply for a short-term visa to work as a "Scientifique/Chercheur" (scientist/researcher).

In order to apply for your visa you will need to provide your Convention d'accueil (welcome contract) signed by your French employer. In order to obtain this document you must be registered on the ALFRED website and have been officially recruited by a university or research centre in France.

Important

• A short-term visa cannot be prolonged: you must leave France at the end of the authorised period.
• You do not need to validate your visa or apply for a residence permit once you have arrived in France.
• For certain people, it is not necessary to have a short term visa to enter the Schengen area.

Your research stay in France is only possible :

• if you are employed by a university abroad, which continues to pay your salary regularly throughout your stay in France
• or if you benefit from a grant (from your country or the French government) awarded to carry out a research project in France.

In this case, you must apply for a short-stay visa to work as a Scientifique/Chercheur (scientist/researcher).

To apply for a visa you will need to provide :

• Convention de séjour de recherche (research stay agreement) signed by the French research organisation;
• Convention d'accueil (welcome contract) signed by your French employer. In order to obtain this document you must be registered on the ALFRED website and have been officially invited by a university or research centre in France.

Important

• If the amount of the grant awarded to you for your research stay is less than the remuneration of a French doctoral contract (approximately 1550 euros per month for 2022-2023), you will not be able to claim a Scientifique/Chercheur visa, but will be able to claim a Étudiant (student) or Visiteur (visitor) visa instead.
• A short-stay visa cannot be extended: you must leave France at the end of the authorised period.
• You do not need to validate your visa or apply for a residence permit once you have arrived in France.
• For certain people, it is not necessary to have a short-term visa to enter the Schengen area.

Doctoral students of any nationality (except Algerian)

You need to apply for a long-stay visa to study. In order to apply for a visa, you will need to provide the notification of admission to a doctoral thesis issued by your Doctoral School in France.

IMPORTANT

• The duration of the visa will normally be approximately one year to cover the first year of the doctoral programme.
• The visa cannot be issued for several years (European regulations).
• When you arrive in France, you will need to digitally validate your long-stay visa so that it becomes a residence permit (titre de séjour : VLS-TS).
• When your long-stay visa expires, if you wish to continue your doctoral studies, you will have to apply online for a new residence permit (a priori the duration will cover the rest of your doctoral studies).
• The renewal of your residence permit must be done between 2 and 4 months before the expiry of your current residence permit. In case of delay in the procedure (less than 2 months before the expiry date of your residence permit), a regularisation fee of 180€ will be applied. If you are unable to provide all the necessary documents in time, you must write and sign a declaration on honour mentioning the date on which you expect to receive the requested document and submit it on the ANEF platform. You will then have to add the missing elements as soon as you receive them in your online file, to finalise your renewal application.
• If you have a doctoral contract, an ATER contract or a CIFRE agreement, please refer to the case "If you are employed in France" here below.

Algerian PhD students only

• You need to apply for a long-stay visa to study. In order to apply for a visa, you will need to provide the notification of admission to a doctoral thesis issued by your Doctoral School in France.

IMPORTANT

• The duration of the visa will be only 2 months - you must apply for Etudiant (student) visa with mention carte de séjour (residence permit) within two months of arrival.
• When you arrive in France, and before your long-stay visa expires, you must apply for a certificat de résidence étudiant (student residence certificate) at the Prefecture of your department of residence. Its duration will be of one year for a first request and it is renewable.
• The renewal of your residence permit must be done between 2 and 4 months before the expiry of your current residence permit. In case of delay in the procedure (less than 2 months before the expiry date of your residence permit), a regularisation fee of 180€ will be applied. If you are unable to provide all the necessary documents in time, you must write and sign a declaration on honour mentioning the date on which you expect to receive the requested document and submit it on the ANEF platform. You will then have to add the missing elements as soon as you receive them in your online file, to finalise your renewal application.

Employees of all nationalities (except Algerian)

You must apply for a long-stay visa Passeport Talents (talent passport) as a Chercheur (researcher). In order to apply for your visa you will need to provide your Convention d'accueil (welcome contract) signed by your French employer. In order to obtain this document you must be registered on the ALFRED website and have been officially recruited by a university or research centre in France.

IMPORTANT

• The duration of the visa will depend on the duration of the employment contract, up to a maximum of one year (for VLS-TS).
• The visa cannot be issued for several years (European regulations).
• When you arrive in France, depending on your situation, you must either digitally validate your long-stay visa so that it becomes a residence permit (titre de séjour VLS-TS) if your work contract is for less than 1 year, OR digitally apply for a carte de séjour (residence card) if your work contract is for more than 1 year.
• This residence permit is also granted to doctoral students recruited under a doctoral contract, an ATER contract or a CIFRE agreement.
• The renewal of your residence permit must be done between 2 and 4 months before the expiry of your current residence permit. In case of delay in the procedure (less than 2 months before the expiry date of your residence permit), a regularisation fee of 180€ will be applied. If you are unable to provide all the necessary documents in time, you must write and sign a declaration on honour mentioning the date on which you expect to receive the requested document and submit it on the ANEF platform. You will then have to add the missing elements as soon as you receive them in your online file, to finalise your renewal application.

Algerian employees only

You must apply for a long-stay visa to work as a Scientifique/Chercheur (scientist/researcher). In order to apply for your visa you will need to provide your Convention d'accueil (welcome contract) signed by your French employer. In order to obtain this document you must be registered on the ALFRED website and have been officially recruited by a university or research centre in France.

IMPORTANT

• The duration of the visa will be only 2 months - you must apply for scientifique-chercheur (scientist-research) visa with mention carte de séjour (residence card) within two months of arrival.
• When you arrive in France, and before your long-stay visa expires, you must apply for a scientifique/chercheur (scientific/researcher) residence certificate from the Prefecture of your department of residence. Its duration will be of one year for a first request.
• This residence certificate is also granted to Algerian doctoral students recruited under a doctoral contract, an ATER contract or a CIFRE agreement.
• The renewal of your residence certificate must be done in the two months preceding the expiry of your current residence permit with the Prefecture of your department of residence.

Guest researchers of all nationalities (except Algerian)

Your research stay in France is only possible:

• if you are employed by a university abroad, which continues to pay you your salary regularly throughout your stay in France or
• if you benefit from a scholarship (from your country or from the French government) granted to carry out a research project in France.

This research stay cannot legally exceed 1 year (except for doctoral students, where the agreement can be renewed twice for a year).

For a period less than or equal to 3 months, you must apply for a Talent Passport short-stay visa as a Chercheur (researcher).

For a period of between 3 months and one year, you must apply for a Talent Passport long-stay visa as a Chercheur (researcher).

To submit your visa application, you will need to provide:

• Convention de séjour de recherche (research stay agreement) signed by the French research organization
• and the Convention d’accueil (welcome agreement) signed by your French employer. In order to obtain it, you must first register on the ALFRED© platform and have been officially invited by a university or research center in France.

IMPORTANT

• If the amount of the scholarship granted to you for your research stay is less than the remuneration of a French doctoral contract (approximately 1550 euros per month in 2022/2023), you will not be eligible for a Passeport Talent chercheur visa but may qualify for a Etudiant (student) or Visiteur (visitor) visa instead.
• The duration of the visa will depend on the duration of the research project, within the limit of a maximum one year.
• The visa cannot be issued for several years (European regulations).
• If you have a long-stay visa, you will need to digitally validate it when you arrive in France so that it becomes a Titre de séjour VLS-TS (residence permit).

Algerian guest researchers only

Your research stay in France is only possible:

• if you are employed by a university abroad, which continues to pay you your salary regularly throughout your stay in France or
• if you benefit from a scholarship (from your country or from the French government) granted to carry out a research project in France.

This research stay cannot legally exceed 1 year (except for doctoral students, where the duration can go up to 3 years).

For a period less than or equal to 3 months, you must apply for a Scientifique/Chercheur (scientist/researcher) short-stay visa.

For a period of between 3 months and one year, you must apply for a Scientifique/Chercheur (scientist/researcher) long-stay visa.

To submit your visa application, you will need to provide:

• Convention de séjour de recherche (research stay agreement) signed by the French research organization
• and the Convention d’accueil (welcome agreement) signed by your French employer. In order to obtain it, you must first register on the ALFRED© platform and have been officially invited by a university or research center in France.

IMPORTANT

• If the amount of the scholarship granted to you for your research stay is less than the remuneration of a French doctoral contract (approximately 1550 euros per month in 2022/2023), you will not be eligible for a Scientifique/Chercheur visa but may qualify for an Etudiant (student) or Visiteur (visitor) visa instead.
• The duration of the visa will depend on the duration of the research project, within the limit of a maximum one year.
• The visa cannot be issued for several years (European regulations).
• The duration of the visa will be 3 months only in the case of a Visiteur visa.
• If you have a long-stay Étudiant or Scientifique/Chercheur visa, you will need to apply for a residence certificate from the Prefecture of your department of residence within two months of your arrival in France.