Researchers' Visa Application

If you are a national of a country for which a visa is mandatory to enter French territory, the type of visa you will need to apply for will depend on the duration of your stay, your status (employee, fellow, student), and the nature of your funding.

Depending on your situation, once you have arrived in France, your visa may need to be validated or you may have to apply for a residence permit.

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Anticipate!

To ensure that your procedures are completed on time and that your mobility as a researcher at the University of Strasbourg is not delayed, please make sure to contact the Euraxess Service Centre at least 3 months before your planned arrival date.

Before
my arrival
I am in
Strasbourg

Before my arrival

Which Visa for Researchers

Your visa will primarily depend on the duration of your stay in France.

Under Three Months Stay

Visitor visa (contact the Euraxess Centre to confirm the details of your stay).

More Than Three Months Stay

Student or Talent Chercheur long stay visa (Visa Long Séjour - VLS)

More Than Three Months Stay

Your visa will mainly depend on the funding of your stay.

Researcher With a Grant

Grant under €1680 net per month: student visa;
Grant over €1680 net per month: Talent Researcher visa or Scientific Researcher visa (for Algerian nationals).

To be eligible for the Talent Researcher visa as a scholarship researcher, the monthly funding (scholarship + any additional funding) must exceed the minimum amount of a public law doctoral contract, which is approximately €1680 net from the 1st of January 2024 on.

If you are registered as a Phd Student at the University of Strasbourg and funded by a fellowship of 1680€ or more, you will have the choice between a Student and a Talent Researcher residence permit.

To know which residence permit is more appropriate for you, take a look at our Pour savoir quel titre de séjour est alors plus avantageux pour vous, take a look at our chart!

Salaried Researcher in France

Talent Researcher visa or Scientific Researcher visa (for Algerian nationals)

Salaried Researcher in Your Country of Origin

Talent Chercheur visa or Scientific Researcher visa (for Algerian nationals)

Which Hosting Agreement For Which Visa?

Before Applying for Your Student Visa

if you are a doctoral or post-doctoral fellow, a convention de séjour de recherche (CSR, research stay agreement) will have to be established. This document provides a framework for your stay, particularly in terms of intellectual property and work accidents/occupational diseases, and should enable you to obtain your student visa for France.

The CSR is compulsory for all foreign researchers on fellowship/scholarship at a French university (including EU nationals). If you have a grant and are entitled to a Talent Researcher visa, a CSR must also be established at the same time as the convention d’accueil.

Before Applying for a Talent Researcher visa

You must have obtained a convention d’accueil (hosting agreement) from your research host establishment.

Who To Ask For Your Hosting or Research Stay Agreement?

If you are a PhD student or researcher with a contract from the Unistra,
If you are a PhD student at the Unistra with a CIFRE contract,
If you have a grant and are received at a Unistra research unit,

► the Euraxess Service Centre at the University of Strasbourg will be in charge of preparing your convention d’accueil or convention de séjour de recherche: the administrator of your host research unit must send us a request for hosting agreement, together with a copy of your passport and a copy of your employment contract or your fellowship agreement.

If you are an Inserm employee or a grant holder in an Inserm or mixed Inserm/Unistra unit, Inserm Grand Est will be in charge of preparing your hosting agreement.
If you are a CNRS employee or a grant holder at a CNRS unit, CNRS Alsace will be in charge of preparing your hosting agreement.

► In both cases, contact your research unit manager.

Applying for Your Visa

Once you have obtained your hosting agreement, research stay agreement (CSR), or thesis enrolment certificate, you will need to submit your visa application for France through the France-visas platform. A digital version of your documents will need to be provided at this stage.

During your appointment at the embassy, you will need the original documents with you. Following this appointment, you will leave your passport for the visa to be affixed to it, and then you will need to return in person to collect it.

France-visas platform

Spouses Visa

A researcher’s spouse can join them in France: the visa for which the spouse can apply will depend on the researcher’s visa and residence permit.

Spouse of a researcher under the Talent Researcher visa or residence permit: apply for a Talent Family visa.
Algerian spouse of a researcher under the Scientific Researcher visa or residence permit: apply for a Private and Family Life visa.
Spouse of a researcher under a Student visa: apply for a Visitor visa.
Non-European spouse of a researcher who is a citizen of a European Union (EU/EEA/Switzerland) country: apply for a Residence Permit as a Family Member of an EU/EEA/Swiss Citizen within three months of arriving in France.

Beware!

Only married people can apply for a Spouse visa.

Children Visa

Children citizens of the EU / EEA / Switzerland: no action is necessary if your children hold the nationality of a country in the European Union or EEA or if they are Swiss nationals.
Minor children (under 18), nationals of a third-party country: for more than 90 days stays, your minor children will need a long-stay D visa to enter French territory.
- If you have a Talent Researcher visa: your child can obtain a Talent Family visa.
- If you are of Algerian nationality and hold a Scientific Researcher visa, and your child is also of Algerian nationality, or if you have a student visa: your child can obtain a Private and Family Life visa.

I am in Strasbourg

Visa Validation or Residence Permit Application

If you hold a short-stay visa for less than three months, no further action is required following your arrival in France.

If you have a long-stay visa (VLS), valid for 3 months for a stay exceeding 12 months, or a long-stay visa serving as a residence permit (VLS-TS) valid for the duration of your stay that is inferior to 12 months, then, within three months of your arrival in France, you must validate your visa or apply for a residence permit by creating an account on the ANEF plateform.

Needed Documents

Birth certificate
Passport
Visa
Last diploma at least equivalent to a Master's degree
Signed convention d’accueil
E-photo: type of photo required for any ANTS residence permit or driving licence application. This type of photo can be taken in Photomaton booths or using the ID Smartphone application.

VLS-TS (stay between 3 and 12 months) Talent Researcher

You must validate your visa on ANEF. Your visa will then serve as a residence permit, provided it is accompanied by the printed validation from ANEF.

Cost: €200 per online fiscal stamp when applying.

Residence Permit Application - Scientific Researcher (Algerian nationals)

If you are an Algerian national, your residence permit application can only be made at the Prefecture: You need to schedule an appointment on the Prefecture's website and bring the required documents to the appointment (originals and copies).

Schedule an appointment on the Prefecture's website

VLS (stay longer than 12 months) Talent Researcher

You must apply for a residence permit on ANEF.

Cost: €225 per fiscal stamp when collecting the residence permit at the Prefecture.

Purchase the electronic fiscal stamp here

Nota Bene

If you have a spouse on a Talent Family, you will need to apply for your residence permit/visa validation first before applying for theirs, as they will need the researcher's ‘ « numéro étranger » in order to apply for a residence permit or validate their VLS-TS.

Other procedures for your residence permit

Renewing Your Residence Permit

You can start the residence permit renewal procedure starting two months before your current residence permit expiration date on the ANEF plateform.

Beware!

If your contract or scholarship, which exceeds 1680€ per month, is renewed, and you require a new hosting agreement (convention d’accueil), please contact the Euraxess Centre at least 3 months before the expiration date of your current residence permit.

If you are an Algerian national, you can only renew your residence permit at the Préfecture. You need to schedule an appointment on the Prefecture's website and bring the required documents to the appointment (originals and copies).

Schedule an appointment on the Prefecture's website

Lost or Stolen Residence Permit

If your residence permit gets lost, stolen or destroyed, you must notify the prefecture immediately via your ANEF account.

If your residence permit expires in more than three months, you will be issued with a new residence permit.
If your residence permit expires in less than three months, your report will be recorded and you will be able to apply to renew your residence permit and attach a sworn statement of loss of residence permit or declaration of theft in place of the said permit.

Status or Personal Situation Change on the ANEF

You are changing your residence permit from a student status to Talent Researcher: you need to declare this change of status on the ANEF when you apply to renew your residence permit.

You are changing your address, rectifying/changing your civil or marital status: you need to declare this change on the ANEF, in "je déclare un changement de situation".

Beware!

The change of address cannot be carried out if the residence permit is currently being processed or has not yet been issued to you.

Minor Children

If they are minors, your children will not need to be issued a residence permit.
However, you can apply on the ANEF for a DCEM (Document de Circulation pour Etranger Mineur) to travel with them outside France. We advise you to plan ahead with your application to avoid being caught off guard by the deadlines.

Cost: €50 per fiscal stamp.