The Hosting Agreement allows foreign nationals from outside of the European Union, the European Economic Area, or Switzerland :
- to carry out their research
- or to teach university-level classes
in establishments authorized by the Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation.
The Scientist’s Process (la procédure scientifique) is a simplified process based on the Hosting Agreement whose advantages include :
- the Provisional Work Permit (Autorisation Provisoire de Travail – APT)
- a streamlined process for partners and children of researchers allowing them to enter and sojourn in France.
Hosting Agreement Eligibility Requirements
- You must have the equivalent of a master’s degree or higher
- The purpose of your stay in France is to carry out research and/or teach at the university level
- Your research activity or teaching position must take place in an establishment authorized for this purpose by the Ministry for Higher Education, Research, and Innovation *
- If you are a postdoc, teacher/researcher, or professor: the hosting agreement is required for you to be employed by the host establishment. It also applies to you if you are not employed in France, but are employed by an establishment in your home country or your country of residence during your stay in France. You can also ask for a hosting agreement if you are recipient of a research scholarship which total net monthly grant is higher than €1415.
- If you are a PhD student working on a thesis in France (PhD program or international joint thesis program): you can only benefit from a hosting agreement if you are employed in France in the context of your thesis (PhD contract, teaching assistantship, CIFRE contract…). You can also ask for a hosting agreement if you are recipient of a research scholarship which total net monthly grant is higher than €1415.
* Approval from the Researcher’s Host Establishment
Conditions of establishment approval are laid out in the decree of the 24th of December 2007. Public or private organizations must have a research or higher education mission. For example, universities and research organizations are automatically and unconditionally accredited.
The list of officially recognized organizations is available on the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation’s website.
Implications for the admission of researchers
The hosting agreement allows researchers to be granted:
- a visa with the designation Researcher Talent Passport (Passeport Talent Chercheur) from the French consulate of their regular country of residence if the researcher is not yet in France (or a visa with the designation scientist-researcher (Scientifique-chercheur) for Algerian nationals) ;
- a residence permit Researcher Talent Passport (Passeport Talent Chercheur) by applying directly on the following website https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/#/ at the moment of their arrival in France if their visa requires it, or when requesting a renewal or change in status if they are already in France.
For Algerian researchers, to obtain a Residence Certificate for Algerians (CRA) with the designation Scientist-researcher, they must contact the Passeport Talent service of the police headquarters of their place of residence (if they live in Paris for example, they should contact the Prefecture of Paris).